Factory City To Education City Funzione Primaria: Teatro Multifunzionale

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The project transforms an industrial social-services complex into a modular educational campus. Existing concrete buildings are reactivated through light interventions, while new steel structures house a theatre and multifunctional spaces. A connecting public spine integrates learning, culture, landscape, and civic life, turning industrial heritage into a flexible framework for knowledge production.

Dimensions & Packaging

Approximate site area: 8,000 sq.m. The project consists of a theatre volume and a multifunctional educational building connected by semi open circulation. The theatre is approximately 15 m x 23 m x 16 m, using a long span steel roof structure. The multifunctional building is organized on three levels with modular structural bays. Main materials include existing reinforced concrete, steel framing, metal roof decking, insulation, waterproofing membrane, glazing, and perforated metal cladding.

Tags

adaptive reuse, industrial heritage, educational campus, modular steel structure, theatre design, multifunctional building, public space, civic architecture, Olivetti, Ivrea

Production Technology

The project is realized through a hybrid system of adaptive reuse and lightweight steel construction. Existing concrete structures are preserved and reactivated with minimal intervention, while new volumes use a modular steel frame, long span roof trusses, metal roof decking, insulated build-up roofing, and perforated metal cladding. The theatre integrates acoustic wall lining, suspended acoustic reflectors, lighting grids, sprinkler coordination, and mechanical ducts within a clear structural logic.

Design Challenge

The main challenge was to transform a historically industrial site into a contemporary educational and cultural campus without losing its original spatial identity. The design had to balance preservation and intervention, integrating existing concrete structures with new modular steel construction. Another key challenge was to create a clear relationship between theatre, learning spaces, and public circulation while maintaining flexibility, technical performance, and a strong civic character.

Research

The research investigates how industrial heritage can be transformed into a contemporary educational environment. It combines site analysis, historical study of Ivrea and the Olivetti legacy, program development, and architectural prototyping. The project studies adaptive reuse, modular steel construction, and spatial connectivity as strategies to integrate learning, performance, and public life within an existing industrial fabric.

Inspiration

The project is inspired by Ivrea's industrial legacy and the social vision of the Olivetti factory city. Rather than preserving the site as a static monument, the design explores how industrial structures can support contemporary education, culture, and public life. It draws from adaptive reuse, modular construction, and the transformation of production into knowledge.

Project Duration

The project was developed in 2026 as an architectural competition proposal for the Olivetti Theatre site in Ivrea, Italy. It explores the transformation of the former industrial context into a contemporary educational and cultural campus through adaptive reuse, modular construction, and public space integration.

Operation Flow

The project operates as a connected campus where learning, performance, and public life are brought together through a clear spatial sequence. Visitors move through open pathways, landscape platforms, and shared gathering spaces that link the existing buildings with the new theatre and multifunctional programs. This flow encourages informal interaction, flexible use, and a continuous relationship between education, culture, and civic activity.

Patents

Copyrights belong to Siyu Bai, Ying Bi, 2026.

Image Credits

Ying Bi, Siyu Bai