U R B A N   N E X U S  -  C R N   

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Type: Mixed Use 

Status: Competition

Year: 2016

Partners: Rossana Capurso Atelier, Werner Sobek

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The project is situated in the center of the oldest medieval section of Bari, Italy. The existing structure was originally used as a tobacco manufacturing facility; the buildings with their perimeter form a closed block within the urban grid system with three main interior open courts.

 

As a mixed use project, the proposed design unifies different programmatic activities with an emphasis on characterizing the new office of the CRN (National Research Council - largest public research institution in Italy) in the city. The proposed design takes into consideration a comprehensive requalification of the old existing structure, the addition of the new CRN program, and aims to reconnect through the architecture social, environmental, and modern themes with the historical background of the city itself.

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The project studies the urban fabric to determine main axis, access points, and visual connections that will identify the most appropriate location for the new program. The design idea revolves around the concept of reconnecting the existing urban morphology though a system of pathways, a ‘nexus’ that allows interaction between different realities and experiences.