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| Polo regionale di Lecco del Politecnico di Milano |
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| Client: |
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Politecnico di Milano, Univer Lecco |
| Architectural design: |
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Ing. Montanelli, Studio Ardea Lecco |
| Lighting design: |
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Norlight SpA |
| Electrical design: |
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Stefano Montanelli |
| Lighting solution: |
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SL Campus Point |
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Even though the word innovation is often used and abused these days, no other word better conveys the idea of the numerous intertwining new elements that characterise the Campus Point project.
Campus Point is a highly innovative project both in terms of contents and container, and is strongly supported and promoted by people with a new frame of mind. Its location has also been selected according to a new criterion that, excluding big cities, privileged a province town with an historical background and a renown for hard work. Through this initiative, the town of Lecco also shows its strong will of relaunching itself.
The project originated from an idea of Professor Riccardo Pietrabissa, Deputy Pro-Rector of the Lecco Campus. He basically did not want to wait until completion of the new building that is being erected near the former town hospital. He wanted to have spaces available in a shorter time and at contained costs, and also that these spaces be themselves matter for research and experimentation.
A temporary architectural structure, thought ad-hoc for the purpose, with highly innovative, experimental and technological contents.
A sort of "container" for research consisting of many containers opening up towards the town to allow the entire civic and industrial community to share this experience with the university, follow its progress and enjoy its results.
The «Campus Point» spaces will be devoted to the strategic research projects already in progress at the Lecco Campus, namely «Prometeo» (Operational Methods and Technologies for Public Protection) and «Tecnopolis» (Technologies Supporting Impaired People).
THE SPONSORS
Campus Point is a participated project since it involves local bodies, the entire community and several firms of the area. These sponsors, in particular, not only provided financial support, but their commitment also includedsharing the philosophy that energises Campus Point, following closely the development of the projects in the labs, stimulating new subjects, bringing their experience to the labs, and using research results in their production processes.
THE ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT
From the architectural and structural points of view, the Campus Point project was a tough challenge indeed. They wanted functioning and functional labs ready in a very short time and at contained costs. Besides, these labs should not affect the restoration works of the former hospital and be easily disassembled when no longer required.
To meet these requirements, ing. Arturo Montanelli from Studio Ardea in Lecco, designed a structure composed of 27 prefab steel and glass industrial containers in size 2.90 m x 8.11 m x 2.70 m in height, to be placed close to the facade of the building being restored.
Of fully dry design and factory-industrialised, the single elements arrived ready-wired and fitted with all utilities systems and inlet and outlet piping. Yard erection was completed in a few days by laying the single cells one upon the others, as if setting up a modern bee-hive composed of enormous semi-transparent red pixels.
To convey the effect of on-going activities and dynamism, the facade is not flat, but the single elements are embossed at different depths. This creates surprising light-and-dark effects and seems to make the entire building shivering.
Enviro-friendliness also characterises the entire work. The building solution adopted with the use of industrialised containers provides a strongly insulated envelope. The lighting system is based on latest generation electronic ballasts with long-life high-efficiency T5 fluorescent lamps for guaranteed energy saving.
Colour, light and transparency were expressly used to make manifest the architectural adding operation wanted by Montanelli.
The red hue of metal structures and front frames draws the attention on this new landscape element and conveys a sense of energy. The completely transparent facade wants to be representative of inside/outside osmosis. The strong message conveyed is about "putting research in a showcase" and making it available to the territory on one side, and about research taking inspiration and lifeblood from the territory on the other. Visibility and expressive strength are accentuated by the use of light that makes single pixels glow at night and almost turn them into metaphysical objects.
THE LIGHT ENGINEERING SOLUTION
Prior to addressing the core of the light engineering project, it should be pointed out that it is not only based on technical criteria. In fact, the approach of the designer and the customer was to find partners and not merely suppliers, to go for solutions and not simply products. As regards lighting (and the other structural elements as well), they aimed at finding a company that would share the peculiarities of the cultural and architectural projects as well, capable of providing fast and flexible answers, and with a strong attitude to make projects.
The lighting project covered the work environments (offices and labs), facades and transit areas (entrance hall and corridors).
The same product, specially developed for the Campus Point project and named after it, was installed in all environments.
This luminaire is rigorously styled to clearly show its technical nature in accordance with the interior decoration choices made by Montanelli. Almost floating in the air thanks to unperceivable suspension systems, it is a lightweight essential one-piece luminaire that gives light in a discreet yet technically irreproachable manner. The rooms are industrial style, utilities systems are not concealed and the building ribwork is not camouflaged by any finishing whatever. In the work areas, the luminaires are installed crosswise to the facade as if the were ribs of light hooked into the building skeleton. They run almost along the entire length of the rooms that they illuminate evenly. Visual comfort is guaranteed by the possibility o supplementing direct illumination with an indirect component that evenly illuminates the environment and adds to its magnetism. The separate switch-on option for the direct and indirect components allows intelligent use of the sources.
Different screening systems are installed: Mini T5 dark mirror-finish triple-parabolic reflector louvres for direct light and clear polycarbonate screens for indirect light.
Last but not least, SL Campus Point luminaries are fully flush recessed into the steel pixel frames to illuminate the crystals and perimetric intrados. The great scenic effects they create, make the Campus pulsating with life even at night. |
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