Cineca

An innovative and efficient new building

Bologna - Italy

Products

Vedette_R

Location

Bologna - Italy

Project

Arch. Piretti Stefania, Arch. Massimo Mauri

Photo

Fabio Gambina

Cineca

Functional and operational requirements prompted the project: a new connecting building for the CINECA centre

CINECA (the Consorzio Interuniversitario per il Calcolo Automatico dell'Italia Nord Orientale) is one of the most important calculation centres worldwide, for the great support to the activities of the Italian and international scientific community that it offers thanks to its supercomputing infrastructures, software solutions and information systems for institutes, public bodies and companies. What has always characterised Cineca has been its ability to innovate, to experiment new solutions, new methodologies and to be a place of training, hence the challenge of a realisation capable of giving an image and a formal identification that sums up all these aspects.

Hi-res images

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The decision to create a building that represents Cineca and hosts a dynamic and growing reality, as well as the desire to create a technologically advanced building, whose shell interacts with the various exhibits in an active and differentiated manner, have led to the definition of an architectural object that by means of a connecting plate unites the new architectural languages adopted in recent renovations, with the ‘historical’ core. The design choice of the buildings is characterised by the centrality of both natural and artificial light as an architectural and symbolic element. The large glass surfaces allow natural light to enter and diffuse into every room. Artificial light sources blend harmoniously with natural light and allow optimal visibility conditions at all times of day, even with the sun protection system activated.

One of the primary objectives of the project was certainly to be able to rely on LED technology to lower the energy impact of the entire building, which has obtained LEED Gold Certification. The primary design choice was to standardise the lighting planned for each type of environment: from operational spaces to common areas, from service areas to multifunctional and institutional rooms. In this way, uniformity is guaranteed not only aesthetically but also in terms of maintenance and management of the systems. This is why Edith was chosen as the primary solution. Thanks to its LED technology and extremely low UGR value (UGR<19), it has high lighting performance with maximum visual comfort and ergonomics, as well as integrating perfectly with the spaces. A clean and sober space is also the objective for the common areas, where Pool continuously illuminates the waiting areas, accompanied by Mr Magoo that break up the rigour of the environment to bring it back to a welcoming feeling. On the outside of the building we find the same concept again: thanks to Vedette, the geometric and regular architecture is emphasised, while Pilos accompanies us in the pedestrian walkways. The skilful use of different Linea Light Group products, chosen by taking full advantage of the peculiarities of the various collections, has made it possible to adequately meet the specific lighting requirements, guaranteeing a highly performing and uniform overall illumination.