Casalgrande Ceramic Cloud, by Kengo Kuma

Inaugurated at the beginning of October, Casalgrande Ceramic Cloud is the first Italian work of the Japanese master Kengo Kuma and the new symbolic gateway to the ceramic cluster of Emilia Romagna. Located in the municipality of Casalgrande, province of Reggio Emilia, in a 2,8000 square metre area as public green, the structure towers over the roundabout located in front of the Casalgrande Padana’s plant, leader in the manufacture of stoneware and the very client of the work. The architectural project is meant to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the company and was developed in bundle with the architecture departments of the universities of Ferraraand Siracusa; in addition it stands as an imposing three-dimensional filter that experiments an innovative use of latest generation ceramic components.

Inaugurata a inizio ottobre, Casalgrande Ceramic Cloud è la prima realizzazione italiana dal maestro giapponese Kengo Kuma e nuova porta simbolica al distretto ceramico emiliano. Localizzata nel comune di Casalgrande, provincia di Reggio Emilia, su di un’area di oltre 2.800 metri quadri destinata a verde pubblico, l’opera domina la rotonda stradale situata di fronte al sito produttivo dell’azienda Casalgrande Padana, leader nella produzione di grès porcellanato e committente della realizzazione stessa. L’architettura, realizzata in occasione delle celebrazioni per i cinquant’anni dell’Azienda, è stata sviluppato con la collaborazione delle Facoltà di Architettura di Ferrara e di Siracusa e si configura come un’imponente dispositivo tridimensionale filtrante che sperimenta innovativi utilizzi di componenti ceramici di ultima generazione.

Location
Casalgrande, (Re) Italy
Type
Public works
Area
2,826 Square metres
Material
Unglazed stoneware slabs 1200 x 600 x 14 mm, stone, steel
Maximum height
5.90 m
Date of completion
September 2010

DESIGN TEAM
Architecture Kengo Kuma & Associates: Kengo Kuma (principal charge); Javier Villar Ruiz; Ryuya Umezawa
Project Manager
Mauro Filippini, Casalgrande Padana S.p.a.
Cost control
Mauro Filippini, Casalgrande Padana S.p.a.
Engineering
Ejiri,Takuma Sato Structural Engineers (Tokyo) Norihiro Ejiri and Pieter Ochelen

Client Consultant
Architecture
Alfonso Acocella, Università degli Studi di Ferrara; Luigi Alini, Università degli Studi di Catania; Urban Planning; Angelo Silingardi (CCdP)
Structures
Enrico Rombi (CCdP); Alberto Zen (CCdP)
Systems
Cesare Brizzi e Luigi Massa, Casalgrande Padana S.p.a.
Lighting
Mario Nanni (principal charge), Federica Soprani
Communication
Nadia Giullari, Elisa Grisendi, Sara Costi, Veronica Dal Buono

Percorsi in Ceramica 2010

2010 is a particularly important year full of events at Casalgrande Padana, since it celebrates its first 50 years of business, half a century during which it has undergone an extraordinary development enabling it to play a major role at international level.
Casalgrande Ceramic Cloud plays a leading role, as a permanent feature between architecture and territory designed and built close to the industrial site of the company.

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