Dallara Complex by Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia

Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia, Dallara complex for exhibitions and education, Varano de’ Melegari (Parma), exterior rendering. Courtesy of Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia

Dallara Complex for exhibitions and education by Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia

Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia designed a new complex for exhibitions and education for the 40-year-old Italian race and sports car manufacturer Dallara.
The center, scheduled for completion in 2018, is intended to showcase the automobiles made by the company as well as to host learning programs aimed at transmitting its know-how to future generations.
Located in the province of Parma, surrounded by a beautiful scenery marked by the low rolling hills of the Ceno river valley, the building has been designed with a view to rejuvenate the urban context and with special attention to the relationship between architecture and landscape.

Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia, Dallara complex for exhibitions and education, Varano de’ Melegari (Parma), exterior rendering. Courtesy of Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia

The functional program of the Dallara complex consists of three main parts each correlated to a theme and a group of functions; the first, called TEACH, will feature educational workshops and exhibition services; the second, dubbed LEARN, will accommodate Postgraduate Master courses on technology; the third, called LIVE, is where automobile-themed exhibitions will take place.

Overall, the building concept is inspired by the metaphor of a mechanical device whose various parts have a well-defined form corresponding to a specific function.
Therefore, Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia designed the thematic areas as distinct architectural elements: a wedge-shaped volume that accommodates educational spaces, a lobby, and administrative offices; a ramp-shaped part, whose semi-circular form is inspired by that of a race track curve, containing the exhibition galleries; three truncated-cone-shaped spaces, which evoke the cylinders of an engine, housing the building circulation and the master’s classrooms; and finally a box containing an auditorium, laboratories and workshops.

Fully accessible, the Dallara complex is raised over the ground in order to create a ground-floor social space opening onto the landscape.
Ideally, the building sits at the apex of a visual cone that encompasses the greens and the Dallara headquarters nearby, and the meandering river in the distance.

The Dallara complex was awarded the prize for the best building under construction at the 2017 ABB Leaf Awards in London.

New “Dallara” complex for exhibitions and education
Location: Varano de’ Melegari (Parma)
Client: Gruppo Dallara
Architectural and landscape design: Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia (formerly 5+1AA)
Architects: Alfonso Femia, Simonetta Cenci
Structural design: Redesco Progetti Srl
HVAC design: FOR Engineering Architecture
Contractor: Mario Neri Spa
Project coordinator: Simonetta Cenci
Project manager: Marco Corazza
Design team: Alfonso Femia, Gianluca Peluffo, Simonetta Cenci, Marco Corazza, Vera Messana, Gaia D’Abrosca, Andrea Lucchi

Views of the Dallara complex under construction. Photos Stefano Anzini. Courtesy of Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia.

Interior renderings of the Dallara complex for exhibitions and education.
Courtesy of Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia.