PwC Workspace
The consulting firm PWC has found a new prestigious home in Bologna, within the historical city center, at 12 via Farini. The existing building was designed by Attilio Muggia, one of the most important figures of Bolognese eclecticism and a great innovator of his times.
The refurbishment project immediately reveals an ambitious feat: a historical building, palimpsest of past stratifications and uses that must fulfill the needs of a contemporary workspace. The architectural elements from Muggia are recalled with the proposal of partitions and closures that interpret the designs of the former Bank of Naples.
At the same time, the interior design combines two complementary aspects: on the one hand, the needs of a contemporary workspace that is attentive to sustainability, the well-being of the occupants and the flexibility of the spaces; while on the other hand, a minimal design that recalls the 30’s and aligns with the rich architectural language of the historically constrained building. The building will house several workspace typologies: offices, informal areas, break areas, meeting rooms and conference spaces.
The core of the interior design project is at the ground level where the covered courtyard is transformed into a piazza, a place to invite clients and host social-cultural events that can once again incorporate the building within the urban city fabric. Even the most technical elements become part of the dialogue with the existing: acoustic panels, inserted to ensure comfort, are transformed into suspended paintings, hanging from the bays of the courtyard. The artist Jacopo Ceccarelli signs a site-specific artwork that is printed on the surface of these panels.
One of the most interesting aspects of the project is undoubtedly the WELL V2 certification, which measures indoor environmental well-being according to a series of different parameters (air, acoustics, lighting, architectural and intervention value, biophilic design, etc.). Synergistic work with PwC is the key requirement for achieving this goal, as it involves not only the designers but also the client, particularly in aspects related to space management and corporate policies.
Making sustainable the intervention in a building of such architectural value, enhancing its features while ensuring its functionality as a contemporary office, shows that intervening on a historic building is an opportunity and not an obstacle: with design, performance suitable for new workspaces can be achieved with the added value of inherent historical traces.