vision
— The Barilla Pavilion is envisaged as an integral new element of the Pedrignano complex, a building capable of hosting a varied and constantly-evolving programme, a laboratory of ideas that should provide a positive reference point, representing the cutting edge of innovation.
a challenge
for the future
The main goal is to provide a space for genuine experimentation that will encourage discussion and debate
concerning the future of food, our landscapes and the communities that live in them, through a programme of
educational and cultural initiatives encompassing art, research and any other form of activity capable of
fostering active participation, curiosity, discovery and exchange.
Barilla wants to take a decisive step in appealing to, engaging and bringing visitors closer to what is the
symbolic heart of its production operations,
not simply as a means of communication, but above all as a way
of reaffirming the company’s role as an active and engaged member of the community in which it was founded.
the pavilion
We have decided to call the new centre a ‘pavilion’ - a type of structure that, historically, might suggest impermanency, reduced dimensions - a prototype or pilot perhaps, or a ‘satellite’ of a larger construction. The decision to employ this term, however, is not just a question of size or type, but is also indicative of a working method or approach.
—
the pavilion has become synonymous with a kind of construction that is experimental, at times exceptional
design choices
The aspect we wish to underline through this choice of term is the sense in which the pavilion has become, by virtue of its characteristics, synonymous with a kind of construction that is experimental - in which innovative design choices can give rise to unique and unusual forms - an enquiry into the possibilities of architecture at its freest and most instinctive.
study of detail
We envisage the new building as a powerful and strongly expressive structure, employing the means offered by architecture to encapsulate a “trinity” of core concepts of fundamental importance to Barilla, namely technique, style and form.
pursuing
the good
construction
The company regards quality as a union of these three concepts, to be achieved through sound construction, careful attention to design, radical sustainability and meticulously planned architectural details. Just as the newly-built plant at Pedrignano in the 1970s boldly embodied another modern aesthetic, the new structure is envisaged as the result of a vigorous experimental research effort, in which form and space articulate a challenge for the future. For this reason, the new Pavilion will be situated in a strategic area at the entrance to the site.
—
The City
Of Pasta
Loreno Confortini, The City of Pasta, December 2017
dialogue between
barilla,the world,
the future
We imagine the Barilla Pavilion as a space bringing together the company and the public: a point of departure for visits to the site, capable of providing an effective setting for the delivery of the complex story of Barilla to visitors. As a one-of-its-kind construction, the new centre will transform the way the Barilla headquarters are used and experienced, providing a quality architectural experience and attracting visitors through the programme of events it will host. We do not see the pavilion as a promotional space, but rather as a house, facilitating a unique and active dialogue between Barilla, the outside world and the future.
inspire
and cultivate
growth
A further factor of crucial importance for the project will be the ability of the Barilla Pavilion to communicate inwardly with the company itself. The pavilion should thus also be interpreted as a centre of experimental activities, capable of inspiring and fostering internal growth and development and generating insights for reflection through spaces for public debate and the exhibition of projects and initiatives in which a spotlight can be shone on forward-looking research and analysis charting out alternative paths of development for the company.
the place
of experience
and beauty
The new space should thus be imagined as an experience-focused venue that possesses public appeal, but that equally has an educational component, and whose architectural flexibility enables it to respond to these specific and complex requirements through clear and precise formal characteristics in term s of its articulation of masses, volume and building elements. The primary goal of the structure should be to place beauty at its centre - in the sense of aesthetic beauty, but also of social, moral, and technological beauty - a beauty imbued with the ambition, enthusiasm and drive we will need to tackle the challenges and profound changes the coming decades promise to bring.