Recovery Art Palmanova

Recovery Art Palmanova originates from the adaptive reuse of the former Montezemolo Barracks complex, within the fortress city of Palmanova, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an extraordinary testament to the Venetian defensive system. In a setting where the entire urban structure holds exceptional historical and cultural value, the project transforms a disused military complex into a hub specialised in safeguarding artistic heritage in emergency situations.

The project falls under PNRR – Mission 1, Component 3, Investment 2.4, dedicated to seismic safety, the restoration of cultural heritage and the creation of sites for sheltering works of art damaged by natural disasters.

Alongside the protection of the built heritage, the project introduces a new function of national importance: a place where artworks can be received, secured, treated and restored, but also a system of spaces able to return part of the historic complex to the city through new cultural and community activities. The historically defensive vocation of Palmanova is thus reinterpreted in a contemporary key: a city founded to protect its own borders now becomes a place entrusted with safeguarding the nation's cultural memory.

The project is organised into three main components: the new Recovery Art building, intended as a hospital for works of art; the refurbishment of building CM1, converted into a cultural centre; and the refurbishment of building CM2, also intended as a publicly accessible storage facility for artefacts. Restoration and new construction thus operate as parts of a single system, in which highly specialised functions coexist with spaces dedicated to culture and public access.

The new Recovery Art building, covering 2,580 m², houses areas for the reception and loading/unloading of artworks, storage rooms and controlled storage, workshops for securing works, spaces for treatment, decontamination and anoxia, as well as offices, technical rooms, meeting rooms and exhibition areas. The layout of the spaces is based on a base module of 4.25 × 5 metres, coordinated with the structural bay of the façade, allowing distributive order to be combined with maximum organisational flexibility.

In the historic buildings, by contrast, the project adopts restoration as a tool for active regeneration. Seismic retrofitting and structural rehabilitation go hand in hand with the conservation of the original structure and of valuable elements, while new exhibition spaces, an auditorium, meeting areas, a guesthouse, a café and cultural services introduce functions compatible with the identity of the complex. The spaces are designed to remain as flexible and adaptable as possible, so that they can evolve over time together with cultural and community needs.

The rehabilitation of the Montezemolo complex combines the protection of the existing heritage with criteria of environmental sustainability, building-services efficiency and durability of the works. The project envisages the application of the DNSH and CAM criteria and the use of BIM as a tool to support design and the coordinated management of the project's complexity.

In the restored buildings, the flexibility of the layout is developed while respecting the efficiency of the building-services systems, whereas the refurbishment and adaptive reuse of the existing structures make it possible to combine conservation, safety and new performance in use.

On this last section, however, I would suggest going into more detail before publication: the two PDFs do not report any figures on consumption, renewable sources, envelope performance, HVAC systems or any environmental certifications. If you have a technical, CAM/DNSH or building-services report, even a very long one, I can use it to draw up a much more concrete “Energy and environmental aspects” section, in line with those of the other projects on the site.