The Project
Politecnica performed the construction design of the civil, structural and installations (MEP) works of FICO, Fabbrica Italiana Contadina Eataly World, the world’s largest agri-food park dedicated to biodiversity and the art of transforming made in Italy products.
The design activities include the final design review, the civil, structural and MEP works construction design and the technical assessment in terms of the urban planning. In addition to coordinating all the construction design phases, we also implemented the client’s layouts, verifying the feasibility of the works under the regulatory, technical, logistical and organisational respect.
Politecnica started being involved in the development of FICO Eataly World long ago. The agri-food park was in fact developed by converting the facilities of CAAB, the Bologna Agri-food Centre, a complex covering over 100,000 square metres designed by Politecnica in the 1990s, into a versatile and modular structure.
The structure of FICO consists of 2 hectares of fields and stables in the open air, 8 hectares for 40 food factories, over 45 eating points, 90,000 square meters of shops and marketplace, a modular congress center (from 50 to 1,000 people) and 6 classrooms.
Photo credit: C.M.B. © Paolo Lorenzi
In order to approach the complexity of the intervention and to effectively coordinate with the large number of operators involved along the design and implementation chain, we developed the project on BIM platform.
The use of BIM technology made it possible to reduce the number of models per object, to integrate the disciplines through the federation of models and to ensure the correct transmission of design data from one discipline to another quickly and effectively.
The BIM model, intended as an information container, was then used at the park’s construction stage, to integrate the information of the materials and equipment installed.
In terms of sustainability, FICO Eataly World systems project achieves high energy and environmental standards, thanks to the introduction of magnetic levitation refrigeration units with very high partial load efficiency, the connection to the existing district heating system and the use of electricity produced by the photovoltaic system installed on the roof.
The systems design is completed by LED lighting and an advanced control system, which optimizes energy consumption according to actual requirements.