Located near Florence’s historic railway station, designed in 1973 by architect Pierluigi Spadolini, Palazzo degli Affari occupies an area exceeding 5,000 square metres. Divided into five floors, which underwent a complete redevelopment, transforming the Palace into a modern conference centre and exhibition space, designed according to the most advanced technological standards.
The project involved the renovation of the building’s aesthetics and functionality, combining high technology, innovation, functional and spatial optimisation, the aim was to significantly implement the perceived level of quality, comfort and maximum orientation, while respecting the best ratio between the benefits and the overall costs of construction, maintenance and management.
The project prioritized the use of renewable resources to ensure high standards of maintenance, durability, compatibility of materials and components and the replaceability of elements.
The qualifying solution, elaborated in agreement with the client and the Superintendency, introduced several innovative and upgrading actions. On the ground floor, a new space was be recovered, enlarged with respect to the current building, in order to establish internal connections that from a logistical, managerial and functional point of view make it more efficient with respect to new and future needs. The new interventions, respecting the existing architecture, were well balanced and directly related with all the adjacent pre-existing buildings, such as the prestigious Villa Vittoria del Poggi.
The intervention was contributed to enhancing the overall value of an area of the city affected by numerous works in progress that tend to strengthen and concentrate most of Florence’s conference and exhibition facilities in the Fortezza and surrounding areas.
In addition to the interventions listed above, the Palazzo degli Affari renovation project included a series of further operations in various areas, from the architectural and composition scale to the systems and structural scale, through an important theme linked to the restoration and rehabilitation of the external facades.
The reorganisation of the interior spaces included the introduction of flexible walls with the scope of making spaces more flexible and more usable for different functions. With the use of these flexible structures, it was possible to create 15 congress rooms on different floors. Renovation works were also done on the sanitary facilities, the optimisation of technical spaces and distribution routes, and the complete restyling and technological adaptation of the rooms.
To complete the functions on the ground floor, a new corridor has been created on the back side of the building, to maximize the functionality and aesthetic features of the structure, considerably improving the use of the spaces, also thanks to the construction of a wide staircase connecting the underground floor and the first floor.