HomeArchitecturePiero Lissoni designs the new Fantini HQ on Lake Orta

Piero Lissoni designs the new Fantini HQ on Lake Orta

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On the banks of Lake Orta Piero Lissoni/Lissoni Architettura has designed the delicate enlargement of Fantini headquarters, with the aim to mantain a balance between the presence of the factory and the unique surrounding nature.

The project expresses the reorganisation of the company’s production processes and logistics to incorporate lean manufacturing systems together with the R&D department that was brought inside the company; anyway, enhancement of side facing the lake formed the basis of the architectural project, an aspect of the factory and offices that had never previously been addressed. 

The offices and showroom have been placed on the lakefront, where the large glazed surfaces establish a symbiotic relationship with surroundings and a physical and visual continuity between the exterior and interior. 

In order to create an overall visual harmony and establish an architectural homogeneity between the pre-existing buildings that had been constructed at different times, the dark grey U-Glass cladding has been chosen to cover all the surface of the walls, naturally integrated with the landscape. 

A key element of the project was locating the reception in the central area with respect to the new layout in order to better manage the flows of employees and guests, in addition, from the company entrance to the reception, a long covered walkway dialogues with the water, flanking the river and proceeding onwards towards the lake, where there is also a jetty for guests and clients to reach the Casa Fantini hotel by boat. 

The industrial character of the architecture is clearly visible outside in the choice of materials: raw reinforced concrete and slabs of concrete for the walkway; the green pergola that covers the path dividing the two factory blocks has the function of integrating natural elements into the industrial architecture. 

Painted in dark grey, the distinctive nature of the pre-existing industrial buildings on the lake front has been maintained, while the luminosity of white, of the light-coloured resin and the transparency of the large glass surfaces dominate the interiors of the offices and showroom which lead to the garden that commands a wonderful view of the lake and the island of San Giulio. 

It represents a striking and very innovative example of how industrial buildings can be successfully integrated into the natural landscape. 

Photography is by Giovanni Gastel.