Luxottica Digital Factory

Park Associati’s retrofitting intervention lends a new identity to the Via Tortona factory, turning it into the Digital Factory for Luxottica. The project combines materials technological innovation, research into cutting-edge architectural solutions, attention to the place’s peculiar elements and respect for the district’s social fabric. The archetypal elements of the industrial space are enhanced: the shed-style roof, the wide spaces, and the even-spaced reinforced concrete grid are turned into the design’s pivotal points. The external envelope is the result of a technological and structural research, that lends the building the greatest transparency. The project finds its highest expression in the urban frontage: the building opens up to the city through large full-height windows alternating with slender bronze-tinted metal pilasters, following the regularity of the sheds. Transparency is reflected onto the internal spaces that are completely reinterpreted to accommodate the new functions: the showroom and the exhibition areas find their space on the ground floor, while the Digital Lab, a high-tech innovation centre, is located on the first floor. The intervention, that follows a LEED quality and sustainability protocol, helps revitalize an area of the city that from suburban environment has been turned into a vital area, which is thus returned to the urban and social fabric.