BERGAMO BRESCIA CULTURAL CAPITAL, 2023.
THE MAYOR OF BERGAMO GIORGIO GORI: “ART AND CULTURE AT THE HEART OF A PROJECT FOR THE CITY.”
GRES ART -the redevelopment of one of the most significant buildings in the former Gres complex — announces what this place will become at the end of the regeneration process of the San Bernardino area and is an important piece of the “Bergamo Brescia Cultural Capital 2023” program.
The project was presented yesterday by Carlo Pesenti, CEO of Italmobiliare and President of Fondazione Pesenti, and architect Mauro Piantelli (De8_Architetti) during a meeting attended by Bergamo’s mayor Giorgio Gori, Urban Redevelopment Councillor Francesco Valesini, and Culture Councillor Nadia Ghisalberti.
“Less than three years ago,” Carlo Pesenti recalled, “we presented the idea of regenerating a post-industrial area through an innovative urban development model benefiting the city, based on three premises: architectural quality of the intervention; the social purposes of much of the planned uses; and the economic balance of the initiatives to be realized. Together with the administration, important steps have been taken that allowed us to develop a comprehensive Master Plan, conduct necessary environmental investigations over the entire area, complete structural verifications, and identify the first buildings for enhancement. ‘Bergamo Brescia Cultural Capital 2023’ seemed an extraordinary opportunity to complete the first project based on the shared premises of the entire initiative. ”.
In the northern part of the former Gres area, there is a historic structure that served offices and warehouses, composed of two multi-level blocks with exposed brick facades and regular openings, adjacent to two warehouses with vaulted concrete roofs of historical and artistic value These latter buildings have been chosen to become a space for contemporary art.
“It is not common to have the opportunity to valorize such generous buildings, with high ceilings and extremely fascinating light-shadow relationships,” explained architect Mauro Piantelli, who with De8_Architetti followed the Master Plan development for the entire former Gres area and the recovery project of the building that will house GRES ART “The decision to preserve these memories, testimonies of a high-growth economy such as the 1960s, implies careful evaluation of the new functions to be installed: aware that the only effective conservation strategy is reuse, we followed the architecture: it is the quality of the space of each building that influenced the new functional program. It therefore seemed natural to think of creating a place for contemporary art as the first intervention. Art, and culture, are the starting point of the regeneration process. And culture as care is a central theme for ‘Bergamo Brescia Cultural Capital 2023’.”
As required by regional regulations on urban regeneration areas, the “temporary” use of this first building will be addressed through a direct and agreed building permit and will allow GRES ART to host cultural events and exhibitions related to Bergamo Brescia as the Italian Cultural Capital 2023. The first exhibition that GRES ART will host, currently being designed, aims to highlight the innovative role of art and its ability to act as an almost “epochal” tool of confrontation, but above all dialogue. The exhibition will not occupy the entire year of the event, thus allowing space for other events to be defined in collaboration with Bergamo’s municipal administration.
“The GRES ART project is consistent with the overall ambition to create a ‘social impact’ settlement, which I hope will become an additional attraction hub especially for young people living in or near this area. Talking about Cultural Capital 2023, I like to recall that Fondazione Pesenti has always had shared projects with the University of Bergamo and more recently has also started a collaboration with the University of Brescia,” concluded Carlo Pesenti. “ Enhancing, recovering, and returning to the community a space of such significance is, I believe, an important first step in the project of making Gres Hub reborn in terms of economic sustainability and positive social value.”
The project’s attention to the city’s social needs and its alignment with key themes of Bergamo Brescia Cultural Capital were also recalled by Bergamo’s Mayor Giorgio Gori. “ “The Bergamo and Brescia Cultural Capital project comes from the idea that culture can be the right key to relaunch this territory after the Covid-19 crisis. We thought of 2023 as an opportunity to design pieces of the territory’s future, putting innovation at the center: GRES ART goes exactly in this direction, shaping up as an initiative that physically impacts our city, with the redevelopment of a long-abandoned area, strengthening that crucial and ever-needed public-private partnership to build the city’s post-pandemic rebirth.”
The architectural project of Gres Art and the entire former Gres area is combined with the development of a Master Plan that foresees functional programs aimed at youth, development, and city well-being, trying to make the surrounding conditions as coherent as possible, and a detailed business plan aimed at attracting sector investors but above all at realizing initiatives capable of growing socially and economically. The urban regeneration of the former Gres area covers approximately 62,000 m² and involves a total gross floor area of just over 24,000 m².
Italmobiliare appointed Arcadis Italia, led by City Executive Carlo Masseroli, as developer manager of the project. Arcadis is a leading consultancy involved in nationally significant regeneration projects in recent years.
Within the Italmobiliare Group, there has long been growing attention—particularly through Fondazione Pesenti—towards Impact Investing projects, aiming to realize investments that combine economic sustainability and positive social impact, developing models that promote the well-being of the entire community with a balanced distribution of value among all stakeholders.
INSIGHTS
Press Review bergamo.corriere.it | Corriere della Sera BG 19 01 2022 | L Eco di BG 19 01 2022
Avvenire 21-01-2022 | exibart.com 20-01-2022
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VIDEO
GRESart.m4v from DE8 architetti on Vimeo.