In a valley in northern Italy, characterized by the mountain slopes of the Alps and the meandering course of the Brembo River, the headquarters of the beverage company Sanpellegrino is located on a narrow strip of land along the riverbank. A new factory was built as part of the “Flagship Factory” construction project. It includes new buildings (Experience Lab and Piazza) as well as the partial renovation of existing buildings such as office buildings, warehouses, entrance areas, loading ramps and a three-storey parking area for trucks. A new road bridge was also built. The design was
based on the brand and translated “purity, transparency and
naturalness” in architecture. The concrete arches and large glass facades are striking structural features of all the buildings. The greatest challenge lay in the extensive use of a specially developed layered concrete, which was used both in a load-bearing and insulating capacity in the buildings, as a design element in the parking garage and as a bridge supporting structure. Thanks to the rigid foundations, the load-bearing behavior of the arch could be fully utilized in the bridge, eliminating the need for additional post-tensioning, which can be seen as a nod to Roman engineering. Due to limited space on the construction site and in order to minimize disruption to ongoing production, the decision was made to use precast concrete elements, which allowed for quick and precise assembly.
