The Casalgrande Padana factory, the first Italian manufacturer of porcelain stoneware tiles, is located in the town of Casalgrande in the province of Reggio Emilia. The company actively emphasizes its involvement in the world of modern design: a year ago, Kengo Kuma created for her a monumental art object, a 45-meter permeable wall of white tiles, called the "Casalgrande Ceramic Cloud". The wall is erected on a hill covered with white pebbles, and small reservoirs are arranged at its foot. This Zen-inspired installation is located at a traffic circle near the entrance to the Casalgrande Padana factory.
It was decided to continue cooperation with Kengo Kuma, and the architect received an order for the reconstruction of an old farm building not far from the spectacular "cloud" for the archive and information center of the company (this building is already on the territory of the plant). Also, the building is now adapted for holding exhibitions, conferences and other cultural events.
Renowned for his history-mindedness, the Japanese man has preserved historic masonry, vaulted ceilings, brick arches and exposed beams. But, in contrast, he introduced glass, metal and glossy white surfaces into the interior - frank attributes of modern architecture. The "porcelain" porcelain stoneware tiles produced by Casalgrande Padana play a key role.
Actually, the whole project is built on this clash of the traditional and the actual. The image is completed by an installation of many white tiles suspended from the ceiling (the shelves are also made of them).
A small regular garden was laid out around the building, which becomes its natural continuation. All this, according to the creators, should symbolize the delicate intervention of the industrial world in the environment.
