Climate Information centre, Monte Argentario
2019

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Semester 7

Prof. Gerhard Bosch

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The goal of this project is the creation of a climate information centre on an expansive site. Two old mine towers located on a ridge within the site should be included in the planning. When analyzing the environment the former open pit quarry attracted my attention as it represents a “wound” in the natural environment. Contrasting this destructive past, the site is now also home to a nature conservation and bird preservation lagoon. Therefore, the project is located in this area. However, no building can compete with the complex history of the site, so the information centre is placed at the edge, in an hypthetical existing cave. In order to include the old mine towers into the complex, they are restored and integrated as stations along the “Pilgrimage Route“ on the ridge of the hill. The underground complex also includes a series of stations that are accessed via a long tunnel from the coastal road at the entrance of the old mine.

After entering the cave, the visitor enters an expansive hall in which a helix ramp winds upwards. Attached to the helix ramp are the various predetermined programs including: a conference hall, seminar rooms, administration and exhibition rooms. The ramp ensures the path of travel as the visitor walks through every space as he ascends. Each room has a vestibule that opens towards the cave and offers seating. The steel structure is clad with local wood on the interior and the exterior is clad with recycled metal plates from old ships. This is an analogy to the Costa Concordia disaster near this site.

The choice of materials deliberately creates a contrast between warm interior and cold exterior spaces. Simultaneously, visitors can appreciate the application of recycled materials and the character that can result from using rough and recycled materials. The rooms or boxes protrude out of the rock into the hall and support the helix ramp with a series of suspended steel cables. The cave is mainly illuminated by artificial lighting along the ramp. The artificial light is accompanied by pockets of natural light that come from openings in the rock that allow for a view of the quarry and the lagoon of Orbetello. Once at the top, the circulation directs visitors into a tunnel that leads up the ridge to the mine towers. Inside these towers there are various special exhibitions. Close to the surface, the tunnel begins to rupture creating a precise crack in the landscape, based on the Etruscan ravines. Thus the visitor experiences a procession from light to darkness to light. The circulation comes to a dead end, so the visitors must return the way they came through the building complex and its exhibitions reiterating to the visitors the dire consequences of the approaching climate crisis.