Stefano Boeri Architetti presents at Milano Design Week 2011 the preview of Casa .italo project, the new services centre for Italian stations which will host travellers of the new high speed railway service by NTV – Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (New Transport for Travellers).
The project, which won a competition launched in early 2009 by the NTV transport company, originated from a concept created by the Milan architecture studios Stefano Boeri Architetti and dotdotdot. It is based on the idea of a new type of services centre designed to help travellers, in the form of a fluid, high-technology space. The development of the various project phases involved the work of 46xy (communications and graphic design), salottobuono (architectural design), Ferrari & Brocajoli SRL (plant design), and Andrej Mikuz Architetto (technical feasibility and calculations). The phase in which individual components were engineered was developed with Cassina Contract.
From the end of this year, once implementation has been completed, the activation of the entire system of Casa .italo spaces will begin in stations in ten Italian cities (Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Venice, Mestre, Turin, Salerno and Padua).
THE COMPETITION / From concept to project
(January-June 2009)
Travelling and the speeds of travel have changed radically. Today, rail travel means undergoing a fluid experience in space and time, in a continuous process from departure to arrival that includes decisions, movement, periods of waiting, and the journey time itself.
The Casa .italo project is the tangible result of this concept. The physical space is actually constituted of the overall image, the services offered, and the underlying principles. The idea is that all the surfaces visible to travellers in transit are physically transformed into an interactive and communicative interface that defines the interiors within stations.
Casa .italo is an open and extremely permeable concept. By means of its interactive characteristics, it is a location at which the duration of travellers’ stay there is up to travellers themselves and their individual requirements. There is a direct relationship between duration of use and the personalized spaces and services dedicated to travellers.
To meet travellers’ requirements in terms of speed, with a minimum time actually spent in the station, Casa .italo has an interactive exterior space, which enables tickets to be purchased, and displays train arrival and departure times without having to enter the hall itself. Large LCD monitors and ticket vending machines are included in this face of the structure, and, along with the red .Italo train profile, a large clock, and a LED strip display, they enable travellers to recognize Casa .italo inside the station.
For travellers who need help, or a location at which to spend some time waiting for a train, Casa .italo provides services and waiting areas inside. The space is enclosed by a multi-function, high-technology wall which continues the flow of information supplied on the outside wall, offering further services to travellers: ticket issue, information on train arrival and departure, interfaces for internet use, the distribution of magazines and leaflets, fold-down seats, and litter bins. The perimeter of Casa .italo includes, built into the thickness of the wall, the technological systems for the various service units available. Proximity sensors detect the presence of people and change the function of touch screen monitors, transforming simple information panels into automatic ticket machines and vice-versa, in a dynamic environment that is capable of changing according to traveller requirements..
The components that form the uniform, straight-wall perimeter of Casa .italo are part of an “alphabet” of modular units which can be used to create spaces with the maximum flexibility, allowing for future enlargement. Towards the top of each unit there is the LED strip display that continues from the exterior face inside, creating an element of visual continuity between exterior and interior. The furnishing elements that complete the definition of the Casa .italo interiors are designed in the form of circular islands, around which people can circulate freely: the info desk (providing information for travellers), relaxation armchairs (seating units for personal use, or for use by groups of people), and wifi tables (for online use, and for supplying electricity for personal electronic equipment).
Credits
luogo: Milano, Bologna, Firenze, Roma, Napoli, Venezia, Mestre, Torino, Salerno, Padova
incarico: concept, progettazione definitiva, progettazione esecutiva
anno: 2009 −2013
committente: NTV – Nuovo trasporto viaggiatori
produttore: Cassina Contract
superficie costruita: 1600 mq
importo: confidenziale
Stefano Boeri Architetti / Concept and architectural design
team:
Davide Rapp (project leader)
Marco Brega (coordinator)
with:
Kristina Drapic
Chiara Quinzi
assistants
Stefano Baseggio
John Valencia
Maddalena Maraffi
dotdotdot / Concept and interaction design
Consultants
46xy / Graphic design
Salottobuono / Architectural design
Andrej Mikuz Architetto /Technical feasibility and calculation