"Restituire". Strategie di valorizzazione per una nuova identità delle Officine Reggiane

Is it possible to transform former abandoned and dismissed industrial areas into a growth opportunity for cities? This paper combines the architectural intervention with the economic feasibility strategy to return Officine Reggiane, not only to the city of Reggio Emilia, but also to the whole surroundings. This is about an area at the centre of the citizen debate, especially after the beginning recovery of the Knowledge, Innovation and Creativity Park taken by the Public Administration. What are the Officine Reggiane today? A place in transformation that combines memories, abandonment and innovation. The study explores, therefore, the potential of the territory and it proposes a regeneration strategy of the Officine Reggiane to increase the urban quality of that site and to generate impacts and plus-values defining a new identity. This recovery action has also another reading through case history which involves public-private partnership also to build financial intervention. An alternative scenario compared to the one developed by the Municipality was envisaged, which allowed the testing of economic-financial instruments and management models also through the definition of a business plan. The explorations outlined a construction site timeline and deepened the initial phases concerning two of the disused buildings, which are in direct dialogue with the nearby Park. The design evaluations were strongly influenced by the knowledge of the place with the aim of combining historical memory, ongoing process and innovation.