Antonio Ravalli – Re-functionalization of Cervia Darsena Salt Warehouse

PROJECT: Antonio Ravalli – Re-functionalization of Cervia Darsena Salt Warehouse

LOCATION: Cervia

YEAR: 2019

ARCHITECT / FIRM: Antonio Ravalli Architetti

BUYER: Municipality of Cervia

SURFACE: 1.800 sqm

PRICE: € 5.000.000

DESCRIPTION:
The historical reading of the Magazzino del Sale Darsena cannot be separated from a general classification of the inhabited nucleus of Cervia, its location on the territory and its transformation from the urban and economic point of view, in relation to the main source of wealth: salt. At the beginning of the 18th century, following the foundation of the new Cervia, the need arose to expand the storage capacity of the salt, in addition to the limit of 130,000 quintals provided by the Torre warehouse. In 1711-12 the Magazzino Darsena was built on the right side of the canal port at the behest of the new Treasurer Matteo Conti; the new warehouse could hold up to 100,000 quintals of salt, occupying a space of 66 by 26 meters, with a structure and a morphology almost identical to the twin Warehouse on the other side of the canal. The first reliable testimony of what is described is provided by a "General plan of the new City of Cervia manufactured again by the Rev. Camera Ap.ca located at the shore of the Adriatic Sea according to the state present on 15 November 1711". The layout clearly shows the position and consistency of the Darsena salt warehouse. An engraving preserved in the National Library of France dated 1771 confirms the planimetric consistency of the Darsena Warehouse, consisting of a simple rectangle. After a little over a century after its foundation, the Darsena warehouse is still substantially unchanged compared to the original consistency: the land register of 1835 preserved in the State Archives of Ravenna, which reproduces and updates the Gregorian Cadastre of 1815 preserved in the State Archive of Rome, does not highlight significant changes to the planimetric plant and the surrounding areas. The only important note is represented by the formation, along the south side of the canal port, of the village of the Sailors. At the beginning of the 1900s, the changing needs of the salt processing and packaging cycle led to the first and significant changes to the warehouses: over time, the need had already arisen to put the two buildings in direct communication. For this reason, a masonry bridge was built with wooden bulkheads on the canal port. Until this time all the sorting of the goods was done manually: the salt collected from spring until mid-September was loaded onto characteristic flat-bottomed boats called burchielle and, through the Porto Canale, was transported to the warehouses, where it could be stored. The unskilled workers (called sactàr) unloaded the boats through the use of sacks and piled them for a first cleaning, which was followed by storage inside the two buildings. The salt was then packaged and loaded onto the ships that were waiting offshore. With the advent of industrialization and the mechanization of production processes, it became increasingly essential to connect the two warehouses.

TOTAL REPLACEMENT / DISCONTINUITY: The new functional program has completely replaced the original one.

DESCRIPTION:
During the war the buildings were not spared by bombing, but only the masonry bridge that connected them was destroyed. In the 1950s, economic activity linked to salt progressively declined due to the decrease in demand and the evolution of the raw material collection method. The complete closure of the warehouses by the monopoly took place in 1959. From this moment on, the Darsena warehouse fell into a long period of abandonment that lasted twenty years. With the acquisition of the building by the Municipality in the early 1980s, consolidation and recovery work began to revitalize an important part of the city of Cervia. The Magazzino del Sale Darsena is in fact a significant example of industrial archeology, a spokesman for a deep historical and testimonial value linked to the tradition of salt and its processing. For this reason, in addition to consolidating the foundations to ensure stability, a recovery project was devised to transform it into a naval museum, together with the nearby dock. The project conceived by Giancarlo De Carlo and partially realized in the following years, gave way to an interpretative restoration capable of enhancing the state of affairs and the spatiality of the existing building, adding architectural value to an asset already bound by its own historical importance . The result, although incomplete, represents a unicum and as such must also be respected in the future refunctionalization intervention. De Carlo's project was based on these main points: - extension of the Darsena with a new basin that crossed the building in two bays and stretched to Piazzale dei Salinari (this part of the pool was never built); - creation of a multi-level internal distribution system independent of the warehouse volume: the new concrete stairs and metal floors are articulated without touching the perimeter walls and cross the entire warehouse in a longitudinal manner. The header tower with elevator allows access to disabled people at all levels; - the toilets and technical rooms are collected in the small head rooms on the canal port to leave the warehouse space completely free; - the porphyry flooring of the ground floor was built in continuity with the pavement of the outdoor spaces, replacing the original herringbone pavement probably damaged by the long years of salt aggression and wear; - the technical room for the thermal power plant was built by burying a volume in the adjacent square (the volume, which still exists, was damaged by a flood in relatively recent times); - on the west elevation a polygonal entrance was built as a re-proposal of the barycentric volume no longer in existence; - the external part was made of wood, metal part; - the intervention was preceded by structural consolidation works that particularly involved the foundations and some brick walls; - it was envisaged to realize the roof by recovering the wooden structure and protecting it with “Tuscan” Eternit slabs, completing the work already begun by the Superintendency in the first half of the 1980s on the first two bays to the north, made necessary to guarantee the conservation of the building partially damaged. The progressive worsening of the state of coverage with respect to the construction times (1991) also required the realization of coverage with funds and separate contracts, as described by De Carlo within a variation appraisal addressed to the Municipality. The project was only partially implemented in the early 1990s and abandoned due to lack of funds and changed economic and political needs. This abandonment has also led over time to a progressive degradation of what has already been achieved, in particular to the detriment of metal structures. The lack of maintenance and protection of the materials favored the corrosion of the metal of the pillars and the deterioration of portions of the floor.

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The investor is the property owner.

DESCRIPTION:
Regional Grant Financing: Through the European Fund for Regional Development, 2,850,000 (on a project worth a total of 4.8 million) were obtained for the overall redevelopment of the Darsena Salt Warehouse.

- SURFACE present NO VARIATION,

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The overall dimensions are equal to the pre-existing surface.

- VOLUME present NO VARIATION,

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The overall dimensions are equal to the pre-existing volume.

DESCRIPTION:
The transformation of the Magazzino del Sale into a multi-purpose center makes it a complex urban device capable of serving both residents and visitors by offering a differentiated system of activities. A series of architectural interventions combine the need to conserve the consolidated image of the Warehouse with the interventions necessary for the functionalization of the spaces: - The stratification between old and new, or the intention to explicitly declare new interventions and technical elements with respect to the existing one. - The insertion of new functional elements in the new program according to a logic of minimal impact. - The adaptation of the existing spaces in respect of the original spatial qualities of the building as well as of the De Carlo project. The most representative spaces will be totally for public use: the internal basin, reflecting the value of the water infrastructure in the "salt system", will be maintained by implementing a downsizing and replacing the seawater with a freshwater tank equipped with of filtering. The construction of a new structural glass decking will allow the water basin to be crossed, making it a "place to stay" and suitable for hosting cultural events and activities.

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: There are no new spaces.

DESCRIPTION:
On the ground floor a system of fixed furniture made of metal allows to contain and mask the plant parts such as fan coils and electrical panels, the furniture therefore becomes an integral part of the intervention declaring itself as a new element but following those principles of minimum impact, this lastly it is configured as a continuous "boiserie" that runs along the perimeter of the building so as not to alter the central space. The entire ground floor therefore becomes suitable for hosting the new program relating to the insertion of catering spaces, to optimize the internal comfort of the building an acoustic ceiling is created through the insertion of a sound-absorbing mat to reduce noise. In order to minimize the impact of the intervention, the facades remain almost unchanged, the internal and external doors and windows are replaced with their recovery where possible. The new fixtures will therefore have a minimal impact on the new facades and will be made of thermal break aluminum, all the ground floor openings act as escape routes and will be equipped with a panic exit device. The new wooden doors will be built to faithfully reproduce the existing recovered doors. The lantern will have windows in general aluminum descriptive Report composed of fixed frames and doors with hinged-door opening in order to ensure easy access to the cover for maintenance.

PREVALENT CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The supporting structure is mainly the original one.

DESCRIPTION:
The objective of the project was to complete what was left incomplete, responding to the new requirements and plant, structural and functional requirements imposed by current legislation. To punctually recognize the shortcomings, the critical points and the present problems giving minimal answers, aimed to hide to a first glance of the users, leaving unchanged the great aulic volume of the warehouse in brick and wood with the free twentieth century plates in cement and metal inserted to their own indoor. On the ground floor the paving will be realized by a jet in c.a. polished to quartz to replace the existing floor pack, while on the upper floors a fine porcelain stoneware tile floor with a large-format metal effect will be laid. The location of the ramps responds to the principles of feasibility, functionality and consistency with respect to the current conditions of the building, the external ramps are located on the east and west sides. The main structural works are: - Recovery and structural consolidation of existing elements (masonry, pillars, floors, stairs and roofing) to make them compliant with current legislation and new intended uses; - Construction of a new staircase and an autonomous elevator shaft to ensure that all levels are reached according to the new functional areas provided; - Reduction of the sea water basin and its replacement with a fresh water tank with filtering; - Creation of a new glass decking that crosses the water basin; - Completion of punctual portions of floors (in glass or in corrugated sheet with collaborative casting) according to the new distribution requirements; - Partial reconstruction of floors in the south-facing body of the building to make them accessible through the existing lift inside the tower; - Adjustment of parapets to make them comply with the regulations.

PREVALENT CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The materials chosen for the new intervention show more similarities than differences compared to the pre-existing ones.

DESCRIPTION:
The development of the executive project was preceded by an analysis of the state of affairs to deepen the dimensional and material consistency of what exists; an accurate survey and analysis of the building envelope and of what was carried out in the previous interventions has allowed us to have a precise knowledge of the building in order to develop ad hoc design solutions that take into account what has already been achieved and the opportunities present for the camouflage of future interventions. In particular, the currently set up plant network and the possibility of recovering these to minimize the design intervention have been studied in depth. Material surveys were requested and conducted to deepen the knowledge of the entire building and to better respond to the adjustment imposed by the regulatory and functional requirements. As far as vertical distribution is concerned, the entire system of Giancarlo De Carlo's project is maintained, suitably consolidated and with the adaptation of the parapets to make them comply with the regulations in force, specifically a black expanded metal will be fixed on the internal side. The existing lifts are integrated while the new elements follow a careful insertion criterion, the new stairwell and the autonomous elevator shaft are placed in the north side of the building and in correspondence of the spa area so as to guarantee the achievement of all the levels related to the functional areas envisaged by the program. Their location exploits the existing spaces and does not compromise the structures, reducing the structural works to a minimum. The existing adaptation strategy responds to the desire to maintain the original score of the spaces. The attitude of minimal impact, concentrating the demolitions where strictly necessary, means that the intervention only envisages the completion of punctual portions of glass or fretted sheet floors with a casting joint depending on the new distribution requirements. The only exception is the partial reconstruction of floors in the south-facing body of the building in order to make them entirely reachable and accessible through the existing lift inside the tower. On the ground floor a system of fixed furniture made of metal allows to contain and mask the plant parts such as fan coils and electrical panels, the furniture therefore becomes an integral part of the intervention declaring itself as a new element but following those principles of minimum impact, this lastly it is configured as a continuous "boiserie" that runs along the perimeter of the building so as not to alter the central space. The entire ground floor therefore becomes suitable for hosting the new program relating to the insertion of catering spaces, to optimize the internal comfort of the building an acoustic ceiling is created through the insertion of a sound-absorbing mat to reduce noise.

PREVALENT CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The new intervention favors a relationship of continuity with the existing structures.

DESCRIPTION:
The same attention placed on the recovery of the building internally is also adopted externally: the overall image of the building must remain unchanged because it is a fundamental part of the historically consolidated urban scenario. The presence of the Magazzino Darsena and the relations with the surrounding warehouses is a fundamental part of both the image and the imagery of Cervia. For this reason the recovery of existing materials, the redevelopment of the elements of the building envelope and the arrangement of facades and roofing will be aimed at preserving the material and volumetric structure that has reached us.