Gregorio Pecorelli

In may 2012, the eighteenth-century Palazzo Mari collapsed due to a strong earthquake. The project for a new piazza and a building integrating the old Palazzo’s ruins performs as a junction between the historical center and the twentieth-century urban fabric. The grafting of a collective space born from such a dramatic episode is a symbolic act for strengthening the community’s hope in the town reconstruction.

The new narrow building is characterized by a portico, a feature which is present in the entire city. It hosts a mix of apartments and offices with a permeable ground floor characterized by commercial spaces and a connection between the new piazza and the side aisle of the prospicient Church. The concept of memory has been declined through an analysis of the morpho-typological features of the site, for proposing a correct materiality and a careful rhythmic solution in the facade design.

Competition organized by Comune di Concordia sulla Secchia.
With Matteo Missaglia. Images by The Big Picture Visual
4.000 m2

the old palazzo after the 2012 earthquake

Piazza and ground floor plan of the new Palazzo Mari

elevation from Piazza Garibaldi

the plinth is occupied by commercial spaces while different apartments and offices  fill the rest of the building

the piazza during the market activities

elevation from Via della Pace

facade study and technological section

saving a ruin means layering a dramatic moment for the recent history of the town