
first image
'casillo headquarters' by alvisi kirimoto + partners, bari, italy
image © anna galante
all images courtesy of alvisi kirimoto + partners
the casillo group is one of the world's leading grain traders, involved in the 'in the acquisition, transformation and sale of durum wheat' that
eventually makes its way onto our dinner tables in the various forms of pasta. located in corato, a small town near bari in southern italy,
their new headquarters is designed by rome-based studio alvisi kirimoto + partners and is conceived as a rectangular box of varying transparencies
resting in an embedded recession in a green landscape. the inset concrete foundation contains the product control room, an industrial function
more hidden from public view yet filled with light that intrudes from the interior stair wells and around the perimeter. a road for trucks is incorporated
around the site to a discrete loading area under a thin long span roof plane supported by transverse metal beams.
the first level contains a large conference hall wrapped in a glass wall slightly protruding from the mass, with bright orange perforated panels allowing
views to the exterior while shading direct sunlight. white solid panels provide certain levels of privacy and control solar gain, with individual panels
that open like hopper windows to naturally ventilate the interior spaces. the third storey contains smaller offices and meeting rooms that communicate
to two symmetrically placed vertical circulation cores visually connecting both levels. a central courtyard penetrates the center through all the floors
and provides the proper amount of lighting for the internal spaces, as well as a visual break to an exterior space.

glass conference hall elevated over an exterior courtyard
image © anna galante

entrance to the conference room
image © anna galante

courtyard with hopper panels that allow ventilation
image © anna galante

approach
image © anna galante

site plan

floor plan / level 1

section
project info:
client: molino casillo s.p.A.
design team: massimo alvisi, junko kirimoto, alessandra spiezia, arabella rocca
collaborators: leonardo lorusso, enrico pisani, sara averardi
structural engineering: giovanni loiudice
mechanical / electrical engineering: mario semproni
built area: 6 700 m2
total area: 3,500 m2
year: 2012
budget: $ 6,500,000