Bjarke Ingels Group wins competition to design S.Pellegrino Flagship Factory

Bjarke Ingels Group’s proposal for a new 17,500-sm building for the S.Pellegrino Flagship Factory has been selected by the Italian water company as the winner of its invited competition and will be moving forward with construction. MVRDV was the other finalist for the competition curated by Studio Molinari in October 2016.

Classic elements of Italian architecture and urbanism are on full display in BIG’s proposal. The main elements of the project are the arcade, the viale, the piazza, and the portico, but it is another well-known architectural element that the entire design is built around: the archway. Archways of different sizes are found throughout the entire factory campus to create differing spaces and experiences.

The seriality of the architecture reveals the surrounding mountains and the Brembo river, connecting employees and visitors with the landscape.

At the center of the campus, a giant core sample will be on display to visualize the 30-year journey the mineral water goes through in order to acquire the minerals and achieve the purity necessary to become S.Pellegrino water.

Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for 2018 and will begin with the construction of a bridge that will connect the bottling plant to Zogno and then to a parking structure for heavy vehicles. In 2019, the focus will shift to building the offices, the northern wing of the factory, and an “Experience Lab.”

The new project is expected to cost 90-million Euros (about $96 million) and generate economic, tourism, social, and employment benefits to local communities and the entire Lombardy Region.

Rendering courtesy of BIG.

Rendering courtesy of BIG.

Rendering courtesy of BIG.

Rendering courtesy of BIG.

Rendering courtesy of BIG.