Politecna, with studio SPIBS and studio Perillo, is engaged in the redevelopment of the historic building Ex Prisons “Le Nuove” in Turin, called to host new offices for the Justice services. The complex is now partially in disuse, while a remaining part is used as a museum. Here the evolution of a relevant architecture for the city is visible, recalling its evolution from a place of confinement to a symbolic place of the main events of the twentieth century for the city. Politecna’s intervention includes the restoration, rationalization and functional reorganization, energy efficiency and seismic improvement of three arms that will be used as offices of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Surveillance Court. The project, although in continuity with the original layout created by Giuseppe Polani in the late nineteenth century, reorganizes the flows for optimal accessibility and efficiency of the functions envisaged here. This takes place first with a clear separation between the museum itinerary and the one reserved for the new Court offices, with the addition of further itineraries reserved for staff and employees, guaranteeing confidentiality and spatial fluidity. Special skylights introduce greater visual and environmental comfort, guaranteeing the cardinal principles of the conservation project: reversibility, compatibility, and minimum intervention. Furthermore, a multidisciplinary approach has made it possible to systematize the value of the building and the best techniques to improve its public use, giving back to the community a building of high historical value.
