Brescia’s Randaccio Barracks complex stands out as an evidence of a fragmented history, dense with changes that have been projected over time even in the architectural transformations of the complex. Politecna Europa’s intervention along with SAB srl involves the restoration of the historic plexus and the construction of a new structure dedicated to front office and archive functions. The project imagines figuratively opening the Barracks to the city, as the complex is currently segregated from the urban context. The tangible and visible sign of this reconciliation with the present is a luminous transparent object with an avowedly contemporary aesthetic. The project combines the most up-to-date criteria for the preservation of historical artifacts with a complementary openness to cutting-edge techniques in the structural, plant engineering and communication fields, in line with the rapid and now pervasive development of information and media technologies.
In all its parts, the proposal appears as a true ‘graft’ capable of enhancing and taking care of the urban and architectural organism as a whole. An artifact, perfectly recognizable in the context, that establishes a dialogue between the ancient, evident in the conservative approach of the most valuable preexistences, and the contemporary, declared by the transparency of the envelope and the technological choices adopted for its composition. For the entire compendium, the aim is to propose a historical-critical reading, which crosses architecture to arrive at a common and shared identity, reflected in the complexity of the new found Barracks.
