Toolbox is a professional incubator realised in an industrial building in the city of Torino.
The project is believed to meet the needs of a city in a phase of substantial transformation.
At a time when, with a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection, it is possible to work from anywhere, the question
emerging is what professional space is needed for. How is it possible to design a space combining users’
plurality with the coherence of the whole design? How is it possible to mediate between a need for
socialisation and privacy, between relaxation and concentration?
From the functional point of view, the project consists in the creation of an open space with 44 individual
workstations combined with other services and activities. The goal has been to keep the modular concrete
structure unaltered.
The main span of the building has been divided lengthwise by a series of ‘filter volumes’ used as technical
spaces for storing lockers and equipment. On one side, there is the co-working space, on the other side, the
corridors and the functional ‘box’ containing shared facilities such as meeting rooms, print rooms, informal
meeting spaces, mailboxes, a patio and a kitchen.
From the perspective of the design process the goal was to mediate between the plurality of users' needs
and the coherence of the design. The concept of the project derives from the combinatorial Adaptable
Component model developed by Caterina Tiazzoldi within the context of the research Lab NSU at the
Politecnico di Torino and Columbia University. The variety of solutions is obtained by use of a unique design
rule. A set of initially identical volumes acquire specialisation or differentiation through the use of different
materials (cork, rubber, polished paint according to the programmatic function hosted in the box. The
specialisation of a generic volume occurs in accordance with a specialisation generated by sound, thermal,
and visual requirements.
The goal was to convey a harmonious coexistence of different worlds and cultural references. The principle
of variation and transformation of a unique element was also pursued in other parts of the project
by differentiating the colours of natural rubber floors in the meeting rooms, sound insulation coating
alternating with small telephone pods and finally by varying the sizes, colours and levels of transparency of
the bubbles that form the external texture of the box-bar.
The concept uses a very few items in endless variations, a single system developing an infinite range of
possibilities to respond to the plurality of users’ needs.
This concept has driven every design choice. The walls of the entrance have been achieved with 500
variations of one single white box. The overall design was obtained with parametric software generating
endless configurations from a single digital model. Similarly, conditioning grids have been obtained from a
single parametric model that recalculates the size and position of the holes based on the exchange of air
required in each environment.
The same principle was also applied in the management of space oriented towards sustainable flexibility,
a flexibility which is not based on the transformation of physical space but on a variety of uses obtained
through the use of a few combinatorial functions (co-working, meeting rooms, kitchen, patio, parking). It is
a flexibility permitting the derivation of an almost limitless number of scenarios. An automated system for
centralised control of lighting, access, and services (printers, telephones) allows each user to have a profile
designed according to their needs. The management of the space is therefore related to an automated
system that allows or denies the use of certain functions in accordance with users' profiles. In this way the
automated system allows us to reduce direct friction between people with regard to the modality of use of
the space. Automation has become a tool of socialisation in a space in which interaction between users is
very strong.
Thanks to its unique features, Toolbox is an urban concept that draws its strength from the complexity,
variety, and changeability of the contemporary city.
Caterina Tiazzoldi - M.Arch, PhD.
Caterina tiazzoldi is the Principal of the architecture and design firm Caterina Tiazzoldi / Nuova Ordentra, Director of the Research Lab NSU at Columbia University in New York and Visiting Researcher at the Politecnico di Torino. Her work is characterized by a strong interaction between research and practice. Her work focuses in use advanced digital tools to develop innovative spatial concept. For this reason she participated to international events such as Torino World Design Capital, the Young Design Talent selection by Giulio Cappellini for the Temporary Museum for New Design, Advanced Architecture Biennal Settimo Tokio, Experimenta Design, Minimaousse 4.Her work has been published in international magazines (Domus, AMC Interieur, Interni, Metropolis, Elle décor, Vanity Fair, La Stampa, Repubblica, Bespoke), books (Shops 2009) and scientific publications (ARCC Journal).Caterina Tiazzoldi won several awards (Nomination at the cooper Hewitt Museum's National Design Award, best paper EAAE/ARCC) and research grants (Sinapsi, Lagrange, Santa Fe Institute and Regione Piemonte fellowship).
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