MAUTO National Automobile Museum / Cino Zucchi / CZA

The museum complex, designed by Amedeo Albertini in 1958-60, is comprised of various bodies, the main section of which, a convex 114 meter façade faces onto the Po river and Corso Unità d’Italia. The competition brief stipulated the addition of a new wing on Via Richelmy and the reorganisation of pedestrian and vehicular access, keeping in line with the latest developments of museums in Europe. The new museum, with an expected annual attendance of 250,000 people, accompanied by significant conference and educational activities, will thus become a driving force in the urban renewal of the southeast quadrant of the city. The entrance to Turin from the south is characterised by the exceptional quality of the landscape and environment of the green parkway that runs along the banks of the river Po, punctuated by the presence of the impressive structures of the Palazzo del Lavoro by Pierluigi Nervi and the renovated Palavela. The project articulates the relationship between the ‘drive-by’ perception from Corso Unità d’Italia and the establishment of a more intimate pedestrian environment grafting its way onto via Richelmy.