Lingotto: industrial modernism by architect Giacomo Matté-Trucco
“Let’s take a ride together, just the two of us, driving down the roads in your car…”
— Lilicub, Voyage en Italie, 1994
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bse02AUNP_o
A weekend in Turin—why not? A change of air despite the forecasted rain, and the perfect excuse to reconnect my little Fiat 500 with its roots.
We wander under the city’s arcades, eat pizza, sip spritz… but it’s never quite enough. As always, we’re searching for a place, something a little unexpected. In Turin, you don’t have to look far before landing on the Lingotto.
We decide to go the next day. And somehow, miracle, the rain stops, the sun comes out. I even end up buying a pair of sunglasses.
We arrive in front of an immense structure made up of five interconnected blocks. A vast parking area, a shopping center, hotels, a tropical garden, a convention center…
“One of the most impressive spectacles ever offered by industry.”
— Le Corbusier, Vers une architecture, 1924
And yet, it’s not hard to imagine ourselves back in 1915, when the Lingotto Building was first designed and built through to 1923.
It was architect-engineer Giacomo Matté-Trucco and his team who envisioned this place. Born in 1869 in Saône-et-Loire, France, funny how Burgundy never feels that far from our discoveries.
His studies in Turin and early professional experiences quickly connected him to Fiat, and it was only natural that he would lead what became the most significant and celebrated project of his career.
The Lingotto stands as an icon of modern architecture and one of the first Italian factories designed according to a scientific organization of labor.
After visiting the site, Le Corbusier described it in Vers une architecture (1924) as “one of the most impressive spectacles ever offered by industry.”
The factory was built for the production of Fiat automobiles, inspired by Taylorist principles, with efficiency as its primary objective. Everything was conceived as a unified system: production lines, offices, administrative services, canteen, and facilities all brought together. To streamline the process even further, two helical ramps were added at each end of the building between 1923 and 1926, allowing newly built cars to move directly from the ground floor up to the test track on the roof.
Many Fiat models were produced here until 1982, when manufacturing finally ceased at the site.
“Just keep turning, you should eventually find the exit—we’re not going to drive around all night.”
— Michael Caine, The Italian Job, 1969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-smy_yhutw
That same year, however, Fiat and the city of Turin launched an international competition to prevent the site from becoming an industrial wasteland. In 1985, architect Renzo Piano was selected to transform the building while preserving its form and history. Not a random choice, he is notably behind the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
From 1997 onward, Fiat’s headquarters even returned to this iconic building.
In 2002, the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli was inaugurated an art gallery combining the private collection of a key Fiat figure with contemporary exhibitions.
The rooftop test track has also been redesigned and is now used to showcase new models. Open to the public, it was, for us, the highlight of the visit.
Like kids, completely amazed, we only wanted one thing: to run along those banked curves, imitating the roar of an engine… But we’re adults and we almost managed to hold back… almost.
Anne S, Ölddesign.
Photos : C.S, Ölddesign.
