2 Meeting - TECHNOPOLE FOR INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH

PARK OF INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE
REGGIO EMILIA

The Officine Meccaniche Reggiane industrial area was established in 1904 on the edge of the city of Reggio Emilia. The factory, producing fighter aircraft, was bombed in January 1944 and then rebuilt. After the economic crisis and trade union struggles, the factory closed down in early 2000.
The Municipality recognized the historical and cultural importance of the area and decided to recover some of the buildings in order create a new research centre to be called the Park of Innovation and Knowledge. This project has restored a forgotten part of the city to the inhabitants.
Shed #19 is the first part of a project involving a 200,000 m2 degraded area and is designed to host the Technopole for Industrial Research. The key concept behind this project is restoring a significant part of the historical heritage of the city and its collective memory, transforming it into a public space available to the community.