benedetto camerana plants europe’s biggest roof garden atop an old fiat factory in turin
benedetto camerana gives Lingotto a new lease of life
45,000 plants of over 100 different species now inhabit the roof of Fiat‘s old Lingotto factory in Turin, Italy, as part of a landscape design by architect Benedetto Camerana. Called ‘La Pista 500’, the project creates a new public space where people can gather, exercise, meditate, and enjoy spectacular views of the city and the Alps in the distance.
When it was inaugurated in 1923, Fiat’s Lingotto plant was the biggest and most modern car factory in the world. The modernist building spans five storeys tall, 500 meters long, and features a kilometer-long rooftop test track, which will now be used for electric vehicles, bicycles, and scooters. The factory was closed in the 1980s but it was reopened in 1994 following a renovation project by Renzo Piano. The Lingotto building is now a large multifunctional structure offering workspaces, hospitality, commercial activities, events, and cultural activities.
images by Marco Schiavone courtesy Benedetto Camerana
a patchwork of color
Camerana’s recent intervention, or ‘green graft’, harks back to Renzo Piano’s original concept of incorporating nature inside the reinforced concrete, which he pioneered in one of the inner courtyards. The new linear garden covers 6,000 sqm, divided into 28 green islands planted in and around the track. Designed in collaboration with Il Giardino Segreto, the lush islands boast a natural mix of greenery and wildflowers. Plant species were selected based on ecological criteria: the majority are herbaceous perennials that grow swiftly without much water.
Fiat’s Lingotto plant in Turin was inaugurated in 1923
Benedetto Camerana planted 28 green islands in and around the rooftop test track
the garden hosts 45,000 plants of over 100 different species
plant species were selected based on ecological criteria
Renzo Piano added a spherical structure to the building in the 1990s
the new public space is a place where people can gather, exercise, meditate, and enjoy spectacular views
project info:
name: La Pista500
program: public park
location: Lingotto, Turin, Italy
client: Stellantis Group
architecture: Benedetto Camerana (landscape design, architectural design and coordination, concept and artistic direction)
collaborators: Mattia Greco (project manager), Alberto Domini, Laura Acito, Gabriele Rossi, Antonio Pangallo, Andrea Tomasino
consultants: Arch. Cristiana Ruspa (botanical design), DROMO Engineering Architecture and Landscape (Dekra specialist advice and certification), Guarino – Gierregi Ingegneria (mechanical systems design and structural consultancy), P.I. Alberto Richiero – Gierregi Ingegneria (electrical systems project), Ing. Massimo Pasquero – Pi Greco Engineering (fire protection consultancy)
contractor: D’Engineering srl
total area: 27,000 sqm
hanging garden: 7,000 sqm
no. of species: over 100
no. of plants planted: 45,000
linear meters of irrigation and dripline pipes: 20,094 m
completion: September 2021
photography: Marco Schiavone
