Renovation of the former Zedda Piras distillery in Cagliari

The new mixed-use residential/commercial/tertiary project created by the local practice Studio Fadda is the first step in a process of urban renewal that will involve the redevelopment of a large derelict area in the north-western suburbs of Cagliari, Sardinia’s regional capital. The project to redevelop the former Zedda Piras distillery, built in the early twentieth century by the company founded in 1854 by Francesco Zedda Piras for the production of liqueurs, alcohol and spirits to complement the family’s original winemaking business, was carried out by the construction company Ing. Raffaello Pellegrini srl for the client AM Building and completed in March 2018.
The city’s growth and industrial development over the following decades led to the creation of a dense, heterogeneous urban fabric centred around the factory with its distinctive facing bricks and tall chimney, an area marked by the presence of tall buildings up to 6 storeys in height but few and low-quality public spaces.
The first step in the project to transform an area that in the future would be extended to the former distillery, creating a new district with offices, old people’s homes, a jazz club and event spaces, dates back to the mid-1990s when the Zedda Piras brand and its plants were acquired by the Campari group, which also owns the wines produced at the Sella & Mosca vineyards in Alghero, and production was moved to the new and more modern Alghero plant.
The complex has a new 4,500 sq.m floor space and consists of two volumes of different heights (respectively four and five storeys) located at the edge of the site adjacent to the former distillery, creating large public and public-use spaces on the ground floor. Introduced by a large plaza, the ground floors of both volumes are envisaged as permeable, open spaces that provide access to all the functions of the new development. Residential, commercial and tertiary spaces are distributed differently in the two volumes, which share an underground garage. While 50% of the four floors of « Building I » are allocated to residential use (the top two levels) and the remaining 50% to commercial and office spaces (ground and first floors), the five floors of « Building H » feature residences only on the top floor, while the central floors are devoted to offices above stores.
The project developed by Studio Fadda explores the possible relationships with a heterogeneous urban and architectural context and is attentive to the now inevitable demands of environmental sustainability. LED lighting is used for the exterior areas, whether public, private or private for public use, and renewables are used for a portion of the building’s energy requirements: 50% of sanitary hot water is produced by a thermal solar plant, while a photovoltaic system generates the necessary electrical energy.
Care for the environment and the creation of a powerful and enduring personality are aspects that are reflected in the choice of Italian ceramics as the finishing material for the high-performance envelope, which is insulated using natural materials. Surfaces from the Collection series by Laminam, chosen in large-format white panels (1000×3000 mm) with a very small thickness (5 mm) and cut into different sizes, fit perfectly onto a building with complex and dynamic volumes, giving it strength and character.
« The city of Cagliari has witnessed an urban redevelopment project involving the former distillery area of the former Zedda Piras factory, » said Tonino Fadda, principal of the eponymous architecture firm. « The chimney testifies to its illustrious past, standing as a symbol of romantic continuity and tradition. However, in the future the site will bear little resemblance to what stood here for decades. The first tranche of the works led to the construction of two mixed-use buildings with large windows, terraces facing onto the central square and white facades that unite to create a pointed shape reminiscent of the prow of a ship. The use of absolute white highlights the differences between openings and closures, between solidity and transparency, between linear and flat elements, between envelope and structure. »