Public parking lot in Premartin

Badalucco is a typical village in the Ligurian hinterland devoted to the olive tree cultivation and interested in the tourist development. The built-up area is dense and surrounded by terraces planted with olive trees. The village is crossed by the state road that climbs up the valley, following the river. The conformation of the village makes impossible to park within the inhabited center and determines points of particular criticality between vehicular traffic and pedestrian paths especially at certain stretches. Therefore the Premartin parking area has great strategic value. Its position, at the entrance to the village for those coming from the sea, allows residents and visitors to leave the car and reach the historic center, fast and safely, along an ancient path between old stone houses and terraces planted with olive trees. This particular morphology of the site is the source of inspiration for the design of the new car park building projected to enhance the receptive capacity of the existing parking area. The new volume is placed at the base of the slope as a continuation of the above terraces reflecting their shape, proportions and materials, and at the same time it reduces the large area of the outdoor parking area. It is an elementary parallelepiped conceived as an aggregation of two distinct elements, each of which is identified by the use of a material. The stone recalls the terraces, while the succession of vertical wooden slats marks the long front elevation ensuring an adequate fire ventilation. The two elements slide horizontally one on the other, generating, in a single gesture, paths and functions, and releasing the stiffness of a monolithic silhouette without compromising the essence of the form in harmony with the surrounding landscape.