Al limite del centro storico di Arezzo, una vasta area industriale è stata recuperata per metà a parco pubblico, per un terzo con un complesso direzionale dotato di servizi evoluti, in modo da diventare il "motore" della città.
 

It is not easy to link past with present, renaissance buildings rich in history with technology.
It is a theme which is often discussed, provoking violent discussions such as has been happening in England, to reca1l a recent incident, where there have been clashes of words between Prince Charles and architects accused by His Majesty of having "almost completely ignored the fee1ings and wishes of the ordinary people".
There were also discussions at Arezzo during the construction of the brand-new and very modern building which now dominates Via XX Aprile. However, a glance at the building now that it is finished suggests nothing which might provoke arguments, In fact, at the gates of Arezzo and on the edge of a recent residential estate of an excellent traditional level, it is the first example of local architecture which does not give the impression of being in the provinces  but in a city of rather wider limits to those arriving in the city.
Its colour is that of the city , of the Etruscans: a bronze recalling that gold of which Arezzo, through industrial tradition, is the indisputed capital in the world, that same gold which can also be found in thirteenth-century Tuscany painting up to Piero della Francesca.
The structure recalls certain large buildings which line the streets of the historic centre and though the modernist inspiration comes from the United States, the filter is completely Tuscan, a region where equilibrium has always been maintained between man and the environment: it is no coincidence that the project is the work of a Tuscan Engineer from Arezzo, graduated from the University of Bologna, the forty-year old Paolo Berti.

                                        

Until the Seventies, the area now occupied by the "Management Centre of Arezzo"  was taken up by the Sacfem, the Limited Company of Railway and Mechanical Constructions. Situated half way between the Centre and the suburbs, almost behind the ancient walls of an Arena, the area is vast: two hundred square meters.
Even before the Sacfem moved to the new industrial zone, studies began to be made of the area occupied by the old building, of the way to use as much as 21 hectares, while the Public Administration also had to make some decisions which were not easy.
Nine hectares were put aside to become a public park, one hectare for the roads, 6.7 hectares for construction of housing, shop and offices, 2 hectares for building of common interest, another 2.5 hectares for public gardens to complement the buildings.
The management building clearly demonstrates the purpose of its construction. From the outside you can see working spaces that are practical and well-lit; the shops on the ground  floor have flexible surfaces with basic and balanced finishing. The entrances to the offices are all internal and pedestrian flow is led to converge in the small internal square and to animate the galleries between the various blocks.
The dimensions: 56,000 m3 plus 18,000 m3 of basement: 12,500 m2 are destined for the offices, 2,500 for the shops, 5,000 m2 for the underground car-parks with a capacity of about 270 cars, 3,000 m2 for an arcade for public use.

                            
 

The structure is punctiform in reinforced concrete, with slabs semi-prefabricated on site. The "face", the facade, is in pre heat painted aluminium, bronze in colour bot inside and outside. The windows are also in bronze, almost as if to create the effect of a bas-relief in the uniformity of the facade.
Each entrance (there are 6) has two duple lifts with a speed of 1.20 m/s and a capacity of 8 people.
To respect regulations for second class seismic areas, the construction has been force to include technical joints which are as much as 30 cm wide, skilfully hidden in the design of the facade.
The internal divisions are of the tradition type, all in perforated bricks.
The heating and cooling systems are equipped with single metering systems. The roof also holds a swimming pool, 13 metres long and metres wide.
The mains for the systems are all located in the roofing of the seven-floor section of the building, hidden by an aluminium grille in the same colour as the facade.

                              
 

The design was done completely by computer and each office was studied in consideration of the requirements of each individual client: In other words the offices are not standard but personalised.
This is the real working heart of the city, the building housing the Tradesmen's Association, the Cassa di Risparmio of Prato, the Credito Romagnolo, INPS and La Previdente.
More than 20 billion lire were invested in the project: 14 for the actual construction and for the ground and concessionaire rights.
CO.AR.C.E. of Arezzo participated in the Construction for the structural part, the system and the finishing, C.I.R. of lmola for the facade, the German company Flachglass for the windows, Interni of Bologna for the counter-ceilings, CEAM and STIGLER OTIS for the lifts.
 

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