MANIFATTURA TABACCHI FIRENZE

The new Manifattura Tabacchi is in Florence revitalising the old tobacco factory, active for over seventy years before its closure in 2001. The ambitious regeneration project aims to bring a new district of the city to life, giving it the creative energy of fashion, art and design, complementing the historic city centre, open to all and connected to the wider world: a new destination for contemporary art in Florence.

The Masterplan provides for a functional mix where the original and newly constructed buildings will host schools, ateliers and laboratories, office and co-working spaces, studio apartments, housing, a hotel, halls of residence, and a brewery: the gates that once isolated the factory will be reopened and walls will be removed to open the complex up to the city and the wider world, 24/7.

IL PIANO

First Life, then Spaces, then Buildings

Jan Gehl

Construction 1930-1940
6 hectares
16 buildings
110.000 m2

A first Masterplan from Concrete Architectural Associates has been developed upon by Sanaa (winner of the Pritzker prize 2010) in collaboration with Studio Mumbai, with a project that fully exploits the potential of the regeneration works, and which identified the building that housed the old maintenance workshops as one that could be iconic for the overall project.

The development of the project has been entrusted to Florentine studio q-bic, joined by landscape architect Antonio Perazzi and the award-winning firm Piuarch, which is undertaking the project planning for new construction work, whilst the new kindergarten is being designed by Rome-based studio Aut-Aut Architettura. Renowned Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola has assumed the role of Interior Designer for the prestigious residences of Building 7.

The project for the redevelopment of ex Manifattura Tabacchi Firenze aims to keep demolition at a minimum, and render the original buildings more efficient and sustainable through the use of geothermal energy and careful management of water use. It plans for the planting of over 1,000 new trees at the site, with a new hanging garden on the roof of the central building (B11), as well as reducing CO2 emissions and improving air quality.

render by Engram Studio

Piazza Francesca Morvillo

Via Elsa Morante

Piazza delle Sigaraie

Brewery

Via Rita Levi Montalcini

Hotel

Cortile della Ciminiera

Il mix funzionale

The new Manifattura Tabacchi in Florence will integrate its varied uses in a functional mix aimed at improving the quality of life: with commercial spaces, workshops and ateliers for creative industries, office and co-working spaces, partnerships with educational institutions, catering, hospitality, and housing, as well as services, a new nursery, outdoor markets and underground parking.

A regeneration that respects the existing structures with a view to contemporary and cultural development, which is also sustainable, flexible and with minimal environmental impact.

Key figures

37,000 m2 education, offices and co-working spaces

35,000 m2 residential

26,000 m2 hospitality and co-living

11,000 m2 ateliers and workshops

URBAN INTEGRATION

The complex will be integrated into the urban, cultural and social fabric thanks to a strategic network of connections and cultural activities that will bring life back to these disused spaces. The city will have a new centre, complementing and ever closer to the historic city centre thanks to the opening of a new tramline (line 4), benefiting from its newfound proximity to the Cascine Park, the Novoli University Campus, the airport and the station, and also the fashion district and its production sites in the west of the city.

SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

Internal mobility has been carefully studied in order to restore Manifattura Tabacchi Firenze to the life of the neighbourhood and Florence as a whole. It will be open, permeable and without walls, enhanced thanks to a network of green areas, squares and public social spaces, where the community can contribute to creating the new identities of these places. Alongside the historic and monumental main entrance on Via delle Cascine, new points of access for pedestrians and cyclists will be added, as well as controlled vehicle entrances and a stop on the new tramline route 4.

EXPLORE MANIFATTURA TABACCHI

THE BUILDINGS

2

Building 2

Building 2 was constructed together with Building 3 on the first construction lot. Both buildings were used for storing raw tobacco, as well as drying and packaging. They overlook an internal courtyard with the two buildings connected by a perpendicular cross-section, with a sober monumentality typical of 1930s architecture. The elevations highlight a set of pilasters and stringcourses that frame the larger windows on the second floor and smaller windows on the two lower floors.

Discover building