15-02-2017
Arches will be the dominating element in the renewed headquarters of S.Pellegrino in San Pellegrino Terme
The significant investment, 90 million euros over four years, will not only give a brand new plant to S.Pellegrino in the homonymous town in Lombardy, it will also restate the strong liaison between the water giant and its territory, allowing the brand to gain global visibility, as the new flagship factory aims to attract many people interested in what’s good and beautiful.
The final results of the international contest were announced this week. Through the contest, the brand controlled by multinational Nestlé selected the new look it will give to the place where it was born and where it has strong roots, in San Pellegrino Terme, Bergamo. The ambitious project of starchitect Biarke Ingels, from Danish architectural firm BIG, triumphed. They are curating other huge projects around the world, such as the Serpentine Gallery in London, the Google Campus in Mountain View, California, the World Trade Center 2 in New York, as well as Lego’s new home.
Starchitect Bjarke Ingels, in the middle, with Sanpellegrino’s CEO Stefano Agostini, during the presentation of the new S.Pellegrino Flagship factory
Versace continued: «In this case, we don’t give value just to water or a town, but to all of Italy. Because S.Pellegrino represents the country around the world (a billion times, last year! This is the number of bottles sold) in a prestigious way and it conveys our history, our culture, our excellence, our lifestyle. We are and must increasingly be the industry of what’s beautiful. This is the direction of this project and it therefore deserves my praise and that of everyone».
Versace smiled as he spoke. Stefano Agostini, president and CEO at Gruppo Sanpellegrino (the happiest of all, we could say. And rightly so), Luca Molinari of the homonymous firm, who guided the board of experts who chose the best project, and then three members of the jury, Edwin Heathcote of the Financial Times, Giulio Cappellini, architect and art director at Cappellini, Laudomia Pucci of Emilio Pucci were also smiling – architecture, design and fashion share a similar language, at least in Italy. Local administrators were also oozing joy, especially the mayor of San Pellegrino Terme - Vittorio Milesi.
Bjarke Ingels appeared on stage with a promise, «I’m happy because I have four years to learn Italian and I have seized a good excuse to visit this beautiful country frequently». He then spoke of brand identity, «S.Pellegrino is structurally connected to its territorial roots, to the soil, the sky, but in general to the Italian way of life». As mentioned, the new headquarters use arches as a key interaction element between factory, country and landscape.
The new S.Pellegrino Flagship Factory aims to become a relationship model for a territory and its factories – that is to say to show how the most enlightened private funds have contributed over the decades in redesigning the territory, enhancing it. This is something that has a long and successful history in Italy, with examples such as Olivetti in Ivrea or Sogesta in Urbino. Cappellini: «We’ve always produced excellence. We now need to improve the way we communicate it. This is why I’m so passionate about this project». Agostini is beaming, with the pride of someone who’s working for a brand but also feels a connection with his country: «I’m happy because we’ll promote Italy all over the world». More and more.
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journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief