The bold, innovative initiative aimed at involving the Olivetti territory includes also renovation of the building in Strada Monte Navale.
Olivetti's new headquarters in Ivrea were opened today, the chosen location being the historic, recently renovated, Learning and Experimental Centre at No. 2C, Strada Monte Navale.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place today for the building, known as Casa Blu Olivetti, which in the past has played a crucial role in the company's industrial and social policies. During the event, the important works for the restoration and refurbishment of the building were illustrated which saw the participation of Stefano Sertoli, Mayor of Ivrea, Patrizia Paglia, President of Confindustria Canavese, Giovanni Ronca and Ettore Spigno, respectively Olivetti President and Olivetti CEO.
"Olivetti’s decision - stressed Stefano Sertoli, Mayor of Ivrea - to renovate one of the buildings forming part of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Ivrea, Industrial City of the 20th Century", redeeming it through a project of restoration and restructuring while, at the same time, respecting its integrity and authenticity - giving it new life - is an important sign of the desire to work together in symbiosis, to cooperate in the economic rebirth of Ivrea and the local territory.
"The building unveiled today is, for us - says Patrizia Paglia, President of Confindustria Canavese - an important symbol of a return to this area, of love and trust in Ivrea and the Canavese. It is a tangible sign of the will to make real, and not just simply recall, the policy of renewal and experimentation promoted by Olivetti in the industrial and architectural field. The functionality and ergonomics of products find a parallel in the buildings, designed to offer always more than that strictly necessary: rediscovering a way of imagining the factory as “an object of beauty" is one of the drivers behind our vision of the Enterprise of the Future".
"Reinstituting such a prestigious "home" to Olivetti - commented Giovanni Ronca, President of Olivetti - is a tangible sign of how TIM is, once again, looking very far into the future, with the aim of highlighting not only the historic value this great group possesses in its DNA, but above all its predilection for the future. The Casa Blu is an icon of our Olivetti, a company that lives rooted in a still lively territory. Both are aware of the responsibility arising from the important history of development and innovation at their backs, and both are projected towards the future".
The Centro Studi Olivetti is a historic building of great value to the city, constructed by great architects of international fame who have succeeded each other over time. Today the building forms part of the UNESCO site "Ivrea, Industrial City of the 20th Century" and was recently included in the World Heritage List.
At the beginning of the 1950s the idea took shape to create a special site for a "Learning and Experimental centre", physically distinct from the company. The architectural design project was undertaken by Eduardo Vittoria, while Pier Achille Caponago del Monte took on the structural project. The building over time became a tangible example of the policy of innovation and experimentation embarked on by Olivetti in the industrial field.
In 2001 the building was restructured by architects Ettore Sottsass and Marco Zanini for the purpose of housing the Interaction Design Institute of Ivrea. The concept behind the project of Sottsass was to design a space where people could live - together with everything that this entails - in as harmonious an environment as possible.
The objective of the renovation project just completed by TIM was the conservative restoration of the building together with extraordinary maintenance works necessary. Particular attention was paid to conserving and restoring, as far as possible, the original design. This represents an important milestone for Olivetti and for Ivrea, demonstrating the will to innovate while remaining attached to tradition.
The Olivetti HQ hosts approximately 80 people.
TIM has also recently activated a 5G plant in Ivrea. This is the first Fifth Generation mobile phone antenna in the area and, thanks to which, the city will become one of the first areas in Italy covered by the new technology. More precisely, radio apparatus equipped with "Massive-MIMO" technology has been installed, i.e. an antenna capable of managing simultaneously dozens of incoming and outgoing radio signals, adapting dynamically to the positions of single users and traffic demands.
