Palazzo Foresto - Modena
The Foresto Palace is a monumental complex that consists of multiple building structures and has evolved through various historical phases since 1481. Located in the historic centre of Modena, the building falls within the rationalization plan of the State Property Agency, which envisions both its restoration and its functional conversion as the seat of the Prefecture and the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri in Modena.
The project aims to reintegrate this entity into the city's life and establish new relationships by mending the empty spaces that characterize it. This is achieved through reinterpretation of the materiality of the ground and the reopening of access points, passages, and courtyards that deserve to be traversed and experienced. Along the main axis, a new opening connects the courtyard with the interior atrium, which, once freed from its current fragmentation, along with the redevelopment of the staircase, contributes to creating an organic network of connections within the new spaces.
The choice of Venetian terrazzo flooring finishes is a deliberate nod to traditional techniques, much like the recovery and reuse of some of the valuable materials found in the older areas of the building. The external facades of the building, which have accumulated heterogeneous elements over the years, are treated as a palimpsest, from which to unearth the pre-existing marks and overlay the new elements required for the functional program, in a language synthesis capable of expressing all the eras of the Palace.
