The Lingotto building has long been an iconic sight on the Turin skyline. Dating back nearly a century, the huge structure used to be a factory for Italian car manufacturer Fiat before it was converted into a modern complex featuring a shopping arcade, hotel and convention centre. Apparently, it was one of the favourite buildings of legendary Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier.
And now, thanks to a spectacular upcycling project, the Lingotto has gotten even more fabulous. The roof, which was once home to a secret, kilometre-long testing track for cars built in the factory below, has been transformed by architects Camerana&Partners into the largest roof garden in Europe.
The garden is called La Pista 500 and it features 40,000 plants spread over 7,000 square metres, located 28 metres above the streets of Turin. But La Pista 500 isn’t just a garden. Oh no. It’s also an enormous outdoor art space full of light and sound works, audio pieces and sculptures, and even has its own cinema. Needless to say, all that, in such a fascinating historic setting, is quite the sight. Here are a few pics of the place.
The charms of the Lingotto building don’t stop at its rooftop garden. Also on-site is an exhibition space called Casa 500, which is all about Fiat’s most famous car, the Fiat 500, and the Pinacoteca Agnelli, an art gallery currently showing an exhibition about legendary Surrealist artists Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar.
You can find out more about the project and buy tickets for the exhibitions on the official website here.
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