Terna electrical substation | Suvereto (Tuscany)

ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE, ONGOING

Pierattelli Architetture is the winner of Terna’s 2020 tender for the new design of the Suvereto electricity converter substation, in agreement with the Suvereto town council and local community. The new substation is an additional piece in Terna’s wider modernisation of SA.Co.I.3, the current electrical connection between Sardinia, Corsica and the Italian peninsula. 

Pierattelli Architetture has come up with an evocative design project that blends seamlessly with its setting and offers a new take on architecture. Inspired by the Tuscan countryside, its farmland and vegetation, this new design is an industrial building that is dynamic and changeable in character. At the very heart of the design is terracotta (a traditional local material with warm, textural nuances): its texture absorbs the shades of the surrounding landscape and reflects its tones, beauty and warmth.  

In the project, modular facades made up of terracotta pieces are fastened to steel cables. Terracotta tones are also alluded to in the rust-effect paintwork of the entrance gate and in sections in the wall.  The ventilated facade of the warehouse features terracotta too, with an interlinking grid made up of one type of rectangular tile that creates a clean, repeatable pattern.  Native plants such as olive, cypress and pine trees create a sense of continuity with the nearby farmland and at the same time recall the cultural identity of the area. Greenery has also been added to sections of the perimeter fencing in order to soften its visual impact. On the internal side of the stone-filled gabion-basket wall, zinc flower beds are to be added with Virginia creepers.

Lighting design is used to cleverly draw attention to the facades and their textures, and recessed LED floor lights cast strips of light upwards to elevate the sense of theatricality of the compositions. The same lighting system has been chosen for the entrance and the green spaces.