We are in the historic city center of Alba, via Cavour, a suggestive medieval straight road that, between colonnades and fortified stately homes, leads to the Romanic Duomo. Casa Paruzza, the ancient stately home bought by the Banca d’Alba to be transformed into its own headquarters, has experienced several transformations throughout the centuries.
The outcome after the renovation is a fascinating concentrate of architectural history: the façade has a 19th century eclectic style and, on top of the building the medieval towers with the original clay-brick surfaces show up, the interior has the typical Baroque ornamentation from the 18th century.
Following the external contamination, where the medieval towers stand above the 19th century façade, the project wants to value the contrast between old and new, continuing the cross-reference game between centuries. Along these lines, the Baroque decorations stand out with the minimal décor, the frescoes and trompe l’oeil from the 18th century are a background to contemporary works of art, and glass galleries reveal views of the medieval towers.
Additional contrasts are found in the combinations of different materials, warm and cold colors, smooth and rough surfaces. Historic and contemporary well matched in perfect harmony, to add value to the noble origin of the building and its current function, creating a combination of novelty and character.
In the inner courtyard of the construction have been built four basement levels to be used as meeting rooms, vault and safety deposit boxes and car parking space with a car lifting system machinery.
The execution of these works has presented difficulties from many points of view:
- logistic, due to the central location of the building, located in the historical city center of Alba;
- historic, because of the fragility of some precious furnishings like the archeological findings from the Roman era and the valuable medieval tower;
- structural, due to the static bad conditions of the historic building and the delicate intervention to build the new four basement floors.
We are in the historic city center of Alba, via Cavour, a suggestive medieval straight road that, between colonnades and fortified stately homes, leads to the Romanic Duomo. Casa Paruzza, the ancient stately home bought by the Banca d’Alba to be transformed into its own headquarters, has experienced several transformations throughout the centuries.
The outcome after the renovation is a fascinating concentrate of architectural history: the façade has a 19th century eclectic style and, on top of the building the medieval towers with the original clay-brick surfaces show up, the interior has the typical Baroque ornamentation from the 18th century.
Following the external contamination, where the medieval towers stand above the 19th century façade, the project wants to value the contrast between old and new, continuing the cross-reference game between centuries. Along these lines, the Baroque decorations stand out with the minimal décor, the frescoes and trompe l’oeil from the 18th century are a background to contemporary works of art, and glass galleries reveal views of the medieval towers.
Additional contrasts are found in the combinations of different materials, warm and cold colors, smooth and rough surfaces. Historic and contemporary well matched in perfect harmony, to add value to the noble origin of the building and its current function, creating a combination of novelty and character.
In the inner courtyard of the construction have been built four basement levels to be used as meeting rooms, vault and safety deposit boxes and car parking space with a car lifting system machinery.
The execution of these works has presented difficulties from many points of view:
- logistic, due to the central location of the building, located in the historical city center of Alba;
- historic, because of the fragility of some precious furnishings like the archeological findings from the Roman era and the valuable medieval tower;
- structural, due to the static bad conditions of the historic building and the delicate intervention to build the new four basement floors.