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The Parco Lineare is born, which will transform the boundary of the company’s historic plant on Via Ancora into a green diaphragm capable of strengthening the bond between the industrial area and the city of Sassuolo. The project was presented during the event dedicated to the evolution of the territories of the Modenese Ceramic District held at Crogiolo, which saw the participation of Marco Biagini, Mayor of Fiorano Modenese, Elisa Parenti, Mayor of Formigine, Luigi Zironi, Mayor of Maranello, and Matteo Mesini, Mayor of Sassuolo.
At the center of the intervention is the dialogue between industrial product, nature, and art: the western boundary of the Group’s industrial site will be renewed and take shape thanks to large slabs suspended over the linear park, integrated into a dynamic environmental system. A constantly evolving landscape, capable of transforming with the passing of the seasons and interacting with the installations in a relationship of perfect symbiosis. The existing wall and the asphalted edge will become a linear park that will accompany the road, creating a green system of dissolves capable of activating a new relationship with the outside: different levels of vegetation will create a progression capable of transforming what was the boundary of an industrial plant into a natural and urban landscape at the same time.
Through installations with large ceramic slabs, some architectural episodes will be created along the development of the green diaphragm, designed to open a dialogue with the neighborhood and enhance the expressive and poetic potential of ceramics. The first episode marks the beginning of the system on the southern boundary of the industrial site, close to the railway embankment: conceived as a place of suspension in the green, it represents a tribute to Luigi Ghirri‘s view of ceramics and the shots taken by the great Emilian photographer for the company between the 70s and 80s, far from the canons of advertising promotion. The other architectural episodes, created with large 160×320 stoneware totems, mark the memory of an old entrance to the company on Via Ancora and continue along Via Dunant.
The Marazzi Parco Lineare is the first initiative to start within the broader “Cuore Verde” Masterplan, curated by Studio MC2 Dario Costi and Simona Melli Architetti. This project aims to reconnect the municipalities of the District through a network of green paths designed to make walking and cycling safer, more accessible, and enjoyable.
The presentation of the Parco Lineare and Cuore Verde was part of “IF – Industria Festival Architettura”, a traveling festival that celebrates industrial architecture with events mainly held in Emilia-Romagna but also with appointments beyond borders, from Amsterdam to Shanghai. With a focus on the places of industrial districts, symbols of the Modenese territory, IF (“if”) invites us to imagine the future of these spaces as the result of innovative choices, highlighting their centrality in territorial development. The day, introduced by Leonardo Tavani, General Manager of Marazzi, and David Zilioli, Urban Regeneration Councillor of the Municipality of Sassuolo, saw a first part aimed at reasoning about the Ceramic District through different perspectives: territorial, historical, and industrial with Francesco Genitoni and Stefania Spaggiari, urban planning with Federico Zanfi and Cristiana Mattioli. The second part saw the presentation of the Cuore Verde Masterplan and the Marazzi Parco Lineare by Studio MC2 with B|Scape and the round table among the mayors of the municipalities of Fiorano Modenese, Formigine, Maranello, and Sassuolo.
Matteo Mesini, Mayor of Sassuolo, states: “Businesses are not only an economic engine but an integral part of urban quality. The company demonstrates this with the new Linear Park, transforming a wall into a sign of beauty, design, and harmony with the city. It is not just an urban regeneration project but a vision of the future where the industry is not a separate element from the city but an integral part of its identity. Marazzi, a company that has made design and quality one of its founding values, testifies with this intervention to the ability to dialogue with the territory, giving citizens a more harmonious landscape. A concrete gesture that improves Sassuolo and demonstrates the value of a company when it knows how to be an active part of the community.”
“In the year of Marazzi’s 90th anniversary, the Parco Lineare project is a symbol of our connection with the territory and our vision for the future,” declares Mauro Vandini, CEO of Marazzi Group. “It is a concrete sign of our commitment to create value for the community, giving life to a project that reflects our history and our sensitivity. We believe that sustainability also means returning value to the landscape and the people who live it every day.”
Dario Costi of MC2AA comments: “Transforming a boundary wall into a green diaphragm of relationship completely changes the relationship between industrial settlement and city. We have interpreted this theme by activating the dialogue between ceramics, nature, and time. The large slabs suspended over the linear park, the constantly changing environmental system, the anticipation of the growth of the green that can bring the installations closer until they envelop them, are all coincident actions through which the project can be, over time, a living interpretation of this founding idea capable of reactivating community relationships.”
