From the very beginning, the essential matrix of the urban regeneration project of the Chiesi Group’s industrial site in Via Palermo, Parma, has been the desire to promote debate, stimulate new relations linked to the culture of innovation, future skills training and sustainability, interacting in an increasingly continuous and frequent way with the outside world. Beyond architecture, beyond the built.
On this basis, the Chiesi Group started a process of sharing and presenting the results achieved during the project development phases, starting with the participation in the Domusforum: the theme chosen for the 2023 edition was ‘The Future of Cities’. Andrea Chiesi, Head of Special Projects of the Chiesi Group, illustrated the case history of Via Palermo during the round table ‘Public, private and third sector at the test of urban regeneration’.
Moderated by Massimo Valz- Gris, the meeting was attended by Sergio Urbani, Managing Director of Fondazione Cariplo, and Maurizio Ambrosini, Sociologist, State University of Milan.
Hosted at the ADI Design Museum, permanent home of the Compasso d’Oro collection, in Milan, Domusforum marked the sixth edition of the international conference organised by Domus. The central themes are those of Inclusion, Mobility, Tradition, Transformation, “four keys to interpreting reality”, to quote the organisers, “which can represent the horizon of tomorrow. […] In search, as always, of a synthesis that is the starting point for producing fairer, safer, more inclusive and sustainable urban centres.”
In this context, Andrea Chiesi’s speech gave an overview of the Via Palermo urban regeneration project according to a narrative thread that started from the meeting of two of the four key words, Tradition and Transformation. It all started in the mid-1950s, when Giacomo Chiesi decided to give an industrial imprint to what was a small artisan pharmaceutical laboratory, moving the business to Via Palermo.
“San Leonardo is a district that, over time, has lost the industrial characterisation with which it was founded to assume a residential one. Population density is significant and diverse. Aggregation spaces are lacking, while large commercial areas abound. And there are former industrial spaces that are unfortunately in a state of disrepair. As a group, we decided to take care of the neighbourhood by redesigning our site. To do this, we adopted a collective dynamic, gathering ideas through the involvement, in subsequent steps, of several hundred people, from company employees to external professionals. This has resulted in an interdisciplinary work programme in which different skills converge. Having a concrete positive impact on people and the community is essential for a company like ours, which is a Benefit Corporation in Italy (since 2018), the United States and France and is B Corp certified since 2019. It is no coincidence that we launched the Call for Ideas ‘Restore to Impact’ to understand how best to open up to society. A call that had the merit of creating not only the guidelines for the urban regeneration project, but also an interdisciplinary and international Advisory Board in which the members of the Selection Committee and the winners of the Call converge. The Advisory Board will accompany us on a long journey, in an open and shared project perspective.”
— Andrea Chiesi, Head of Special Projects, Chiesi Group
