Olivetti Theatre: Architecture as Civic Infrastructure

May 8
6 min read

Written by Matteo Borsetti @MBA architects

The Olivetti Theatre project was conceived as an exploration of how architecture can once again become a catalyst for civic life, cultural exchange, and collective identity. Developed for the international competition organized by YAC and Manni Group, the proposal recently received the Gold Mention – ISOPAN “Flat Roof” Award, recognizing the project’s integration of environmental strategies, public space, and architectural continuity.

Aerial view of the Olivetti Theatre civic platform and green roof system

Rather than designing a standalone cultural object, the project approaches the theatre as an urban infrastructure: a permeable civic platform capable of reconnecting the fragmented conditions of the Olivetti campus while reactivating the social values embedded in Adriano Olivetti’s vision of the “factory-city".

The intervention is located in Ivrea, Italy — the UNESCO-recognized industrial city shaped by Olivetti’s pioneering social and architectural experiments during the twentieth century. The competition brief emphasized the extraordinary legacy of Olivetti as a model where work, education, culture, and welfare were integrated into a coherent civic ecosystem. The project responds to this heritage not through nostalgia, but through reinterpretation.

Aerial view of IVREA industrial district dotted with green spaces and parking areas, highlighting a mix of contemporary and historical buildings surrounded by autumn leaves.

At the center of the proposal lies a simple yet ambitious question:

What would a contemporary civic institution look like if architecture once again prioritized community, accessibility, and collective well-being?

The answer emerged through the concept of “Architecture as Civic Infrastructure” — a system where theatre, learning, wellness, workspaces, housing, and public circulation coexist within a continuous spatial landscape.

Floor plan of the Olivetti Campus showing the detailed layout of various facilities, including a theatre, public platform, and service areas, integrated within the landscape design. The diagram highlights pathways, seating arrangements, and strategic positioning of structures to optimize space for public engagement and cultural events.

The project completes the unfinished vision of the Olivetti Social Services Center originally designed by Figini and Pollini in the 1950s.

The proposal introduces a new multifunctional building and theatre complex (AREA B) connected to the existing building (AREA A) through elevated bridges, public pathways, and open civic spaces.

Instead of separating functions into isolated architectural objects, the intervention creates a hybrid environment where everyday life and cultural production overlap. Public circulation becomes a primary architectural element: a permeable ground floor generates a continuous urban portico connecting the city with the theatre and extending the existing pedestrian flows across the site.

Program and circulation diagram for Olivetti Area B, showcasing the Civic Platform with bridge connections and theatre volumes. The diagram details the flow through public spaces, including co-working and wellness areas on the ground floor, leading to the multipurpose area and theatre on the upper levels.

The Theatre is conceived not simply as an auditorium, but as the symbolic and cultural heart of the complex. Positioned within a larger civic framework, it becomes part of a broader social ecosystem that includes coworking spaces, wellness facilities, exhibition areas, educational spaces, cafés, temporary housing, and open terraces.

This hybridization of programs reflects Olivetti’s original philosophy, where architecture was never merely functional, but deeply connected to human development, social interaction, and cultural growth. The competition brief repeatedly references Adriano Olivetti’s belief that industry should support education, collective well-being, and civic participation. The proposal attempts to reinterpret those principles for contemporary society.

Contemporary architectural design includes in the background on the left the Theatre with its entrance steps, which also serve as a meeting point, above, we can see the glass walkway linking the existing building (Area A) and the Multifunctional building (Area B) , allowing individuals to appreciate an open courtyard and engage with technology displays.

One of the defining elements of the project is the creation of a layered public realm. Rather than concentrating activity exclusively at ground level, the architecture develops vertically through terraces, bridges, elevated gardens, and panoramic roofs. These interconnected public spaces transform the building into an inhabitable landscape rather than a static volume. The roof itself becomes an active civic surface.

The extensive green roof system — recognized through the ISOPAN “Flat Roof” Gold Mention — integrates vegetation, photovoltaic panels, passive cooling strategies, rainwater management, and accessible outdoor environments. Beyond technical performance, the roofscape contributes to the project’s broader environmental identity, softening the industrial context while establishing a new ecological layer over the campus.

Revitalized industrial architecture merges with contemporary design, highlighting a sleek, elevated walkway with transparent tubes and the urban portico representing innovation in the UNESCO City of Industry.

Cross-section illustration of a multifunctional building featuring a green roof system. The design includes a gym, a yoga studio, and rooms with zinc aluminum framed glass window panels. The structure utilizes ISOPAN green roof technology, Manni Sipre box bar steel beams, and a circulation core with Manni Iso pan claddings for enhanced functionality and aesthetics.

The proposal intentionally balances industrial rationality with environmental softness. Steel structures, modular systems, and lightweight cladding technologies establish continuity with the engineering logic of the historic Olivetti architecture, while green terraces and permeable public spaces introduce a more contemporary relationship between architecture, landscape, and climate.

Visitors explore the Ivrea UNESCO City of Industry exhibit, which showcases Olivetti's innovation through a remarkable typewriter sculpture and contemporary architectural design.

Spatially, the project is organized around openness and flexibility. Interior spaces can adapt to multiple configurations through movable partitions and multifunctional layouts, allowing the complex to host exhibitions, conferences, workshops, performances, informal gatherings, and educational activities simultaneously. The architecture is therefore not defined by a single program, but by its capacity to support changing forms of collective life.

Floor plan of a multipurpose community center featuring a theatre, co-working space, wellness area, and an interaction booth, designed for collaboration and cultural engagement.

The Auditorium - Interior of the Olivetti Theatre

The theatre interior was designed to reinforce the relationship between public experience and spatial atmosphere. The auditorium introduces a dynamic ceiling system that filters daylight through sculpted openings, generating light beams that animate the space and create a stronger emotional connection between architecture and performance. Acoustic surfaces, warm materiality, and layered circulation spaces contribute to an immersive civic experience rather than a purely technical performance hall.

CROSS SECTION of the Theatre (Area B) highlighting essential elements like a glass-enclosed foyer, a balcony with a view of the main theater, a dynamic ceiling featuring daylight openings, and sound-absorbing panels. The design incorporates functional spaces such as the store, stage, and backstage, ensuring a balance of aesthetics and acoustics. — **CROSS SECTION** of the Theatre (Area B) highlighting essential elements like a glass-enclosed foyer, a balcony with a view of the main theater, a dynamic ceiling featuring daylight openings, and sound-absorbing panels. The design incorporates functional spaces such as the store, stage, and backstage, ensuring a balance of aesthetics and acoustics.

Equally important is the project’s relationship with the existing urban fabric. The intervention avoids monumental autonomy and instead seeks continuity with the surrounding Olivetti structures through scale, rhythm, transparency, and circulation patterns. Elevated glass bridges reconnect previously fragmented areas of the campus, while new public courtyards and pathways establish visual and physical permeability throughout the site.

CROSS SECTION of the existing building (Area A) — **CROSS SECTION** of the existing building (Area A)

Elevation drawings of the architecture reveal the south and east views of a new building design (Area B) , highlighting in the top left-hand corner, the glass-walled tunnel connecting to the existing building (Area A)

Students gather on the steps of a modern Theater building, engaged in conversations , as others are walking inside the glass-walled structure above.

The proposal also reflects a broader research interest in adaptive reuse and socially engaged architecture. The transformation of the existing Olivetti buildings into educational, exhibition, and cultural spaces demonstrates how industrial heritage can evolve into new forms of civic infrastructure without losing its historical identity.

More than a theatre, the project imagines a contemporary cultural campus where architecture becomes a framework for interaction, learning, and community formation. In this sense, the intervention is less about creating a singular iconic object and more about constructing relationships: between old and new, work and culture, infrastructure and landscape, individual and collective life.

Visitors explore the Olivetti history exhibit, featuring vintage typewriters and informative displays within a modern, airy museum space.

The recognition received through the Gold Mention – ISOPAN “Flat Roof” Award represents an important acknowledgment of this vision and of the continuing relevance of Olivetti’s humanistic legacy within contemporary architectural discourse.

At a moment when many cities are rethinking the role of public institutions, the Olivetti Theatre proposes an alternative model ; one where architecture is not isolated from everyday life, but actively participates in shaping social and civic experience.

Project: Olivetti Theatre

Location: Ivrea, Italy

Competition: YAC × Manni Group

Recognition: Gold Mention – ISOPAN “Flat Roof”

Theme: Architecture as Civic Infrastructure

Design by MBA Architects Team:

MATTEO BORSETTI ,

Milina Jayalathge,

Sola-Adebiyi Oluwasemilore

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