Giovanni and Marella Agnelli Art Gallery

The art gallery designed by Renzo Piano on the rooftop of the Lingotto building - the old factory designed by engineer Giacomo Mattè Trucco - brings one of the most original, interesting and extensive urban-scale operations to a close, implementing change and innovation. The operation was conceived, designed and carried out over fifteen years or so in a long sequence of architectural projects. This new fragment of the city is centered around the architecture of the Lingotto building, a gently tapering parallelepiped with glistening steel sides. Zenithal light filters through a flat grid on the roofing, built with 1746 opaque glass panes kept at a safe distance (the so-called “flying carpet”). Below, five floors host temporary exhibitions and other cultural and informative initiatives that are concentrated around the tower of lifts: structures within the structure. Also somewhat of a race track tower that can however be reached by a taxi driving along the legendary ramps and the legendary roof track, it is thus converted, at least ideally, into a one-off, unique urban road.