The project of the new "Fiera Bolzano": features and history

In 1991, the "Ente Autonomo Fiera di Bolzano" (Bolzano Fair Independent Organisation) announced an international competition for the planning of the new Fair premises in the production district south of Bolzano, close to the motorway exit. The competition was won by a project by architects Claudio Lucchin and Roberto D'Ambrogio from Bolzano.
Soon after, the Autonomous Province and the Municipality of Bolzano, trusted the Fair Organisation with the task of managing the competition/tender to build the ice stadium in Bolzano, whose location was close to that of the future fair. The building, called "Palaonda" (i.e. "waves' palace") because of the special shape of its roof, was created as a multifunctional structure and as the first pavilion of the new Fair. The tender was assigned to the Del Favero company from Trento, on the basis of a project drawn up by architects Claudio Lucchin and Roberto D'Ambrogio together with their colleagues Bassetti, Anesi, Franchini and engineer Lee. The structure was built at record speed in order to host the world championships of ice hockey in 1994.
In the meantime, while the "Fierabolzano" project was entering the executive phase, during the 1993 "Bauschau" edition (a fair devoted to the building sector), the idea of a "model building site" was put forward. The European Community saw in this site a chance to test the application of the intervention procedures envisaged by the 92/57 directive, just issued. The Fair Organisation considered it an opportunity to enhance its image: a pilot project for a model building site, for a model fair. A mechanism involving various economic operators, social partners and the sector of vocation training was started. The designers had to face the new experience of a pilot programme, participating in specially organised seminars, checking the content of the project to comply with the new and specific safety and health requirements and working out in advance project elements of the site which are usually directly entrusted to the building contractor.

 The Fair premises
On an area covering a total of about 5 hectares, the new Fair area of Bolzano is a strictly rational work, with no tinsels, which - given its considerable dimensions - dominates the entire business district of Bolzano South. It is a complex and complete structure, able to meet the most demanding needs in the exhibition, congress and leisure sectors.

The new Bolzano Fair is divided into two separate structures: the exhibition pavilion and the service centre. The exhibition pavilion covers a roofed-over area of 25,000 m2 and it includes two main sectors with different extensions, separated by the intermediate linking "gallery", which runs through the entire length of the building. A car park for 800 cars has been obtained on the roof. Further 500 cars can be parked in the underground garage along via Marco Polo. In the future, the exhibition pavilion could be heightened by one floor, using the present car park as an extra exhibition floor.
The central route in the pavilion (the "gallery") is made up of steel beams and pillars with a covering of blockboard wood. The combination of wood and steel gives a special note of elegance to the structure.
The service centre (13,500 m2 of usable surface) is a traditional structure, with a frame of concrete and slab floors. Part of the inner yard is covered by a structure of blockboard crossed beams. The building has four floors and hosts various services, among which: the police and firemen posts, a first-aid unit, bank branches, shops, the congress centre, a restaurant, showrooms, cash-desks, the desks where visitors and exhibitors can register and the offices of the Fair Organisation.
On the basis of an agreement made with the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, the Bolzano Fair has been trusted with the management of these services for the quarter.

 The installations
The installations in the new Bolzano Fair were built according to the flexibility, service and ergonomic requirements deriving from the specific destination of the building. The need to guarantee flexibility is due to the fact that the structure must be adaptable in order to host different exhibitions and events.

The services include on the one hand all infrastructure links to primary services (electricity, water, sewers, telecommunication) and on the other the functional services, such as restaurants, meeting rooms, bank branches, travel agencies, telematic services, post offices, agencies providing interpreters and hostesses etc.
Special attention was devoted to the adoption of all devices which guarantee that visitors can fully "use" and enjoy the structure. This goal was achieved through environmental and ambient features (microclimate, illumination, acoustics), making transfers - by means of lifts and escalators - and the identification of places - by means of clear and simple signs - easy.

In the new Fair area all spaces available are used to advertise for products and events which contribute to capture the visitors' attention. A well-devised system of signs indicates the direction and location of services for visitors, exhibitors, installers and the staff. Signs are strategically distributed over the entire area and on the various levels of the Fair premises. They integrate with interactive information terminals (TOTEM). The alphanumeric system uses letters to indicate the sectors and numbers to indicate the aisles and their entrances. The car parks are also divided into sectors and the main entrances bear the logo of the Fair Organisation and of the current exhibition. The signs have different colours, shape and graphic appearance depending on the area where they are placed, the services they signal and the users' category.

 How to reach the Fair
The new Fair area can easily be reached both by car (the "Bolzano South" exit on the Brennero motorway is very close), by train (a station for local trains, located just in front of the main entrance, guarantees fast connections to the city centre) and from the airport inaugurated on March 28th. The city centre can be reached directly by bus: lines 10a, 10b and 4, available about every ten minutes.

 Some data about the building of the Bolzano Fair:
The construction works started in May 1996 and were completed in June 1998, after 24 months of hard work. They were carried out by the Adanti building contractor, from Bologna, i.e. the parent company in the Adanti/ Schiavina/ Pontello consortium, which has then subcontracted the works to over 30 companies. More than 200 km of electric cables and 150 km of pipes were installed; 30,000 cubic meters of concrete were used. About 4,000 concrete mixers entered the building site, 4 million kilos of iron were used for the reinforcement bars and more than 2,000 lamps were installed. On average, between 120 and 150 people worked here every day. The whole work cost 70 billion lira.