Abandoned industrial sites, buildings and structures can be very inspiring elements and places for creative minds, for their crumbling textures, colours and architectures.
The Gasometer M.A.N. n. 3 in Bologna has been a recognisable feature in the city skyline for decades. Opened in 1930, the 52 metre high structure was used until 1984 to stock gas.
The building was considered as a sort of industrial architecture gem since its design and shape were deemed as extremely experimental (very similar structures were located in other countries, but not in Italy).
The gasometer has a 16 face prism-like structure covered in sheet metal with a concrete base. The top is covered with an iron roof that integrates a ventilation dome. Outside the gasometer there are three gangplanks connected by a single staircase that runs around the structure.
The last charcoal distillation oven was closed in October 1960, then the structure was used for gas, but once the new plants were opened in the '80s, the building was abandoned.
The structure has now become the unlikely protagonist of an exhibition of images by Carlo Valsecchi, kicking off tomorrow at the Sala degli Incamminati at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna (National Art Gallery of Bologna; until 31st March 2019). The exhibition is part of the ART CITY Bologna event.
In his practice Valsecchi mainly focuses on architecture, urban and industrial landscapes and infinite natural spaces. The gasometer project was inspired by a trip to Bologna the photographer took a while back. The images chronicle the restoration process the gasometer went through thanks to the support the Gruppo Hera.
In the photographs the gasometer is conceived as a living structure that has been on a journey of constant transformation since the '30s. Rather than looking like an old piece of industrial architecture, the gasometer calls to mind a mysterious futuristic structure, its roof shot from the inside resembles indeed one of those fascinating views of complex machines like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Valsecchi wanted to give the structure an almost sacred aura, portraying it like a silent space located in a utopian dimension where the physical and emotional landscapes collide and combine.
Hopefully there will be at some point an architectural documentary about such industrial landmarks as they are very inspiring from a cultural and architectural point of view. For what regards Valsecchi's images instead, expect them to reappear at some point in a fashion collection: the more you look at them, the more you can imagine the pictures as prints on utilitarian jackets or functional dresses with an architectural edge about them.
Image credits for this post
All images copyright Carlo Valsecchi
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