Following the launch of Technogym’s new headquarters in Italy, we speak to architect Antonio Citterio about designing a building ‘around the human being’

Technogym’s new headquarters were launched in September 2012 in Cesena, Italy, in a huge opening celebration attended by Bill Clinton and the president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano.

Designed by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners, the building houses Technogym’s production facilities and administration, a research and innovation laboratory, product showrooms, warehousing, a staff restaurant and a large wellness centre dedicated to physical exercise and education.

The facility is the brainchild of Technogym’s founder and president Nerio Alessandri, and brings together all of Technogym’s operations in one place for the first time.

“We wanted to create a place that would inspire the industry about wellness,” says Alessandri. “Wellness is not a concrete product. It’s an experience, and in order to understand it, you need to live it. We wanted to create a destination where our customers, our partners and all the industry stakeholders could come and understand our vision by experiencing it for themselves – where we can both listen to and inspire people, and contribute to the future of our industry.”

The two-level, 2,700sq m Wellness Centre is at the heart of this vision. The centre features a 5,000sq m gym on the upper floor – which is free for staff and visitors to use – and a medical centre and spa on the ground floor. The spa features a sauna, steamroom, hydropool and relaxation area, and offers a range of treatments. The Wellness Centre has been entirely designed in lamellar wood with glass walls providing views over the park.

Other features designed to reinforce the wellness message throughout the village include Swiss balls instead of chairs at desks, vending machines offering healthy snacks, the staff restaurant which serves healthy, low-fat organic and locally-sourced food and Technogym equipment placed throughout the offices so staff can take short breaks to exercise during their working day. Staff are entitled to a personalised exercise and nutrition plan, and there's a wide range of activity choices available on the site, from Nordic walking to basketball and volleyball (there is a court on-site).

The location for the Technogym Village was chosen for its proximity to the A14 motorway, helping with transportation of products and also ensuring that the facilities are highly visible to the outside world.

 Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners have designed a very simple structure using a mixture of pre-fabricated elements in steel and reinforced concrete. The building features a curved, wooden roof, with a lamellar wood and glass façade. It has a range of environmentally-sustainable features including a building management system that automatically responds to the positioning of the sun, lowering blinds and opening windows in order to adjust light and temperature naturally as much as possible. Inside, the offices are organised on two sides, while the central area of the building houses the services, open plan work areas and meeting spaces.