The man behind Turin's Juventus Museum and the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles has turned his hand to the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese, near Milan.
Tasked with re-launching the objectives of the Alfa Romeo brand, as well as preserving and modernising the building, Benedetto Camerana started work in summer 2014, completing the project within a year.
Balancing history and the contemporary was crucial for Camerana – not only to reflect the evolution of Alfa Romeo, but to correspond with the requirements of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. The governing body asked Camerana to show respect for the dated – yet charming – 1960s structure.
Camerana makes use of the three original floors by giving them a corresponding brand point: timeline, beauty and speed. The 'beauty' floor is characterised by clean lines and uncluttered display spaces, reminicent of an old coach factory. The 'timeline' space features a giant, light-tunnel display in a glass atrium, while the 'speed' area, with its blackened floor, could be lifted straight from the racetrack.
The largest architectural change to the building comes in the form of the impressive ‘Romeo-red’ structure that stretches the length of the structure, resembling a futuristic exhaust-pipe. With additions such as this alongside the complete interior revamp, Camerana created an entirely new museum, without sacrificing the integrity of the original building.
Glass features heavily in the new interior, especially in the 'timeline' space, which shows the evolution and history of this iconic brand
Pictured: the Alfa Romeo RL Super Sport, from 1925 – the first car Alfa produced after the First World War
Pictured: an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider prototype, from 1955
The 'speed' floor has low lighting and a blackened floor, reminiscent of a race track. Here, some of Alfa's most famous sporting hero models are on display
The 'beauty' floor is light and airy, and celebrates the design-orientated aspects of the brand's history
The museum also houses important memorabilia, along with audio clips, video and photography
Pictured: the Alfa Carabo was a Bertone-penned concept car created for the 1968 Paris Motor Show
INFORMATION
For more information and opening times, visit Alfa Romeo Musuem’s website
ADDRESS
Museo Alfa Romeo
Viale Alfa Romeo
20020 Arese
-
Year in review: top 10 design stories of 2024Wallpaper* magazine's 10 most-read design stories of 2024 whisk us from fun Ikea pieces to the man who designed the Paris Olympics, and 50 years of the Rubik's Cube
-
Sharon Smith's Polaroids capture 1980s New York nightlifeIDEA Books has launched a new monograph of Smith’s photographs, titled Camera Girl and edited by former editor-in-chief of LIFE magazine, Bill Shapiro
-
A multifaceted Beverly Hills house puts the beauty of potentiality in the frameA Beverly Hills house in Trousdale, designed by Robin Donaldson, brings big ideas to the residential scale
-
A 90s icon of Italian sports car design is reborn as the Veloce12 by Touring SuperleggeraCarrozzeria Touring Superleggera have transformed the Ferrari 550 Maranello into an all-analogue, carbon-bodied GT for the modern era
-
New Alfa Romeo Milano revives the marque’s sporty, small-car heydayThe all-new Alfa Romeo Milano is the brand’s latest compact car, a small SUV with two all-electric options and plenty of integral style
-
A pair of performance Alfa Romeos burnish the hallowed Quadrifoglio badgeThe new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio represent the apex of each model
-
Maserati Grecale Modena hits the middle ground, an SUV for the badge-consciousThe Maserati Grecale Modena shows just how far a brand has to go to make an impact in the contemporary car market. How does it reflect on the Italian company’s long heritage?
-
Ares Wami Lalique Spyder harks back to a golden age of coachbuildingWith the Ares Wami Lalique Spyder’s real crystal fittings and entirely bespoke body, the Milan-based coachbuilder evokes midcentury automotive glamour
-
Riva Yacht’s Italian shipyard and HQ is refined and expanded courtesy of MMAAThe home of Riva Yacht’s superyacht division on the shores of the Ligurian Sea has been transformed by Studio Manfroni e Associati di La Spezia
-
Stunning Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale marks the brand’s return to custom car buildingSharing a name with a 1960s icon, the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a contemporary electric supercar, albeit ferociously expensive and strictly limited. Is this the shape of Alfas to come?
-
Pininfarina delves into the history books for a special edition of its Battista electric hypercarThe Pininfarina Battista Edizione Nino Farina is an edition of five cars honouring an Italian racing driver, pushing the manufacturer’s hypercar to new levels of customisation
