Phase Motion Control is building, in the industrial complex that once belonged to Piaggio Aerospace, its new development centre for energy and movement
The new development centre on energy control is located in the former Piaggio Aerospace plant opposite Genoa airport.
The complex, located in a strategic position in front of the airport, was in a state of neglect and is now undergoing a profound renovation to make it a research and manufacturing centre projected in the future.
The factory is divided into two connected areas:
. An offices and laboratory building, with access on Via Cibrario which juts out with a glass bridge that crosses Via Marsiglia towards the old hangar.
. The manufacturing part, which covers several connected buildings and uses the old hangar to produce larger machines that reach several meters in diameter.
The office building, originally a gloomy rectangular and uniform building of the 70s, is extended laterally with large full-height bay windows, which allow the creation of bright and spacious meeting rooms.
The ground floor, which has numerous access points to the outside, is dedicated to electrochemical R&D for the development of high-density batteries, and houses a glove chamber, an area with very low humidity and a chemical laboratory intended for the sampling of new chemicals for batteries initially in the solid state.
The second floor is a public area extending over Marsiglia street by a glass bridge.
Here you will find the reception, a relaxation area that is usually the place where innovative ideas are born and discussed, all the meeting rooms and marketing and commercial offices. In the public area there is a projection room where the planetarium offered by Phase to the Astronomical Observatory of Genoa, part of the University Popolare Sestrese that will manage the public projections even outside working hours.
The old hangar has been transformed by removing the asbestos roof and old doors that have been replaced by a bold window of 600 square meters without any support. This is thanks to a particular design of the glass panels, 9 meters high and weighing over 3 tons each; an engineering achievement probably unique in Europe.
The hangar’s floor, which occupies 6000 square meters, was demolished and built in post-tension technology, that is, without any joint for the entire extension, so as to allow the transport of heavy loads on an air cushion. After major consolidation work, a 40 T bridge crane was installed for the transport of the machines for which the installation is intended.
From an energy point of view, the old boilers have been eliminated; All buildings have been redeveloped with increased thermal insulation and the whole system is conditioned with energy-efficient heat pumps. The necessary energy is supplied by a photovoltaic system integrated into the roofs, canopies and railings of the terraces for a power of 500 kW.
The façades were fitted with an innovative photocatalytic coating, which uses sunlight to split nitrogen oxides and purify the air, which is particularly useful near an airport.
The last building of the old Piaggio, whose availability is still under negotiation, will also require a profound restructuring, and will be destined for the construction of the first important battery factory for energy and aeronaval storage use.
