1978
‘ESPONE 78‘
international trade show
of the Prato textile
industry
|
project start
date |
1978 |
|
time period |
October 17-20,
1978 |
|
location |
Istituto Tullio
Buzzi - Prato
, Italy
|
|
client |
City of Prato -
Ente Fiera |
|
architects |
Marco Meozzi -
Ferdinando Betti
, Architects |
The autumn appointment
of ‘Prato Espone 78
autunno –inverno’ was
held inside the Istituto
Tecnico Tullio Buzzi in
October 1978, and for
the occasion a special
display was made in the
inside courtyard. A
yellow mannequin
representing
“Metropolitan Man” was
placed on the green
grass, an explicit and
premonitory reference to
contemporary issues
dealing with urban
pollution.
About the editions of
‘Prato Produce’ and
‘Prato Espone’ at the
Istituto Buzzi:
The first expo events
focusing on the local
textile production were
conceived by Carlo
Montaini who at the time
was the City Councilor
for Economic
Development; the shows
were held inside a
school (Istituto Tecnico
Industriale Tullio Buzzi)
in the following order:
-‘PRATO PRODUCE 77’
October 19-21,
1977 – international
expo of machines for the
textile industry.
-‘PRATO ESPONE 77‘
September 10-18,
1977 – trade show for
the Prato textile
district.
-‘PRATO ESPONE 78‘
October 17-20, 1978
– trade show for the
Prato textile district .
-‘PRATO PRODUCE-OSI
78’
September 6-10, 1978 --
international expo of
machines, accessories,
chemical and plastic
materials as
well as services for the
textile industry .
The city didn't have a
specific Expo centers
and using the vocational
school that prepared the
best technicians for the
textile sector seemed
like a natural choice.
For one week the school
changed its appearance:
the creation of offices,
desks, bars, phone
centers, terminals,
conference centers, expo
stands transformed it
into a large exposition
center. Thousands of
national and
international visitors
attended.
This was a good example
of how a school building
designed for another
task can exchange
functions and
experiences.
This particular
experience can also be
cited today in an
interesting debate on
alternative uses for
existing structures
and the strong economic
and social implications
engendered by this new
use.
Indeed it is easy to
demonstrate that if an
entire community were to
be furnished in an equal
and sufficient way with
the infrastructures
required by a modern
society, the resources
for building, equipping
and servicing wouldn't
be sufficient.
This is how the need to
re-use existing
structures arises.
The school, which in
this case presented a
chance to experiment an
alternative use, is – in
its own right –
under-utilized; usually
it is used for just a
few hours a day with an
almost total closure
during the summer
period.
School spaces should be
opened for complementary
uses needed by the
community, such as
public offices for
district administration,
public libraries, social
and living centers.
In a similar fashion
other spaces such as
movie houses,
representation spaces,
and auditoriums could
easily be used by
schools or universities.
The implications are not
only of an economic
order, limiting the
amount of wasted funds,
but also of a social and
political nature.
In this way an
interchange of roles,
functions, and
experiences would lead
to imagining new, more
articulated and flexible
spaces as well as to
give greater attention
to the Architecture of
Tomorrow and the City of
the Future. Not as a
static and invariable
fact but as a dynamic
process that is able to
transform itself and
adapt to new and
differentiated roles.