Recovery and refurbishment of the buildings of the former Gulì textile factory in Palermo

Abstract

The industrial activity of Palermo, despite having lived a rather short prosperous period, has left traces that are well recognizable and identifiable with architectural artefacts of considerable importance for design quality and size. The Gulì factory, designed by the architect Pietro Scibilia, a pupil of Ernesto Basile, is a piece of history incorporated into the urban fabric. In fact, the designer is a key player in the quality of the Palermo building production of the last century and the Gulì factory is an interesting complex both from the architectural point of view and its urban location, very close to the historical center and significant cultural interest poles. The architectural structure, abandoned and deprived of its original function, maintains a strong historical and collective memory and has interesting potential not only for its volumetric configuration but above all for the typological characteristics that characterize it. The study, conducted at the Department of Architecture of the University of Palermo, proposes an intervention to recover the decommissioned structures through the rehabilitation of the degradation produced by abandonment and the regeneration of the building artifacts present through a reconfiguration of the spaces aimed at welcoming new functions at the service of the city community. The project proposal, while maintaining the volumetric authenticity of the architectural system and enhancing the historical, collective memory and the symbolic values linked to the artefact, makes use of new prefabricated and reversible compositional elements and technological solutions aimed at improving efficiency energy and comfort within the confined spaces.