LA PISTA 500 (TURIN, ITALY)
“La Pista 500” transforms the test track on the roof of Lingotto, the historic headquarters of FIAT, which reopened to the public as a multifunctional structure thanks to a recovery project by Renzo Piano, into a sustainable oasis. A big linear garden with almost 40,000 small trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants coexisting with the users. The project promotes environmental principles with solutions in the areas of ecology, energy conservation, and social responsibility. The park turns a private property into a public space where people can gather, exercise, meditate, and enjoy a spectacular view of Turin and the surrounding crown of the Alps.
La Pista 500 extends for 27,000 square metres, with natural installations covering over 6,000 square metres, divided into twenty-eight green “islands”. These gardens of lush greenery and wildflowers blossom form a naturalistic patchwork of colour, with seasonal variations. Over 300 indigenous types were selected based on ecological criteria as they grow swiftly without requiring much water. Hazelnut trees, dyeing plants, and edible species alternate with areas for fitness, meditation, yoga, whereas the blue resin running track winds through the garden’s thematic regions and trails.
The history of the test rack from the 1920s and 1930s lives on in the name of the project and in the kilometre loop with the two iconic parabolic curves, serving as a track for electric vehicles, bicycles and scooters.
Benedetto Camerana; Il Giardino Segreto; Stellantis Group
Photo: Marco Schiavone
