The Eastern Residential Unit (), also known as ''Hotel La Serra'', is a building located in
Ivrea
Ivrea (; ; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it straddles the Dora Baltea and is ...
, Italy, which is part of the Olivetti complex.
History
The construction of the building, which was commissioned by the
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been owned b ...
company and designed by architects
Igino Cappai and
Pietro Mainardis, began in 1968 and was completed during the 1970s.
The complex was designed to function as a
conference center
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
with a hotel, swimming pool, cinema, conference hall, and exhibition rooms.
During the preliminary excavations for the construction, significant Roman-era remains were discovered on the site, dating back to when the town of Ivrea was known as Eporedia. These findings caused delays in the construction work and were subsequently incorporated into the architectural project.
Description
The building, located on Corso Botta in the center of Ivrea, is adjacent to the
Tallianti Tower and overlooks the Giusiana Gardens.
Its uniqueness lies in its distinctive shape, which resembles a giant
typewriter
A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
. The keys of this typewriter-like structure are represented by the various housing units that, arranged over four levels, protrude from the main body of the building.
References
External links
{{Olivetti Complex
Buildings and structures in Ivrea
Olivetti