The area extends over the approximately 12,000 sqm that once were Mirafiori’s Officine Meccaniche 81; today, it is a multi-functional space where the history of Italian brands Fiat, Lancia and Abarth comes to life. HUB, showcasing over 250 vehicles focused around eight themes, is a dynamic place telling the story of Turin’s territory and of a Group with a great past and a strong vision for the future.
Angelini Design defined HUB’s exhibition design and all the materials it includes: a photographic lightbox to welcome visitors; panels along the central corridor (highlighting the history of the Heritage department) and in the eight thematic areas; vertical displays with details, technical features and the peculiar story of each car; and finally, vertical and floor signage to guide visitors as they experience this “3D archive” of the history and evolution of FCA’s Italian brands. The strong bonds with the local territory and innovative element that has always been crucial to the work of the company’s designers is condensed in the claim, Invented Here.
An entire section of HUB is dedicated to Reloaded by Creators, the initiative through which Heritage offers some models for sale after they’ve been restored by FCA experts. An installation – made up of suspended panels forming an itinerary within the itinerary, based on text and photographs from Archivio Storico Fiat – is dedicated to the history of Mirafiori: the beating heart of Fiat for over a century, and now the location of the HUB project. Heritage’s new home, where the department led by Roberto Giolito also has its offices, includes a conference structure, a casual meeting area with a shared “social” table, and a lounge designed to make HUB a place open to dialogue for both car enthusiasts and designers or students, who will be able to access the rich collection on display as a source of inspiration and in-depth information.
HUB’s look is in constant balance between the industrial nature of the site – a web of metal pillars and cement floors, preserving the original workshop palette of green and mustard yellow – and the fine aesthetics of the new fit-out, which is based on beige, white and black for a strong graphic impact. It all makes for a contemporary and unexpected visual blend.
For this project in the agency’s second year of collaboration with the FCA department, Angelini Design also created HUB’s naming – designed to convey the nature of a venue that is far from the static concept of a museum – and its logo, with lines reminiscent of the typical sketches used in car design. The agency also designed the communication material handed out to journalists and insiders during the inauguration on 2 June 2019, at the presence of FCA Chairman John Elkann and other key people from the FCA world: the press release, a notepad with a cover made by upcycling panels from the fit-out, and an endless pencil with the HUB logo – altogether channelling contemporary style with an industrial touch, just like the entire project Angelini Design created to make Heritage HUB a place of culture, history and future visions.
