TURIN INDOOR SKI SLOPES

In the last decade, indoor skiing has grown substantially around the world and now, due to unpredictable and unreliable snow fall, a proposal has been released for an indoor ski centre in Turin, Italy.

The lack of snow due to low precipitation or high temperatures is an immense challenge for winter sport destinations. The same snow-making technology used in alpine resorts is utilised in indoor ski facilities, without the negative implications that artificial snow often has on fauna and flora of natural slopes. Enclosed spaces make this process more efficient and reliable, notwithstanding, the quality of achieved snow is greater.

Ultimately, Veronica Camuncoli and Piotr Pietras’ proposal doesn’t compete with real pistes, rather, it presents an alternative to swimming pools, skateparks and hockey rinks. Turin’s tourism would benefit from the stability of having the first indoor ski slope in the region and in Italy, allowing its citizens to practice their favourite mountain sports all year long.

The master plan proposal for Officina Grandi Motori is designed around a green corridor which stretches through the site or several abandoned factories and reconnects with an abandoned railroad which once served various factories located along it. The green corridor is a way to organise the site, making it more porous and denser in other parts.

The student design team’s proposed mixed-use development includes restoration and adaptation of existing factory buildings to host, desired by the municipality, flower markets and museums. Furthermore, commercial spaces, hostels, and restaurants are interspersed with green public spaces.

The final shape of the indoor ski slope building is a result of section studies of various iterations. The dialogue between curvatures and functionality of piste. The heart of this proposal is a unique piste, angled at 15% with the length of 260 metres, hidden inside a 340-metre-long building. The canopy of the piste is visibly curved to minimise the vacant spaces inside. The highest point above the piste holds a chairlift for skiers and snowboarders.

The inside of the piste is designed as an interactive skin. Strips of membrane hide the structure and give piste sense of purity and rhythm when going down the hill. Thanks to multiple motors and changeable led lighting, the skin can dynamically respond to movement of users or be set as a static sculpture.

The presented student proposal has been designed based on analysis of the post-industrial imprints in relation to the structure of the city and an in-depth research of Turin’s transformation and its wish to rebrand itself.