14.07.2004 THE Ferrari MASERATI GROUP haS unveiled two new buildings in the Formula Uomo production facilities redevelopment project at Maranello

The Ferrari Maserati Group has unveiled two new buildings in the Formula Uomo production facilities redevelopment project at Maranello, the Product Development Centre and the New Paint Technologies Area.

The Product Development Centre, designed by Massimiliano Fuksas and built by Cogei, is the futuristic architectural creation which houses Ferrari's design, technologies, marketing, purchases and quality control offices.

The building is crisscrossed by pathways that link its various areas both horizontally and vertically to facilitate a continuous exchange of information between the interfunctional design teams, and to allow every one of the production cycle phases to be monitored closely.

Mr Fuksas created this magical-looking building, which seems to hover in the air, after analysing all of the processes involved in developing new cars, quite literally from the blank page to the final production-ready model.

The building covers a total surface area of 11,000 square metres on four levels and houses around 450 employees.

The nature of the creative and design work that would go on there inspired Mr Fuksas to create solutions that would isolate and embrace the entire complex.

Apart from a striking overhang courtesy of the highest level, the building also boasts a stunning pool-like expanse of water that breaks up the volumes and gives the impression that they too are floating.

There is also an indoor bamboo garden on the ground floor surrounded by white marble paving flags. The water, bamboo, enormous windows, ecological materials and biotechnologies used in the Centre combine to create spaces that are not only highly efficient but also extremely pleasant to work in.

The New Paint Technologies Area, designed by architect Marco Visconti, marries the most advanced industrial technologies (a high innovative bodyshell paint cycle developed in conjunction with Dürr) with exceptional environmental quality courtesy of extremely low emission levels. The facility covers a surface area of around 20,000 square metres and employs 130 people.

Approximately 40 Ferrari and Maserati bodyshells are painted here each day, using a powder primer and water-based paints, thus guaranteeing an excellent quality finish and high standard working conditions.

The 22-metre high building is the highest in the entire Maranello complex and covers three levels. On ground level, there is the service and maintenance facility, followed by the various paint stages on the first floor, and then the climate control and air purification units on the top level.

But the most innovative feature of the entire building is the pre-treatment and cataphoresis tunnel in which the bodyshells rotate through 360°, meaning that they are completely submerged in 11 process tanks in succession, thus optimising the penetration of the treatment fluids.

The presence of the tunnel also means that each individual model in the range can be individually managed and cars of up to 5.5 metres in length and 1.6 metres in height can be treated.

The Formula Uomo project was launched in 1997 and covers a total surface area of 150,000 square metres. The project is not only concerned with the functionality of the buildings but also places great emphasis on the quality of the working environment for Ferrari's employees and surrounds them with excellent architecture.

Formula Uomo provides visible testimony to the industrial growth of a marque whose strongest point is its workforce and teamwork ethic.

The first facility in the Formula Uomo project was the Wind Tunnel, designed by Renzo Piano. An imposing structure devoted to the aerodynamic honing of the Formula 1 cars, the Wind Tunnel was completed in 1997.

At the end of the 2001, the New Mechanical Machining Area, designed by architect Marco Visconti, was opened. It is devoted to the manufacture of Ferrari and Maserati engine components.

Its inauguration was followed by that of the New GES Racing Division Logistics Area, designed by Luigi Sturchio. This building is situated actually at the Fiorano Circuit and is used as the base for the huge trucks that support the Formula 1 team on its travels.

The new facilities opened today are not the last phases of Formula Uomo: the Company Restaurant, which, far from being a simple company canteen, is designed as a pleasant meeting area for Ferrari employees, and the new GES Racing Division Complex will follow soon.