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Lingotto is a building complex on Via Nizza in Turin, Italy. It once housed a car factory built by Italian automotive company Fiat and today houses the administrative headquarters of the manufacturer and a multipurpose centre projected by architect Renzo Piano.
In 1916, construction started on the complex, and it was completed in 1923. The design by the young architect Giacomo Matté-Trucco was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars built on a line that went up through the building. Finished cars emerged at rooftop level to go onto a 1,500-metre (1.5 km; 4,900 ft; 0.93 mi) long [1] test track, with spiral concrete access ramps at each end. [2]
The construction was carried out by the company of G A Porcheddu. It was the largest car factory in the world at that time. For its time, the Lingotto building was avant garde , influential, and impressive— Le Corbusier called it "one of the most impressive sights in industry", and "a guideline for town planning". In its lifetime, the factory manufactured 80 different car models, notably the 1936 Fiat Topolino.[ citation needed ]
By the late 1970s, the factory had become obsolete — having been superseded by the larger and more advanced Fiat Mirafiori factory — and a decision was made to finally close it in 1982. The closure of the plant led to much public debate about its future, and how to recover from industrial decline in general. An architectural competition was held, which was eventually awarded to Renzo Piano, who envisioned an exciting public space for the city. The old factory was restored into a modern complex, with concert halls, theatre, a convention centre, shopping arcades, and a hotel. The eastern portion of the building is the headquarters of the Automotive Engineering faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin. The work was completed in 1989. The track was retained, and can still be visited today on the top floor of the shopping mall and hotel.[ citation needed ] The top floor contains an art gallery that houses the art collection of Gianni Agnelli (1921 – 2003). [2]
Similar rooftop tests tracks exist, including at Impéria in Nessonvaux in Belgium and Palacio Chrysler in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [3] From 1928 [4] to 1958, Impéria had a track over 1,000 metres (1.0 km; 3,300 ft; 0.62 mi) long that was built partially on top of the factory.
The Lingotto building is featured extensively in the Alberto Lattuada film Mafioso (1962).[ citation needed ]
The original Lingotto rooftop test track features briefly in the getaway sequence in the film The Italian Job (1969).[ citation needed ]
The building is featured in an episode of The Amazing Race (S20 E04) that originally aired in the United States on 11 March 2012.[ citation needed ]
The building and test track were featured[ when? ] on the first episode of James May's Cars of the People.[ citation needed ]
