Bolzano's Noi Techpark Opens October 2, Transforming Former Alumix Plant into Innovation Hub

On October 2, 2017, Bolzano inaugurates Noi Techpark (Nature of Innovation), a technology park in the city's industrial periphery. The park repurposes the former Alumix S.p.a. aluminum plant, Italy's largest, preserving its rationalist architecture from 1937 while integrating modern, eco-sustainable materials. The architectural project, won in 2007 by John Norman Leslie Oldridge and Chapman Taylor LLP (UK) with Claudio Lucchin e architetti associati of Bolzano, covers 190,000 cubic meters. It houses 20 advanced laboratories and 4 research institutes across four focus areas: food technologies, automation, green technologies, and alpine technologies—key sectors of South Tyrol's economy. Managed by Idm Alto Adige, the park involves the Free University of Bolzano and major local research centers in a public-private partnership. Over €100 million have been invested, with an additional €200 million in private investments expected. The site includes a theater, restaurants, and a Black Monolith clad in aluminum, referencing Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The 1934 piezometric tower, transformed into an artwork by Polish artist Mariusz Waras (M-City) during Manifesta 2008, serves as a beacon. This project is part of a broader trend of cultural urban regeneration of former industrial areas in Italy, including Turin's OGR, Brescia's Musil, and Follonica's Parco dell'Ex ILVA.