Cino Zucchi's hi-tech automated warehouse in Bergamo features decorative 'grass blades'

CZA – Cino Zucchi Architetti has completed a fully automated warehouse for Pedrali in Mornico al Serio (Bergamo), designed to operate 24/7. The 29-meter-high structure spans 7,000 square meters and stores 16,880 pallets of finished and semi-finished products. Connected to existing industrial spaces via a skytrain and eight self-steering shuttles, the warehouse integrates into the rural landscape through design choices that transcend mere environmental mitigation, according to Zucchi. The facades feature extruded aluminum profiles called 'fili d'erba' (grass blades) in natural aluminum finish, arranged in oblique and vertical patterns. Different facade colors based on orientation create an optical spectacle that transforms the volume into a 'natural amplifier' of daylight and seasons. The project received approval from the Mornico al Serio Quality Commission and includes two landscape interventions: tree planting along the Mornichello ditch on the west side and a green arrangement on the south side defining a visual corridor along the ancient Via Francesca. Photographs by Filippo Romano document the project.