INTEGRATED
ENGINEERING
AND ARCHITECTURE

Cascina Mordina is a rural complex situated within the "Parco delle Groane e della Brughiera Briantea," and constitutes a significant historical landmark of Lombard rural culture from the pre-industrial era. The project aims to repurpose the main building to accommodate local associations, meeting rooms, a tourist information point, a press room, classrooms, and a documentation centre focused on the park. The volume on the west side, which houses the ancient oven, will be preserved in its entirety as an oven-museum, serving as a historical testament to peasant civilisation. The former barn will be transformed into an accommodation facility featuring a refreshment point and 10 beds (including 5 rooms with private bathrooms, one of which is accessible to disabled members of the public), along with accommodation for the manager. The project rigorously preserves the typological and stylistic elements of the existing buildings, aiming to restore the original identity and visual character for visitors and users alike. To reinforce the structural integrity of the former barn, a steel framework independent of the existing masonry will be installed. This framework will support new floors constructed with a secondary wooden frame, featuring exposed beams and planks. The brick extension against the southern wall of the former stable, probably once used as a chicken coop, will be demolished and replaced with a new structure of similar dimensions. This new volume will house domestic hot water tanks, meters, storage batteries, and inverters. A slender steel framework will be covered entirely with Corten steel plates on both the facade and the roof. Some of these plates will be perforated with a graphic motif inspired by the perforated bricks of the existing facade, varying in size to evoke the wooden planks typical of exterior partitions in old barns. In line with the project's environmental sustainability goals and in compliance with the provisions of the PNRR, green technology will be employed for the buildings' air conditioning. This includes a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system known for its high energy efficiency, enabling significant savings in primary energy consumption without emissions that contribute to climate change.