Insight
- Heritage
Underground Parking – Santa Maria Novella, Florence
1992
Client: Iniziative Toscane Uno
Florence, Italy
The underground parking facility beneath Piazza della Stazione “Santa Maria Novella” was completed in 1992.
A complex and ambitious project, it integrates both a parking structure and a pedestrian gallery. The multi-level layout, covering approximately 5,800 sqm, features an irregular pentagonal shape within a highly sensitive urban context. Significant constraints included the proximity of the Santa Maria Novella church, whose structural integrity and frescoes required zero vibration during construction.
The project was executed only after confirming, through core sampling, the absence of archaeological remains. Completed within the scheduled nine months, the design by Prof. Arch. Paolo Felli, with Arch. J. Yunessi, integrates seamlessly into the architectural identity of the square designed by Michelucci.
The concept was to create a flexible and expressive space shaped around individual needs, allowing users to adapt it according to real requirements rather than predefined constraints.
