From the levy of resources into the refund of wealth to the community

The project proposes the redevelopment case of a disused limestone quarry located just a mile from the outskirts of Cagliari, capital city of Sardinia (Italy). The proposal for conversion of the site wants to reinterpret the place in terms of usefulness for the community, evaluating an alternative management of local resources. It identifies the Sardinian economy leading sectors and define the value chain: agrifood - Tourism - Environment - services. The project‘s objective is to provide answers and solutions to the factors affecting negatively the development of these sectors. Consequently it has been thought the establishment of a Quality Food Park to provide quality services to companies, to organize the access of local products to large distribution networks regionally, nationally and internationally and to implement policies of marketing and protection. This hypothesis has an enhanced sense if inserted in the costitution of a rural district in the territory of Cagliari, the most appropriate institutional platform for the development of the emerging post-Fordist economic paradigm. The quarry’s area would be the district’s organizing center, with the role of coordinating the relationship between the SMBs of agrifood and tourism, research centers and government agencies. From a formal point of view, the buildings in the Park revisit the Sardinian traditional earthen architecture, refer to the colors of limestone quarry and retrieve the profiles of Sardinian handicraft. The planimetry has been designed as a collage of fabrics that evoke the rich textile traditions of Sardinia.