about us
Carlo Nepi and Mario R. Terrosi work together since 1977. They founded the team in occasion of the restoration and the recovery of "Magazzini del Sale", located inside Palazzo Pubblico of Siena. It was a very difficult and complex project, with a high degree of responsibility, which was directly supervised by Cesare Brandi, the developer of restoration theory.
Their main activity is museum and exhibithions planning, mostly about sculpture and painting, expecially inside historical buildings. They designed exhibitions and museums layout inside Palazzo Strozzi and Uffizi in Florence; Magazzini del Sale, Palazzo Chigi Saracini, S. Agostino's Church, Pinacoteca Nazionale and Santa Maria della Scala in Siena; Antico Spedale in Cremona; Museo Civico e Diocesano in Montalcino; Olive Oil Museum inside the ancient Grancia of Serre di Rapolano.
Siena and its territory are very rich of historical buildings and art. Its landscape is unique in the world. Nepi and Terrosi are both sensitive to this peculiar context and their planning and restoration activity is characterized by a great variety of themes.
The most clear examples of the integration between territory and architecture are: the new plant for composting, recycling and waste processing in the wonderful landscape of Crete Senesi; and the waste-to-energy plant in the countryside between Poggibonsi and San Gimignano.
Among the several restoration works relating to the transformation of the ancient city texture, two of these are particularly important: an ex cinema, located in the centre of Siena, turned into an public gallery with shops and offices; and, in Piazza del Campo, the conversion of an old building into Council offices. In spite of the strong relationship of these two buildings with the ancient city, it was possible, however, to use a contemporary architectural language, especially in the interior planning and design.
Even in the case of new buildings, whether planned or realized, it is always clear the objective to link them to the place and its history, in some way, but at the same time there's always an obvious exploring and opening towards new multiple languages.
In several cases, the buildings are located next to the ancient wall of Siena: the small residential and commercial building in Via Simone Martini (1987), Chianti Bank headquarters, residential estate in the neighbourhoods of Petriccio (1996), Ruffolo (1997), Acquacalda (1996) and Cerchiaia (1997); student housing in the neighbourhoods of San Miniato (2000) and the housing estate in Via Fiorentina (2005). In all these projects the aim is both facing with the context and becoming a new focus for the context itself.
The same planning method has been used for the latest projects, located in Siena's suburbs: the new two buldings for offices in the area of Stellino and the one in Cerchiaia, and the Biotech headquarters in the neighbourhoods of Petriccio.
The building - infrastructure for the industrial area of Bagnoli (2006) has been planned with the same approach: the building is an "urban access door" to the future urban park to be built in that area. The project was the subject of an integrated contract which has been heavily modified during execution.
Several points in common with the project for Bagnoli can be found in two works next to the historic center of Siena, both characterized by integration of mixed-use and strong relationships between public and private spaces: a complex of residences, offices and silos car near the Porta S. Viene, and multifunctional building located within the ex industrial area Socini.