In Udine, ceramic tiles bring colour and new life to an entire neighbourhood

A €17 million investment and two years of work have transformed a group of apartment buildings from the 1960s and 1970s into a vibrant new urban landmark. Completed between 2023 and 2024, the Udine Nuova project redeveloped seven buildings, transforming an entire neighbourhood and demonstrating how construction can drive social regeneration. The initiative involved 460 units, including apartments, offices and shops, and improved living conditions for almost a thousand residents. The project, supported by Italy’s Superbonus tax credit scheme, focused largely on the façades. A total of 18,286 square metres of surfaces were renovated: 10,918 sqm of ventilated façades and 7,368 sqm of external insulation.

This intervention not only revolutionised the buildings’ appearance but also cut energy consumption by half, ensuring a energy efficiency class improvement from 2 to 3 and a better indoor comfort in summer. The sheer scale of the project meant that careful coordination was required, with five condominium administrators working together on the Alpi 2, 3, 4 and 5, Consap and San Daniele complexes. The only building excluded was Alpi 1, a tower block that once housed the Capitol cinema. The redevelopment was led by architect Gianluca Rosso of Open Building Srl Sb and carried out by the contractor Rizzani de Eccher SpA of Pozzuolo del Friuli (UD). Porcelain stoneware, chosen for its strength, durability and colour stability, played a key role in the project.

The ventilated façades were built using an aluminium substructure to support 60×120 cm panels mounted on exposed hooks. As Rosso explains, the colour concept was inspired by the urban renewal of Tirana promoted by Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama. “The idea came from observing Edi Rama’s Tirana, where paint and colour became tools of collective rebirth,” he said. “In Udine too, dull grey has been replaced by a vibrant, coherent palette.”

This vision translated into a play of colours across the various buildings based on their morphology. For the Consap and San Daniele blocks, with their horizontal layout, the architects chose Cerdisa’s Metal Design collection in a Brass finish. These large porcelain stoneware panels have iridescent, metallic surfaces that capture the light and add a touch of sophisticated modernity. In contrast, the Alpi towers stand out for the bold finishes of panels from Cerdisa Ricchetti Group’s Fresco collection. The Sage Green and Blue Whale colours, also in a 60×120 cm format, create a lively interplay of volumes that transforms the buildings from anonymous residential blocks into striking architectural landmarks.

The Udine Nuova project demonstrates that innovative materials and bold use of colour can not only revitalise the look of buildings but also foster a greater sense of belonging on the part of the local community. The success of the Udine Nuova project lies both in its daring colour scheme and in the strategic use of ceramics, a material that have become essential for achieving sustainability and energy efficiency. By combining design and technological innovation, ceramics go beyond the role of simple cladding to become an integrated tool for long-lasting and energy-conscious urban renewal, paving the way for a new approach to building envelopes.