Viale Gaetano Storchi 2 (now wide Marco Biagi 10)
Located in an area undergoing profound transformation following the definitive landing of the Citadel ramparts, the GRF "XXVI Settembre", built between 1934 and 1935 on a project by Mario Guerzoni, is one of the most articulated and dimensionally conspicuous district groups built in Modena.
Probably it is the urban location itself that conditions the design program: it is in fact placed on a lot at the branch of viale Storchi from via Emilia. The importance of the elevation facing the historic city is confirmed by the brick tower, a real urban sign whose effect is enhanced by the angular openings at the top and by the flagpole in line with the underlying vertical cut of a continuous window.
The rest of the elevation on Viale Storchi, with its marked horizontal course, has plastered surfaces furrowed by ribbon windows and interrupted by visible brick pillars. This side is characterized by the presence of a plastic and monumental portal, in whose language it is possible to recognize the formation of "Novecentist" Guerzoni, even more evident in the slightly earlier GRF "Sinigaglia".
On the elevation of Via Bacchini there is another entrance, in a backward position and overlooking a sort of fore-end formed by two symmetrical bodies. Inside, the large multifunctional space stands out, which, as in all the district groups, could serve as a cinema, gymnasium or ceremonial hall for the occasion.
The complex is now the seat of the Marco Biagi Foundation of the University of Studies, dedicated to the labour lawyer assassinated by the Red Brigades in 2002, after a careful restoration carried out between 2006 and 2008 on a project by Tiziano Lugli.
Via Saverio Fabriani, viale Monte Kosica, viale Molza
The building is located in the northern area near the historic center, in the area of the former Citadel, which in those years underwent major interventions of urban redefinition, such as the redestination of the Forum Boarium after the displacement of the livestock market, the construction of the INA Casa district of Viale Storchi and later the Technical Institute "J. Barozzi".
The bus station also contributed to this, an infrastructure set up by Councillor Mario Pucci to reorganise the transport system both for the city and for the main towns in the province.
The complex consists of a service building, with a perfect parallelepiped volume, from which stands out on the front of the entrance the extrusion of the canopy slightly inclined upwards. The two main elevations, identical, are composed according to a very simplified rationalist language. the vertical pillars of the eight bays and the horizontal floors of the two upper floors define a grid, corresponding to the visible structures, which determines the division of the elevation and the pitch of the windows, both on the ground floor, as well as those above. Inside, the building houses in a double height volume the waiting room, the ticket office and some services including the barber and a hotel for travelers. The station is completed by eight reinforced concrete shelters, covering the sidewalks of the arrivals and departures of vehicles, similar to those of the contemporary cattle market, rotated by about forty-five degrees and tapered towards the border of the lot.
Viale Gaetano Storchi, via Severino Fabriani
The project for a new residential district to be built on the site of the former Citadel is one of the first INA-Casa initiatives in Modena following the approval of the "Fanfani Plan" in 1949. Compared to other INA-House projects that will arise in the city, characterized by a free arrangement of buildings in large areas where green and open spaces dominate, here the settlement takes on a more urban character, clearly structured on the axis of Viale Storchi which finds its focal point of origin in the Fascist district group "XXVI September".
A double row of buildings is arranged in a sequence of lots between the same avenue and via Fabriani.
The side on Viale Storchi is characterized by the sequence of small two-storey buildings with a simple volume and intended for home-workshop, which define the character of a commercial street that still maintains, accentuated by the mention of the porch of a first project not realized, represented by the canopy slightly inclined, which creates a protected area on the street front.
At the back of each lot, on the other hand, there is a five-storey building for residential use only, arranged perpendicularly to the first floor. The elevations are characterized by an accentuated horizontal subdivision, marked by full plastered walls and empty loggias and balconies, which gives them a fairly recurrent image of the INA buildings of the period.