Located within the historic Lingotto complex in Turin, the Centre for International Cultural Exchange occupies one of the former industrial buildings originally dedicated to Fiat’s design experimentation. Developed as part of the broader regeneration of the Lingotto district, the project confronts the challenge of transforming a monumental industrial interior into a welcoming environment for an international student community.

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The architecture works with the powerful structural character of the existing building, defined by vast concrete spans and oversized columns. Rather than competing with this scale, the project introduces a new inhabitable layer through raised wooden platforms and recessed lounge areas carved into the floor, creating more intimate spaces for study, meeting and informal exchange.

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Engineered timber, metal detailing and large-scale suspended lighting elements balance the hardness of the concrete structure with warmth and human scale, while the student rooms and study spaces adopt a restrained, functional language inspired by modernist principles of essential living.

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The project establishes a dialogue between industrial monumentality and domestic scale, transforming a former production space into a living environment for learning and exchange.