In 1985, the Cassa di Risparmio of Reggio Emilia reopened its central offices in Palazzo del Monte to the public; this historical building dates back to the end og the 13 th centuary. The architects AFRA e TOBIA SCARPA design the forniture, who altered the physionomy and furnishings og the palace according to its history and us a bank. The company Cesare Roversi has created artifacts in different materials: wood, brass, iron, glass.
Waiting area
The big blue panel enhances the waiting area, matching the furnishings with an architectural effect.
Meeting room
The board of directors' hall houses a superlative table measuring 4x8 meters with projecting cover. The top is made of 60 mm thick marine ply-board covered in briar-wood and finished with duramen, rosewood and walnut. Precious and eternal, the table is borne by tubular metal elements with gunmetal finishing and brass supports.
Staircase
The monumental staircase occupies a shaft of dual height, opening up a vertical and spatial projection and echoing old designs to exalt an architectural space which had never been achieved before in this building. The staircase has a wood-covered removable metal structure. Wooden nails in a contrasting colour fix the covering to the reinforcing support. The black part of the covering was obtained by scorching the ash heartwood staves which were then brushed and wax-polished.
Management Office
The presidency and management offices are occupied by a particular desk having an enlarged L-shaped left side and a right side extended in a marble circle for consultation purposes. The top is in a briar-wood while the tubular support structures also echo those of the large board of directors' table. The wardrobes are made of Italian walnut.
Door
"A cheerful and more pleasant environment in which to live, and more easily accessible in terms of postindustrial dynamics". The design by Afra and Tobia Scarpa interprets functional requirements also via chromatic choices. The choice of brass as characterizing material is also present in this double door, surmounted and folded at the center, entirely slatted for air circulation with the excepition of the solid part at hand height.
