Intervento di riqualificazione, messa in sicurezza e valorizzazione della GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino , Turin / Italien

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

The international design competition for the major redevelopment, revitalisation and enhancement plan for the museum has been launched:

 

 

 

Turin is looking to the future with an ambitious and visionary project to regenerate the GAM - Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Italy’s oldest civic museum of modern art. This historic institution is preparing to write a new chapter in its long and prestigious history, reaffirming itself as a point of reference for contemporary art and culture at an international level.

 

Today, in collaboration with the City of Turin, the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and with the support of the Fondazione per l’architettura / Torino, the Fondazione Torino Musei announces the launch of an International Design Competition for the redevelopment, repurposing and enhancement of the GAM.

 

The regeneration project of the GAM, part of the Strategic Plan of the Fondazione Torino Musei, represents an exceptional opportunity to reposition the museum internationally, strengthening its reputation, prestige and role, with a vision that is sensitive to the issues dominating global debate today but at the same time utopian, capable of anticipating the expectations of a wide range of stakeholders.

 

The new GAM will make green innovation the new driver of global economic development, its calling card, through the application of certified protocols that guarantee the achievement of maximum ecological and energy objectives.

 

‘For the GAM, which plays a strategic role in Turin’s cultural landscape, a season of revival has begun, aimed at strengthening its international prestige. This renewal focuses on the collections and the exhibition layout, thanks to the work done by the new director Chiara Bertola, and on the redevelopment of the architectural complex, which aims to restore the museum to its former glory, reviving the avant-garde spirit that characterised its inception. As an administration, we have supported this project from the outset, seeing culture as a defining feature of Turin today and in the future. Investing in culture always has a positive impact on the quality of life of citizens and on the promotion of the city,’ declares the Mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo.

 

This is an opportunity to regenerate the original avant-garde spirit of the GAM by rethinking the concept of architectural innovation: from respect for the historic futuristic design to sustainable design. The aim is to restore an old and prestigious institution for the public while making it an international example of a vision for the future, where the principles of environmental sustainability and energy saving are combined with the promotion of historical identity, where long experience in historical and artistic research benefits from technological tools, and where the care of the works can always represent a new opportunity to open up further paths of knowledge, communicating new information about a heritage that is as present as it is ancient through new means. Thanks to new technologies, the museum now has a responsibility to think of itself as a Janus able to look both ways: the guardian of the past precisely because it is a place of constant projection towards the future.

 

Thanks to the support of the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, which will finance the restoration design and part of the investment required for its implementation, and its subsidiary Società PR.I.S.MA, the International Competition marks the start of an ambitious and strategic journey for the future of the GAM.

 

‘The provision of financial resources has traditionally been a key tool of philanthropy. However, the path of innovation we are pursuing allows us to adopt a more advanced approach, based on a variety of tools that leverage the best experiences of international philanthropy. This is what we mean by Advanced Philanthropy, and it is thanks to this approach that, in collaboration with the Real Estate Operations and Social Housing Division of PR.I.S.MA S.c.r.l. and the Cultural Back Office of the ‘La Venaria Reale’ Conservation and Restoration Centre, we are supporting the Fondazione Torino Musei in the process of publishing the international design competition. In line with our commitment to the conservation and maintenance of cultural heritage, the repurposing of the GAM represents an enormous opportunity for Turin. Not only does it allow for the redevelopment of the museum’s heritage, but, given the uniqueness of the building, it is one of the most significant design projects in Italy, and I am convinced that it will attract the interest of highly qualified professionals,’ states Marco Gilli, President of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation.

 

Discussions with the Ministry regarding funding for the remaining portion have been ongoing for some time and we are confident that the strategic importance of the project at both national and international level will be recognised.

 

The International Design Competition therefore represents an extraordinary opportunity for architects and designers from around the world to leave their mark on the history of the city. The competition invites the best talents to imagine a renewed GAM that combines respect for its historical identity with a pioneering vision of the museum of the twenty-first century.

 

The budget for the project is approximately €27.5 million, of which up to €18 million is earmarked for the works.

 

‘I am particularly pleased to announce this first important step in the redevelopment and regeneration of the GAM,’ says Massimo Broccio, President of the Fondazione Torino Musei. ’When I took over as president of the Foundation, one of the first things I became passionate about was the history of the GAM, the birth of its building and, in particular, the innovative spirit with which it was conceived. It is precisely this avant-garde vision that we would like to try to revive and develop, in order to reposition the museum at an international level, basing the redevelopment on concepts of architectural and technological innovation and environmental sustainability as enabling factors for the implementation of new models of museum use. We must address the audience of tomorrow in a fundamental spirit of inclusion and bearing in mind the social role of the museum. This new journey has been made possible thanks to the strong support of the City of Turin and the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, whom I would like to thank in particular for their extraordinary creative and financial support.’

 

The initiative focuses on the philological restoration of the modern building, designed in the 1950s, with the aim of enhancing its original distinctive features.

 

At the same time, the project will pursue the principles of green transition through the implementation of innovative technologies for environmental sustainability and energy saving, integrated into the building’s architecture, with the use of materials and technical solutions designed to minimise the impact on the environment, with a view also to obtaining energy certifications.

 

The intention is to conceive the new GAM as an open and accessible ‘piazza’, a high-quality public space that blends into the surrounding urban context. Technology also plays a key role, offering an innovative and stimulating visitor experience while keeping the works of art at the centre of attention.

 

The competition represents a unique opportunity to redefine the concept of the modern museum, combining history, art and innovation.

 

The competition procedure is divided into two phases:

1) First phase: open, preliminary selection based on CVs and qualifications, open to all those who meet the admission requirements, with the aim of selecting the five best candidates.

 

2) Second phase: anonymous, the actual competition phase in a single stage, involves the preparation of projects with the aim of selecting the winning design.

 

The winner of the competition will receive a prize of €100,000 (net of VAT and any other legal charges) as an advance payment for the subsequent design phases. Competitors ranked second to fifth will receive reimbursement of expenses in line with the following table:

 

First Place: € 100,000 (as advance payment for the Technical and Economic Feasibility Study)

Second Place: € 50,000

Third Place: € 30,000

Fourth Place: € 20,000

Fifth Place: € 20,000

 

The main deadlines for the competition are as follows:

5 June 2025 − Deadline for receipt of applications.

18 July 2025 − Publication of the names of the finalists admitted to the second phase.

16 October 2025 − Deadline for receipt of project proposals (Technical and Economic Feasibility Studies and other documents).

27 November 2025 − Announcement of the winner.

 

There will be two different selection committees:

- Preliminary selection committee: composed of 3 members chosen from among professionals or academics with expertise in the discipline covered by the competition, appointed after the deadline for submission of applications.

- Competition committee: composed of 5 members, at least 3 of whom must have a technical background, appointed after the deadline for receipt of projects.

 

In order to ensure uniform conditions of participation, all communication between the organising body and competitors will take place exclusively online via the website concorsiarchibo.eu/gam-torino/ on the Archibo platform of the  Archibo dell’Ordine degli Architetti di Bologna e provincia.

 

After registering on the website, competitors can download the necessary materials for participation, ask questions, consult the ‘news’ section and upload files for both the first and second phases.