Il complesso attuale del museo, progettato da Amedeo Albertini nel 1958-60, si articola in vari corpi edilizi, dei quali il principale si affaccia verso il Po e Corso Unità d’Italia con una facciata convessa di 114 metri di lunghezza. Il bando di concorso richiedeva l’addizione di una nuova ala su Via Richelmy e la riorganizzazione del sistema degli accessi carrabili e pedonali per adeguarli alle più recenti evoluzioni dei musei in Europa. Il nuovo museo, con un’affluenza prevista di 250.000 persone/anno affiancata da una consistente attività convegnistica e didattica, potrà così diventare un elemento trainante del rinnovo urbano del quadrante sud della città.
L’ingresso a Torino da sud è contraddistinto dall’alta qualità paesaggistica e ambientale della parkway verde lungo le rive del Po, punteggiata dalla presenza dei grandi volumi del Palazzo del Lavoro di Pierluigi Nervi e dal rinnovato Palavela. Il progetto articola il rapporto tra la percezione veloce da corso Unità d’Italia e la definizione di un ambito pedonale più raccolto in corrispondenza del suo innesto su Via Richelmy. L’impianto simmetrico dell’edificio esistente è “riletto” dal nuovo basamento per rispondere alle diverse condizioni dell’intorno ed enfatizzare il rapporto con largo Unità d’Italia.

The existing museum complex, designed by Amedeo Albertini in 1958-60, is divided into several building blocks, where the main block overlooks the Po River and Corso Unità d’Italia with a convex façade 114 meters long. The tender competition highlighted the need for an additional wing along Via Richelmy and the re-arrangement of the vehicle and pedestrian access ways in order to comply with the new standards introduced for all museum buildings in Europe. The new museum, with an attendance of 250,000 visitors annually, is enliven by numerous conventions and educational activities, and could become a key driver for the urban renovation of the south quadrant of the city.
Access to Turin from the south is marked by a “green” parkway along the PO riverside with high landscape and environmental value, further enhanced by the presence of big buildings such as the Palazzo del Lavoro designed by Pierluigi Nervi and the renovated Palavela. The project organizes the relationship between the rapid perception of Corso Unità d’Italia and the more collected pedestrian area near the junction at Via Richelmy. The symmetric layout of the existing building is “re-interpreted” by the new basement to respond to the different conditions of the surroundings and to enhance its relationship with Largo Unità d’Italia.
In highlighting the long horizontal lines of the façade overlooking the river, the new layout creates a series of community spaces that host the museum’s public spaces and annexed activities (bookshop, merchandising, bar-cafeteria). In line with many modern examples in Europe, the museum’s merely exhibition function is integrated with other complementary activities that make the Automobile Museum come alive at any hour of the day and evening.
The existing courtyard is transformed into a new showcase for events thanks to the creation of a rooftop with plenty of light, using low impact light sources. The courtyard turns into an inside space overlooking the pieces displayed, providing visitors with an extremely intuitive guidance, and together with the existing passage ways connecting the two blocks, it turns into the very core of this “ring” layout.
The new wing on the west side, a wide open space featuring great flexibility, integrates with the existing building block embracing its sides giving continuity to the two “urban” prospects. The new window façade has different levels of transparency and lets daylight flood inside and plays with materials and volumes, merging the front, renewing the appearance of the museum itself, and placing great care to the relationship between existing parts and new ones, united in a design capable of giving value and unity to the entire complex.
The auditorium and the educational rooms at Via Zuretti can be used independently for both the museum and the restaurant, hence animating a museum complex that offers a collection of cars, which cannot be found anywhere else in Europe.

In highlighting the long horizontal lines of the façade overlooking the river, the new layout creates a series of community spaces that host the museum’s public spaces and annexed activities (bookshop, merchandising, bar-cafeteria). In line with many modern examples in Europe, the museum’s merely exhibition function is integrated with other complementary activities that make the Automobile Museum come alive at any hour of the day and evening.
The existing courtyard is transformed into a new showcase for events thanks to the creation of a rooftop with plenty of light, using low impact light sources. The courtyard turns into an inside space overlooking the pieces displayed, providing visitors with an extremely intuitive guidance, and together with the existing passage ways connecting the two blocks, it turns into the very core of this “ring” layout.
The new wing on the west side, a wide open space featuring great flexibility, integrates with the existing building block embracing its sides giving continuity to the two “urban” prospects. The new window façade has different levels of transparency and lets daylight flood inside and plays with materials and volumes, merging the front, renewing the appearance of the museum itself, and placing great care to the relationship between existing parts and new ones, united in a design capable of giving value and unity to the entire complex.
The auditorium and the educational rooms at Via Zuretti can be used independently for both the museum and the restaurant, hence animating a museum complex that offers a collection of cars, which cannot be found anywhere else in Europe.