Former Fiat factory, Lingotto, Torino, Italy
The building that was originally designed and built for the car manufacturer Fiat, as a factory that would employ thousands of workers from the city of Turin, now houses shops, gallery/museum, hotel and goodness knows what else.
The factory’s proximity to the railway was key—raw materials would arrive by rail to the lowest floors of the building to become the basis of the construction of automobiles. These raw materials would be fashioned into car components, which would then be transported to the second floor, where construction could begin. Cars would slowly begin to take shape as they were elevated up to the higher levels of the building until they reached the very top, where a complete car would emerge onto the roof, the most iconic feature of the building.
This beautifully linear process of car manufacturing ended with every vehicle being test driven around the track that was implemented into the top of the structure. Cars could literally be driven straight out of the factory and into Fiat showrooms.
Atlas Obscura.
We in the UK know of its existence from it being featured in 'The Italian Job' the Michael Caine iconic blockbuster of 1969!
Former Fiat factory, Lingotto, Torino, Italy
The building that was originally designed and built for the car manufacturer Fiat, as a factory that would employ thousands of workers from the city of Turin, now houses shops, gallery/museum, hotel and goodness knows what else.
The factory’s proximity to the railway was key—raw materials would arrive by rail to the lowest floors of the building to become the basis of the construction of automobiles. These raw materials would be fashioned into car components, which would then be transported to the second floor, where construction could begin. Cars would slowly begin to take shape as they were elevated up to the higher levels of the building until they reached the very top, where a complete car would emerge onto the roof, the most iconic feature of the building.
This beautifully linear process of car manufacturing ended with every vehicle being test driven around the track that was implemented into the top of the structure. Cars could literally be driven straight out of the factory and into Fiat showrooms.
Atlas Obscura.
We in the UK know of its existence from it being featured in 'The Italian Job' the Michael Caine iconic blockbuster of 1969!