DATA SHEET
Firenze Belfiore
Urban masterplan and architectural design: Natalini Architetti (Adolfo Natalini and Fabrizio Natalini) with S.IN.TER. (Alessandro Chimenti and Duccio Chimenti)
Landscape design: Antonio Perazzi
Interior design: Rizoma Architetture
Roma San Lorenzo
Masterplan and architectural design: Matteo Fantoni Architetti
Architects of record: Studio Speri
Project and construction management: ITS Controlli Tecnici
Landscape design: Antonio Perazzi
Interior and lighting design: Rizoma Architetture
Photos: courtesy of The Social Hub
With the 2025 openings and four properties across Bologna, Florence, and Rome, Italy is set to become the second-largest market for The Social Hub group. Since 2012, the group has been spreading its urban hybrid hospitality model across Europe (Netherlands, Austria, France, Germany, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Spain), with 21 ‘hubs’ combining 4-star hotels, long-stay and student apartments, co-working spaces, event venues, and F&B.
This model has evolved over time to integrate fundamental urban themes such as the regeneration of disused areas, public-private dialogue, environmental and social sustainability, connection with the local community, and the creation of publicly accessible areas like parks and panoramic terraces. The two facilities inaugurated in Italy in 2025 – Florence Belfiore in early February and Rome San Lorenzo in late March – are successful examples of this approach.
Located in the San Jacopino district, near the future high-speed train station, Florence Belfiore was completed after extensive redevelopment interventions. These included land reclamation, underground parking, a cycling path, and a new 9-story architectural complex (with 4 underground levels), based on a recovery plan signed by Natalini Architetti with S.IN.TER.
The two buildings, with a fragmented volume composed of different elements, are separated by an open-air gallery at street level but connected at the roof garden level by two suspended bridges, accessible via a striking metal staircase positioned in the center of the gallery. In addition to 550 rooms of various types, the Hub offers over 3,300 sqm of co-working space, underground parking, flexible educational and conference areas, a 24/7 gym, the Ammodino restaurant, a bakery, a 50-meter rooftop pool with a bar, and a public hanging garden.
Designed by Antonio Perazzi, the garden features approximately 500 sqm of lawn, a long wisteria pergola, 3,500 perennial plants, over 600 shrubs (selected for low water consumption and high CO2 and fine dust absorption capacity), and about fifty trees to naturally reduce ambient temperature.
A public park is also at the heart of the 24,000 sqm regeneration project completed for The Social Hub Rome in the former San Lorenzo freight yard area, with a masterplan by Matteo Fantoni Architetti. An initial building, constructed by Angiolo Mazzoni in 1924, has been restored by Engeko and for several months has housed the Accademia Italiana, School of Fashion, Design, Applied Arts, Graphics, and Photography. The second building, however, is newly constructed, with seven floors above ground and one underground. Its V-shape utilizes the depth of the plot to fill the urban void and integrate among railway arches, concealing the elevated ring road like a curtain and opening the park towards the main entrance.
A true urban bio-architecture intervention, the 10,000 sqm public park was conceived as a sustainable and inclusive oasis that promotes biodiversity and mitigates urban pollution, featuring permeable paving, landscape modeling with small hills, lawn areas, over 300 trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, illuminated benches, swings, and rocking chairs.
The project, also designed by Antonio Perazzi, included the recovery of the tracks from the former railway hub, now transformed into a drought-resistant garden inspired by the spontaneous flora that inhabits abandoned infrastructures. The new architecture houses a 4-star hotel with 392 rooms for stays ranging from one night to a year, bars, restaurants, 7 meeting and event spaces, a 24-hour gym, a panoramic rooftop terrace with a pool, communal kitchens, laundry facilities, and co-working space for over 160 people, divided into 15 private offices, dedicated desks, and flexible workstations.
Rizoma Architetture handled the interior design for both structures. In Rome, the architects sought an atmosphere of “Blended Harmony,” particularly on the vast ground floor where different environments are connected by portals and arches, flowing seamlessly into a fluid narrative. Each space possesses its own identity, characterized by chromatic coherence, alternating materials, warm and earthy colors, and a decorative lighting project that evokes intimacy and harmony.
Florentine elegance, combined with a “human-centric” approach, inspired Florence Belfiore’s common areas. Balance, craftsmanship, beauty, and natural materials distinguish the choices of finishes and furnishings in ‘free-flow’ spaces that encourage dynamism and interaction among people, within functional and welcoming areas. Multifunctional elements like The Podium, The Tribune, and The Marquees define the spatial hierarchy and clear recognizability.
