© Jan Bitter

This project contributes to the sustainable revival of a former industrial quarter in the centre of Milan through the creation of well-proportioned public spaces and routes that are formed between three new office buildings. These are staggered in height to mediate the transition from the historical city block structure to a more open layout towards the rear, where a park forms the spatial and social heart of the new quarter. The buildings part to define an oblique open passage through to the park; this is lined with ground-floor shops and cafés that enliven the whole area. The two eastern buildings are connected by a glazed atrium with a staircase as its sculptural centrepiece, creating an impressive entrance.

The polychromatic treatment of the façades’ glass panels – with gradated hues of warm reds and greenish-blues, set off with pale, neutral colours – creates a somewhat mottled effect that allows the new structures to integrate into their surroundings. Accordingly, the colour fields of those façades that face the park are enlarged so as to reduce the buildings’ apparent size when viewed from a distance. The colourful volumes that result yield an ensemble with an unashamedly contemporary appearance.

© noshe
© noshe
© noshe
© Jan Bitter
© Jan Bitter
© noshe

brief

  • Office buildings with commercial units

client

  • Europa Risorse; Doughty Hanson & Co. Real Estate

data

  • gross floor area: 43.000 m²
  • competition: 2006, 1st prize
  • 2008 — 2010

certifications

  • BREEAM ‘Good’

project team