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Architects: Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia
- Area: 12404 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Stefano Anzini
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Manufacturers: Athena, Ballan spa, C.M.A. SNC Carpenteria Metallica, Calini, Casalgrande Padana, Cosmec Technology, Ecomet, Edilsider, Ellebi Impianti Snc Di Stella Fedele Stefano E Massimo, GPA Milano, Geos Italy, Grigliato Lombardo, Idrogeo, Kone, Locainstal, Marmi Faedo, Mobirolo, Nodari Giardini, Norkos | Impermeabilizzazioni e Servizi all'Edilizia, Novoferm Schievano, +7
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Lead Architects: Alfonso Femia and Simonetta Cenci
Text description provided by the architects. The project is part of the area of Lambrate in Milan, currently undergoing an overall transformation and redevelopment. The project finds its foundations in the design of the open/green spaces, which determined the design of the residential volumes here settled.
Two simple buildings articulate through the volumes of the balconies, now as a cascade system and resting on the building volume, now punctual as stands in the sky, true continuations of the internal space towards the outside. Two buildings are composed and decomposed in a continuous dialogue with the matter and its relationship with the light: iridescent with the ceramic, in “chiaroscuro” with the wood, homogeneous on the plastered walls drawn in a chromatic geometric sequence as a tribute to the works "Positive-Negative" by Bruno Munari who created a collection from the 50s to the 70s.
The two buildings, with an "L" planimetric layout, develop for nine floors above ground, delimiting a new public square open towards the city. The ground floor is characterized by the presence of spaces dedicated to commerce and services for citizens, as well as the entrances to all the halls of the stairwells. The great permeability of the flows, which is possible thanks to the porch spaces that completely cross the buildings, allows connecting the central square with the Park that surrounds the two buildings to the south and west, creating a continuum between Piazza Vigili del Fuoco and the garden, of which the square represents the main joint.
The project gathers 104 housing units, 46 rental accommodations, 5 commercial spaces, and 2 multi-family housing (cohousing) with 26 beds. On the ground floors, two spaces are available to the community for shared activities and services; the spaces include a multipurpose room for common recreational and meeting activities for the inhabitants, a "workshop" space for hobby activities, and a common laundry for the condominium.
The two buildings are characterized by their large terraces and loggias, which allow experiencing the outdoor space as an extension of the individual apartment; moreover, the full-height windows designed for all the rooms, further emphasize the permeability between inside and outside.
The facades of the two buildings tell the urban scale principles with which the project layout was developed, underlining the value of the central square and characterizing the facades that face towards it with an iridescent and three-dimensional material such as blue ceramic, while all the facades that face the urban context are characterized by the use of different colored plasters that decompose the large volume of the facades.
