110 dwellings in Milano Bovisa
110 housing units, shopping facilities and piazza at Politecnico di Milano Bovisa
Bovisa is an ex industrial area dating from the early nineteen-hundreds and situated in the Northern part of Milan. Like many of the industrial areas to be found within the city, Bovisa underwent a rapid decline following the progressive closure of factories from the seventies onwards.
Today Bovisa is one of the neighbourhoods to accommodate the new Milan. In the early nineties, the Politecnico di Milano University set up in the ex premises of Ceretti & Tanfani, a company that produced cable cars, triggering the first dynamics of rebirth both from an economic and a social point of view. Recently the international cultural institution of Milan, Triennale, also commissioned their new offices at Bovisa. The new governmental plan for the area (PGT - Piano di Governo del Territorio) defines Bovisa as a setting for urban transformation to accommodate, amongst other concerns, the headquarters of an international centre for research and innovation dedicated to the themes of energy and sustainable transport, the “Science Park”, whose master plan was conceived by Rem Koolhaas’ studio, OMA.
The appointment calls for the design of a building with mixed residential and commercial use in the neighbourhood and a new piazza near the main entrance of the Politecnico. The piazza, by specific request of the local council, is to become a new centre for the neighbourhood, welcoming the flows of people moving from the station to the Politecnico.
The plot’s peculiarity lies in its location: between a compact area of social housing and workers’ neighbourhood dating from the late nineteenth century developed around Piazza Bausan, and the industrial area, a disordered collection of concrete and brick warehouses and high rise constructions like chimney stacks and steel gas holders that make up the characteristic industrial skyline which artists such as Sironi and Jodice often illustrated in their works.
The concept for the project derives precisely from the analysis of this urban context and the site’s particular position.
- The block is reconstructed as a compact base with two floors, creating a dialogue of shape and materials with the base fabric of the neighbourhood and ensuring permeability between the piazza and the surrounding areas.
- An industrial style monolith lies on the base recalling Bovisa’s industrial skyline.
At street level the commercial elements are structured around a large semi-public empty space that is accessible both from the street and the piazza and takes up the courtyard building style that is typical of the city of Milan. On the first two levels, one-floor dwellings are distributed along landings. The higher floors have apartments on a larger scale. There are numerous typologies and sizes of houses so as to offer the greatest possible choice.
The neighbourhood is ever more populated and home to a thorough mix of students, young couples and families.
Client: Private
Lead Architect: SCAPE
Urban planners: arCHiara, SCAPE
Landscape design: Paisa – Antonio Stignani
Task: Complete (study and construction)
Energetic performance: A Class
Chronology: 2012-in progress
Gross residential area: 8.350 sq m
Gross commercial area: 1.800 sq m
Budget: 11.200.000 €
Image credits: Marco Tripodi, SCAPE
