Maciachini Center

What: Transformation of an abandoned industrial area
Who: Europa Risorse
Where: via Crespi; via Imbonati; via Bovio; via Bracco, Milan - Italy
When: 2006 - 2012
AREA: 80.000 sq. m
AREA49: Davide Camera | Camera&Partners

The area on which the renovation project was carried out is that of the former Carlo Erba space located in the Bovisa district allowing an enclosed area to be connected to the city.

The high quality of the project led to having important clients establish their offices there, such as the Zurich Insurance Company whose offices where designed by Alessandro Scandurra, the Virgin Active gym and the headquarters of Italo Rota's Levis Strauss Italy, Autogrill in Paolo Pasquini's Food Park as well as multi-tennant offices of Kconsult and Sauerbruch Hutton.

The overall project involved the construction of an important central public area, on which all the premises are situated as if they were protecting it, acting as a more or less permeable barrier at its entrance. A new road connecting Via Imbonati and Via Crespi has also been built, allowing both vehicular and pedestrian passage, the latter through two large tree-lined sidewalks alongside the road itself.
The volumes of the western part of the lot relate to the adjacent buildings; the three linear buildings define a large central courtyard which, thanks to a wide opening on via Imbonati, allows an important field of vision over the central area of the public building.
The office building in the north-east part has an internal courtyard typology and its external shape, defined by the succession of parallelepiped elements, follows the surrounding building fabric.
The remaining buildings maintain a low height and enclose the service or public functions used by the entire district.
The generous spaces for indoor public use along the new road connection are made possible by the choice of concentrating most of the volumes and heights in the office areas.