Work on Bjarke Ingels Group's gateway for Milan's CityLife district has officially commenced. The new-generation office building marks the completion of the CityLife area in the Italian city, an urban regeneration project that has been restored to provide a livable environment characterized by sustainability, improved quality of life, and all-inclusive services. The structure is set to "stand as a new paradigm for the offices of the future, as the outcome of a new idea of workplace based on innovative design solutions that put quality of life at the center and redefine the concept of sustainability".
Back in 2019, BIG unveiled their design for The Portico, a 53,500-square-meter development on the last two remaining plots of the CityLife. The proposal presented two individual buildings called East and West, connected by a 140m long hanging roof structure to form a generous urban-scale entrance to the city. All floors across both buildings benefit from three-meter high ceilings, letting in a great quantity of natural light through the glass facades.
The West building will consist of two underground floors, a lower ground floor and twenty-one floors above ground. Seventeen of those floors will be used as office spaces, whereas the remaining three as a restaurant and sky bar, and the last one as a technical floor. The ground floor will include shared facilities and a main auditorium. The building is inspired by a concept of relationship with a structural link between the floors: the first five are connected by a sculptural staircase while the rest are linked visually by the open space under the roof.
The East building will have two underground floors, a lower ground floor and eleven floors above ground. On the ground and first floors, the building will house an atrium with a winter garden and shared facilities. Similar to the West building, the interior design of the tower displays an approach based on relationships, with a connection between the various floors: the first two are joined by a monolithic staircase while the others are connected visually by the atrium and the balconies that surround the inner courtyard.
The building will be the first office building to "go beyond zero impact" powered exclusively by renewable sources. Both towers will be clad with photovoltaic panels, making the project one of the largest urban photovoltaic parks in Italy. The system will also allow the collection and reuse of rainwater, as well as provide a vast covered area of public green space. The building is designed to consume 45% less energy than standard office spaces through environmentally-conscious solutions such as the thermal use of groundwater.
The large catenary canopy of CityWave unites the last two buildings of City Life with a single sagging gesture. The solar tiles power the workplaces within while the wooden underside covers a new public space underneath. Like a contemporary interpretation of the massive covered public space of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II the solar canopy offers the citizens of Milan a shaded and sheltered urban space for the life and culture of this vibrant new part of the city. The resultant silhouette unites indoor and outdoor space in a form of weightless monumentality. -- Bjarke Ingels
CityLife is a newly designed redevelopment project of Milan's historic former exhibition and trade fair center. The project provides a mix of private and public services, including residences, offices, stores, and recreational areas, all built within the second largest public park in the center of the city. The master plan covers an area of 366,000 square meters, and includes work by world-renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, Daniel Libeskind, and Bjarke Ingels. The core of the project is the innovative Business & Shopping District, which includes three office, shopping, and entertainment towers overlooking Piazza Tre Torri and the Park. The Business District will now be completed with BIG's CityWave project.
