Zumbini

29, Via Bonaventura Zumbini, Milano, Italy

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Zumbini

29, Via Bonaventura Zumbini, Milano, Italy

Firm

Type

Commercial › Office

YEAR

2011

SIZE

100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft

Offices in Via ZumbiniIn the Southern outskirts of Milano, at the crossing between Via Venosta and Via Zumbini, on a 1.350 sqm plot, two separate buildings are organized around a common courtyard: the bigger one – named Block A – is the result of the transformation of an industrial structure from the 30’s, while the smaller one – the Block B – it’s a totally new construction that exploit the usable surface gained after the demolition of some existing service facilities. The complex features 17 units of 100 and 150 sqm available for small practices or companies in search of a workplace to rent.Block AThe Block A is organized on 3 storeys and preserves most of its original structure, with a single open plan 44 m long and 12 m wide on each level, with two middle floors sustained by 9 reinforced concrete beams suggesting, togehter with the regular layout of the windows, a 10 bays spatial sequence. To make the building adapt to its new function, each storey has been divided in 5 separate spaces along 4 of the 9 beams, with each new rooms composed by 2 bays. By demolishing most of the strip that contained a sequence of small rooms serving each floor, the wall bordering the main interior spaces of the building toward the courtyard has been completely released and transformed into a new, more permeable elevation. In the new layout each office unit becomes double aspect, with a corner unit on the corner between Via Zumbini and via Venosta. Sustained by a galvanized metal structure attached to the existing building, two long balconies provide access to the different offices on the first and second floor and offer – with their 1.5 m depth – a cozy space for socialization. A modular system of metal frames and stretched mesh protects the balconies, supports climbers and becomes a second, uniform and permeable facade for the building. A new staircase, attached to the structure of the balconies and placed outwardly above the courtyard, diagonally crosses the entire Block A elevation providing, together with a new elevator, a further vertical connection in addition to the existing staircase. The old roof has been removed and replaced by a new metal structure composed by 9 pentagonal trusses designed to carry all the weight of the new large suspended mezzanines. Although very similar to the POLONCEAU-TRAEGER ones, these trusses miss the internal diagonal elements and present a much more open section that exploits all the available height between the mezzanine’s floor and the roof’s pitch. The structure of the roof is placed on a new concrete beam built on top of the existing outer walls, and its entire weight, as well as the one of the suspended mezzanines, is transferred to the perimetral pillars of the building and doesn’t overload the reinforced concrete beams that carry the floors at lower levels.Block BMost of the surface that was made available after the demolitions has been employed to build a completely new, rational and efficient construction on the other side of the courtyard, parallel to Block A. Block B is 34 m long, 5 m deep and contains 2 office units of 90 sqm, each of them featuring a 30 sqm mezzanine and an independent access. The structure has been designed to host, below its footprint and above the courtyard surface, 14 covered parking places. Block B has been conceived on the module of a car, is suspended at 2.5 m above ground and is made accessible by two stairs and through external balconies. The new building features a sequence of 14 generous openings and has a good amount of natural light despite the impending and close presence of Block A. The 1 m wide and 4 m tall windows have been cut out from the main facade according to an asymmetric and irregular string. In this way the module of the elevation, which is based on the width of the prefab sandwich panels that constitute the outer layer, is not immediately shown, but more subtly suggested by the random layout that was chosen by the designers among the possible arrangements. On the rear, each office features 3 windows of the same kind and overlooking the outer balconies. Thanks to these openings and to 4 skylights placed on the roof, the units are double aspect despite the fact that Block B is placed against a tall boundary wall. The skeleton of the building is a dense three-dimensional structure of fairly skinny IPE and HEA beams and pillars. The elements that are left visible in the interior space of the offices presents, as well as in Block A, a tubolar section. The shell is composed by prefab modular elements: the floor, the roof and the outer walls have been realized employing industrial sandwich insulated panels, a solution that combines a good structural performance, a high insulation, a fast montage and a certain degree of control from design to construction.The materialsAs well as the spatial organization, the use of materials played an important role in this project. Through a process of research, choice and selection, the designers have tried to respond in a coherent way to what they perceived as relevant issues. The different character of the two buildings (Block A is the result of the transformation of an existing structure while Block B is a new entity) suggested an homogeneous, rather than distinguished, use of materials. The old and the new belong to a family, feature the same materials and present similar constructive solutions. This fact is also a consequence of the will to reveal and distinguish in a very clear way what was added and what was already there. The existent is neither hidden nor neglected, it rather retrieve its dignity back. The choices were also made according to practical considerations. Economical solutions, light and easily mountable materials with high performances have been favored. Masonry works have been strictly limited to those parts of the project in which they were perceived as convenient and only when they were not prejudicing that clear separation between existent and new. There is, at last, another reason that refers to the fact that the offices have been designed for unknown users. For this reason materials, colors and finishings contributes to define neutral environments that remain available for further transformations and customizations. The offices, the external balconies and the courtyard are characterized by a very reduced palette of materials. The interior surfaces of the walls and the ceilings – except for the pitched roof inner layer on Block A’s top floor, where the prefab metal sandwich panels are exposed – are painted white, while the metallic structural elements crossing the interior space of the offices are all black. The choice of the ‘black and white’ underlines two distinguished tectonics: if white is associated with to the continuous elements (the gypsum board panels and the masonry walls), black is the color assigned to the discontinuous ones (the beams, the columns, the trusses and the window frames). This high-res contrast give an essential, graphic and direct atmosphere to the interiors. The horizontal surfaces, the oak wooden floor featured in most of the units as well as the concrete of the Block A’s ground floor, are the only material presence. The interiors of the toilets and the kitchens, conceived as independent boxes, have been covered with a fiberglass wallpaper, sealed up and painted grey. The external facades of Block A have been protected with a new 10 cm thick insulation and then plastered, while the internal elevation toward the courtyard in a dialogue with Block B is cladded with prefab silver sandwich panels. The external metal structure (beams, columns, grids, frames and banisters) have been galvanized and mounted without any welding on site. Since the pillars supporting Block B have been insulated and cladded with black painted metallic carters, the covered parking area appears almost as an interior space.The vegetationVegetation is a founding element in the project: it is not confined to the role of ‘decoration’ of architecture, but rather becomes a central and functional entity. The green structure is constituted by two great surfaces. The first, vertical one, will develop upward colonizing the 36 m wide and 13 m tall metallic mesh that protects the external balconies of Block A, while the second one will cover the 190 sqm flat roof of Block B. The 12 Ampelopsis quinquefolia that form the living screen of Block A will change three times every year: they will proliferate in spring and summer providing shade and cooling the balconies and the offices, they will lose their leaves i the winter to let the sun penetrate and warm up the interior spaces. The transition from one state to the other will be announced every autumn by the deep red color of the leaves. The horizontal carpet on Block B’s rooftop, a mix of small intensive shrubs, will be characterized by a more stable and less spectacular presence, nevertheless its contribution to mitigate the impact of the sun radiations will be decisive.

Product Spec Sheet

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Team

Lorenzo Bini

Architect

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Zumbini

29, Via Bonaventura Zumbini, Milano, Italy

Zumbini

29, Via Bonaventura Zumbini, Milano, Italy

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team