Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Milan, Commercial Building, Milanese Architecture, Architect, Images, Project, Italian Design
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli in Milan
New Commercial Building in Lombardy, North Italy – design by Herzog & de Meuron Architects
16 Dec 2016
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Milano
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Milan
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron
Photos: Mario Carrieri

The Feltrinelli Porta Volta complex, the first building in Italy by the firm Herzog & de Meuron that is open to the public, plays an important role in a strategic area of Milan that has been undergoing a far-reaching process of urban regeneration in recent years. The project includes two twin buildings, headquarters of the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation and the offices of Microsoft Italia, and a large public green area with meeting points, bicycle paths and pedestrian walkways.
The buildings were inspired by the simplicity and impressive scale of the structures that characterize Milan?s historic architectural landscape, including the Ospedale Maggiore, the Rotonda della Besana, the Lazzaretto, and the Sforzesco Castle. At the same time, they echo the linear organization of the cascina, a rural building type that is typical of the Lombardy region and which also served as a point of reference for Aldo Rossi?s residential buildings in Gallaratese.

The architectural language of the long, narrow buildings consists of elements based o...