Urban Island Bertarelli

Description

The regeneration project for the Piazza Bertarelli 4 complex in Milan stems from an awareness of the key role that redevelopment of the existing heritage plays on the contemporary architectural scene, allowing the historic city to regain its urban catalysts while generating a strong economic and social impact.

In this project, functional elements and emotional aspects come together to create an organic concept of living experience. From an example of 19th-century Milanese tradition, the complex is thus transformed into a living organism, which senses the city and the people who live there, actively participating in the dynamics of the community, both in its programmatic structure and in its renewed environmental performance.

The distribution layout of the residential floors has been redesigned to allow units of different sizes, thus multiplying future real estate proposals. The high base podium is proposed as a commercial floor. Each unit opens up to the system of internal courtyards, small covered squares that become places for the community and residents to meet.

Finally, the roofs as a whole provide an opportunity for architectural and technological research. These are themed areas, high hanging gardens integrating greenery, relaxation areas and wooden seating. The vision is of a warm and welcoming space. To the north, a new panoramic room towers above the building; a diaphanous volume that directs the eye towards the spires of Milan Cathedral.