The project is situated in the railway yard of Porta Genova in Milan. There is a big plan about the requalification of the disused railway yards, that plays an important role in the social and urban reorganization of the city. The area begins in the square of Porta Genova station and goes on following the Naviglio Grande, ending with the flyover of viale Cassala. This portion of the city has always been divided in two parts by the railway. On one side, along the Naviglio, there are residential buildings, on the other side there is an old industrial area around via Tortona. This parts developed separately, never creating a relationship.
The chance to occupy an empty space stimulate the creation of new connections, in order to give new opportunities for a place that is evolving now. The old factories have been gradually transformed into showrooms form different fashion and design groups. Furthermore the Naviglio Grande belongs to a big system of green spaces for leisure time. That things make the impact of this project bigger than the boundaries of the area.
The choice was to operate through spheres, in order to create closed and characterized figures, but each one interacting with the others and the surrounding. The point is to underline the opening of the wall that have always divided this part of the city. Crossing and fragmented elements are controlled by a linear path, that passes through the whole area like a long promenade. Green parts and buildings alternate and create different situations.
The spheres dedicated to the residential use are in the part of the area that is parallel to the Naviglio. There are three different green spaces with all around residential buildings. Four in-line building are placed in a perpendicular position in respect to the direction of the area. On the opposite side of the Naviglio there are the littler blocks of the social housing. This typology allows to define the volumes precisely, with a clear distinction between inside and outside. The material are the same for all the facades and this continuity is interrupted on by the trees and the spaces between the volumes.
The chance to occupy an empty space stimulate the creation of new connections, in order to give new opportunities for a place that is evolving now. The old factories have been gradually transformed into showrooms form different fashion and design groups. Furthermore the Naviglio Grande belongs to a big system of green spaces for leisure time. That things make the impact of this project bigger than the boundaries of the area.
The choice was to operate through spheres, in order to create closed and characterized figures, but each one interacting with the others and the surrounding. The point is to underline the opening of the wall that have always divided this part of the city. Crossing and fragmented elements are controlled by a linear path, that passes through the whole area like a long promenade. Green parts and buildings alternate and create different situations.
The spheres dedicated to the residential use are in the part of the area that is parallel to the Naviglio. There are three different green spaces with all around residential buildings. Four in-line building are placed in a perpendicular position in respect to the direction of the area. On the opposite side of the Naviglio there are the littler blocks of the social housing. This typology allows to define the volumes precisely, with a clear distinction between inside and outside. The material are the same for all the facades and this continuity is interrupted on by the trees and the spaces between the volumes.
