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Located close to Milan’s historic trade fair area and dating

back to the late 1950s, this office block was one of a number

of service buildings designed by some of the most important

architects of the day that were erected in a middle-class

residential district which had developed on uniform lots after

the Second World War. The Generali insurance company, in

particular, opted for a headquarters designed by the architect

Cesare Donini which had the dual function of providing

office spaces and residential units for its employees. Park

Associati and Zucchi & Partners have been assigned the task

of resystematizing and upgrading the ‘common’ areas of

the volume on via Tiziano, which was the main element in a

staged development arranged around a semi-indoor garden.

This consists in a seven-floor block, an imposing metal canopy

and a thin walled garden.

A key and necessary feature of the new project, which

specifically addresses this high volume and is exclusively

concerned with the upgrading of its common areas, has

been the recuperation of the basement area. The entrance

to the building has been moved down to this level, accessed

via a gentle flight of steps, so as to be able to adequately

redistribute a number of spaces that were previously unused

and, at the same time, to bestow a new contemporary

image upon the whole building, but one which respects the

undeniable quality of the original architectural design. This

solution involved the addition of a new entrance canopy built

from concrete, steel and glass which starts from the building’

s exterior. The vertical and horizontal surfaces of the canopy

are covered in a skin of aluminium and expanded metal

panels, and are arranged in such a way as to stagger the light

and dark elements. The structure is a sort of ‘accent’ - a strong

sign visible from the street that indicates the presence of the

renovation project. But it is also above all an element that

leads the visitor towards the heart of the building: the new

basement entrance with its specially designed hall. This space

is dominated by a wall decorated with a floral design that

serves as the backdrop to the reception desk, while a number

of glass panels in acid yellow, the thematic colour of the new

project, instead provide the scenery for the waiting areas. As a

result of this arrangement, the relationship with the external

garden surrounding the building also becomes more intense:

while the canopy itself seems to open up unexpectedly, like

a telluric yet orderly movement on the smooth green lawn,

the project has also carefully considered the redesign of the

exterior fencing of the lot. Thus, metal pillars maintain the

rhythm of the bays of the building, and transparent glass

panes have been mounted in between them so as to create

a hanging, almost floating boundary that does not separate

the building from the rest of the city. The colour theme, one

of the key elements of the project, is immediately visible on

the exterior of the building in the large window pane of the

former conference room, now transformed into the reception

of one of the office sectors, where acid yellow glass panels

have been added. This large screen jutting out towards the city

accentuates, thanks to its distinct colour and axial relationship

with the canopy, the presence of the new oblique entrance

below. There are a series of thin luminous slits in the covered

passage that accompany the visitor towards the entrance, the

effect of which is replicated, as already noted, in the interior

design of the hall. From a programmatic perspective, the

arrival in the new distribution space is much more functional

compared with the original layout, because the entrance has

been brought closer to the lifts and the main staircase, thus

allowing the whole of the ground floor to be reallocated as

office space. Particular attention has been paid to the choice of

materials both in terms of their long-term durability and their

overall effect and attractiveness. In order to emphasize a sense

of continuity between the building’s exterior and interior, the

floor surface has been entirely paved in Matraia stone, while

a continuous surface of rain stone has been included in order

to render the experience of arriving in the basement hall and

the subsequent distribution to the office floors all the more

pleasant and comfortable.

The project also involves a general revision of the installation

and distribution of the spaces on all the floors, as well as the

recuperation of the building’s attic, which has been assigned as

a new distinct work environment that contrasts to the rest of

the floors, due to the surface space now having shifted to the

original entrance and to the realization of new roofing for the

whole building which presents a marked change to its original

perimeter. Finally, the general refurbishment of the volume’

s frontage is now enhanced by a series of thin continuous

vertical wings made from micro-perforated aluminium sheets,

which seek to stress the three-dimensionality of the facade, in

a game of light and dark that varies according to the amount

of sunlight.

Tiziano 32 Office BuildingARCHITECTS：PARK ASSOCIATI, ZUCCHI & PARTNERS

LOCATION : EuropeCOUNTRY : ItalyCITY : MilanPHOTOGRAPHER : Leo TorriDESIGN TIME : 2005COMPLETION : 2008

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