In City Life, the modern district that has developed in recent years in Milan will be built “Portico“, the new building designed by the Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG) studio based in the world’s major cities including Copenhagen, New York, London, and Barcelona.
The project was commissioned by Generali Real Estate and it will develop close to the already well-known three towers of Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki and Daniel Libeskind. It was presented in recent days at a press conference in front of the presence of the CEO of City Life and the CEO of Generali Real Estate.
The project was conceived as a new gateway to the city and will be composed of two buildings connected by a structure formed by a roof that is about 140 meters long. The building will be about 53,000 square meters in which will be used as a private workspace and a part of the public service. The complex will be about 200 meters long and inside one of the two buildings is planned to build a hotel with an infinity pool on the roof.
Although the call for tenders provided for a fourth tower on the site, the presence of the three existing ones allowed the architectural firm to explore new solutions and innovative constructions. Rather than competing with the existing context, BIG’s proposal seeks to complete it.
The floors of the building, with ceilings 3 meters high to allow access to a large amount of natural light thanks to a continuous facade, characterized by transparency and brightness, will face both the city and two large private courtyards. These will be for employees who can enjoy a place to relax during the working day.
Traditionally, a porch is used to solve multiple contextual challenges: it is an extension of internal space, to be lived all year round. With a light roof and thin, tensioned columns, the building’s canopy blurs the boundary between public and private, inside and outside and creates a new shaded and protected public space for city life.
In addition, under the curved roofs, a series of cascading terraces will make it possible to organize multifunctional services and to connect work and relaxation areas thanks to the rooftop bar with views of the Alps and Monte Rosa.
Portico will also be covered with photovoltaic glass tiles.
Work will begin in 2021 and will be completed in 2023, the year in which the structure is scheduled to open.
Text by Anna Cardaci
