Project

New Brera Academy at Scalo Farini

Year

2015

Course

Architectural Design Lab

Professors

Paola Galbiati, Luca Monica

Location

Milan, Italy

Team

w/ Roberta Reguzzoni

The project takes origin from the occasion of decongestation and ampliament in a new place of the activities of the art Academy in Milan, now in acritic state, however not meanig expulsion from the storic location. A compatible solution to its functional and representative demand is thought to be the new urban and metropolitan dimension of Scalo Farini, a huge and disused railway yard in the middle of the city. An opportunity of high accessibility, along the historical directrixes starting from the new part, towards Bovisa-Politecnico area, until Expo 2015 and Rho exhibition areas. At the boundary of the geometry of Scalo Farini take place the big Cimitero Monumentale andv villa Simonetta.

The idea of the project is to place part of the academic activities (frontal lessons and labs), part of the art gallery of Brera and departments in the two big pre-existences, used earlier as storehouses, in a process of re-convertion of functions. Then a big structure, a geodesic dome, concentrates all the remaining activities which are more public and representative: a sperimental theatre, a library, special classroom and free exposition of student works. In the southern and western part takes place a big botanical garden following Cimitero Monumentale axis. In the northern part a block of temporary houses marks the boundary of the area. A monorail, starting from Garibaldi station, connects all the activities.

The new fulcrum of the academy, the new symbol of the area and the new istitution, has a precise geometry and connotation. The project puts ideally in emphasize the costruction of the geodesic dome through the three mutually-perpendicular golden rectangles whose vertices correspond to the twelve one of the icosahedron, which is at base of the dome following his geometric construction. High vertical connections and services blocks help as structural elements of the complex, while the dome is freestanding and enclose all. The theatre, a multifaceted object is supported by a cylinder working as scene lift and is placed in the horizontal plane where also a glazed foyer takes place.