BOVISA POLITECNICO

Project Description

The city of science and youth
The broad process of restoring and redefining the Bovisa, the historic industrial area of Milan, sees EuroMilano  as the key player in the project to enlarge "Politecnico di Milano" University, which is destined to act as a catalyst for the urban development of the area and to help develop around it a new city of science and youth.
In 2008 EuroMilano built on its own space the site of the Management Engineering Department, the site of the MIP (Consortium for innovation in company management), teaching rooms, laboratories, offices, cafeteria and study areas. The Department of Energetics and Mechanical Engineering were completed. By 2012 the new interdepartmental library will be completed.
A district open to the city.
No protection fencing has been included in the project, as the campus has been conceived as a vital,public and open place to be enjoyed also after lectures, thanks to its footpaths, green areas open spaces and services.
A modern university campus.
Within the area overlooking the square, once occupied by Broggi industries, is located the library which is designed to become the centre of the whole university campus.
It develops on four floors cladded by seriographed elements, which act as a screen to a background square/garden accessible through green paths. The walls reflect, like in surreal mirror, the gasometre duplicated image, from a picture taken before the factories demolition. This 3,300 sqm building will host reading rooms on different floors, offices and commercial areas dipped in the garden.
Besides the library, the new premises of the Management Engineering Department and of the MIP have just been completed. The two buildings enclose a central triangular courtyard, open to the public too and three gardens designed for students', researchers', teacher's relaxation and socialising.
The triangular design has been called for by the necessity to recover and integrate in the project a shed, which is a legacy of the ancient productive vocation of this district.
The accuracy to keep harmony between the past and the future is also visible in the choice of building materials: the use of metal panels and big windows remind to the materials once used to build factories.
The south - overlooking side is characterized by long, narrow continuos windows, which delimit a solid base, cladded by dark stoneware, from large volumes covered with undulated metal sheets. The road-overlooking side is made up of metal masses, alternating full and empty spaces, whie the patio overlooking sides are characterized by the tidy holes of office windows. The building of the services connecting the office buildings is completely cladded by tranlucent glass, thus flooding the corridors with intense diffuse light.