FELTRINELLI + HERZOG & DE MEURON: A NEW URBAN PROJECT FOR MILAN

FELTRINELLI + HERZOG & DE MEURON A NEW URBAN PROJECT FOR MILAN

Index

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Porta Volta, Historical Context

The bastions of Porta Volta at the beginning of the 20th century.

Caselli del dazio di Porta Volta. ProprietĂ :

Porta Volta, Historical Context

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Porta Volta and Viale Pasubio in the Twenties.

Civico Archivio Fotografico, Milano.

Porta Volta, Historical Context

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Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli Milan, Italy

Strengthening and Reinforcing the City As part of the redefinition of the area Porta Volta, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli intends to relocate its seat to the northern centre of Milan, which the Feltrinelli Group considers as an ideal environment for the foundation’s multiple activities.

The overall masterplan for Porta Volta, consisting of the Fondazione, two new office buildings, and a generous green area, holds an important strategic potential for creating a positive impact on the surrounding area. This undertaking by the Feltrinelli Group has an important urban dimension in that it strengthens and reinforces the city.

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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A Site Steeped in History The historical analysis of the site drove the evolution of the design proposal. The urban organisation of Porta Volta traces back to the course of the Mura Spagnole, the ancient 15th century city walls which were the last of a series of fortifications which since Roman times have defined the city’s growing boundaries. After the opening of the bastion in the late 19th

Mura spagnole, 1556

century, Via Alessandro Volta laid the basis for the city’s extension outside the ancient walls, connecting as a new, prominent urban axis the historical centre with Cimitero Monumentale.

Today, the emptiness of the site is a testament to the walls and, at the same time, reminds one of the destructions this area has suffered during the Second World War.

Caselli daziari, 1880

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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Geometry Study

Masterplan

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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PORTA VOLTA

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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MURA ROMANE 49 a.C.

MURA MEDIEVALE 1156 a.C.

MURA SPAGNOLE 1556 a.C.

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy 10

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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A Gate as Point of Reference within the City Together with a series of preserved gates, the two Caselli Daziari di Porta Volta offer an important reference point within the Milanese city plan. The allocation of Edificio Feltrinelli and the Fondazione along Viale Pasubio and the allocation of Edificio Comune along Viale Montello opposite the axis Via Alessandro Volta underline this historical gate, taking up the Milanese tradition of twin buildings as in Piazza Duomo, Piemonte or Duca D’Aosta.

Besides the preservation of the Mura Spagnole’s archaeological remains, the concentration of building mass endeavours to create a generous public green area as extensions of the existing boulevards. On the street level, the new edifices will house cafes, restaurants, and shops, offering an area for interaction and recreation to the citizens.

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy 12

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy 14

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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A House for the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli A narrow gap separates the Fondazione from Edifico Feltrinelli, reflecting two autonomous constructions which are simultaneously part of an overall whole. The ground floor of the Fondazione accommodates the main entrance, cafeteria and book store, followed by the double height multifunctional space on the first floor, and an office area on the second floor. The reading room on top of the Fondazione offers researchers and interested public the opportunity to study documents from the historical collection stored in the secure underground archive.

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy 16

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy 18

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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A Milanese Project: Scale, Structure and Repetition The new buildings are inspired by the simplicity and generous scale of historic Milanese architecture as Ospedale Maggiore, Rotonda della Besana, Lazaretto and Castello Forzesco. They are also inspired by the long, linear Cascina buildings of traditional rural architecture in Lombardy, which already were an important reference in Aldo Rossi’s work, for instance his residential building Gallaratese.

This is why we propose an elongated and narrow architecture which in a vaguely figurative way introduces a roof which melts into the facades.

The structure expresses the geometrical conditions of the site in a rotation of its members and balances between transparency and spatial definition. Façade, structure and space form an integrated whole.

The redefinition of Porta Volta will intrinsically be a Milanese Project, taking up themes of Milanese urbanism and architecture, which through the course of history have led to a series of emblematic buildings for which the City of Milan is renowned.

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy 20

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy 22

Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli, Milan, Italy

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Herzog & de Meuron, Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli Milan, Italy Project 2008 - planned completion 2015

Client: Finaval, Milan, Italy

Requena Crespo, Carlos Viladoms.

Project Phases Concept Design: 02/2008-09/2008 Schematic Design: 10/2008-07/2009 Design Development: 08/2009 – 06/2011 Construction Documents: 06/2011 – 04/2013 Groundbreak: 11/2012

PLANNING Partner Architect: SD Partners, Milan, Italy Mechanical Engineering: Politstudio A.E.S., Riccione, Italy Structural Engineering: Zaring S.r.I, Milan, Italy

Partners Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Andreas Fries (Partner in Charge), Stefan Marbach Project Team: Mateo Mori Meana (Project Manager), Thomasine Wolfensberger (Associate) Liliana Amorim Rocha, María Bergua Orduna, Nils Büchel, Amparo Casani, Claudius Frühauf, Yannik Keller, María Ángeles Lerín Ruesca, Monica Leung, Christina Liao (Animation), Adriana Müller, Argel Padilla Figueroa, Francisco

Credits

BUILDING DATA Site Area Total: 17,304 m² Usable Floor Area Edificio Feltrinelli: 7’795 m² Edificio Fondazione: 3’645 m² Edificio Comune: 2’809 m² Total:14’249 m² Public Green Area Total: 13’777 m² PROGRAM Edificio Feltrinelli: Commercial, Offices Edificio Fondazione: Cafeteria, Bookshop, Multifunctional Space, Offices, Reading Room, Archives, Parking Edificio Comune: Commercial, Offices

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Herzog & de Meuron

Herzog & de Meuron is a partnership led by five Senior Partners – Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Christine Binswanger, Ascan Mergenthaler and Stefan Marbach.

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron established their office in Basel in 1978. The partnership has grown over the years – Christine Binswanger joined the practice as Partner in 1994, successively followed by Robert Hösl and Ascan Mergenthaler in 2004, Stefan Marbach in 2006, David Koch in 2008, Esther Zumsteg in 2009, Andreas Fries in 2011, and Vladimir Pajkic in 2012. An international team of 31 Associates and about 330 collaborators are working on projects across Europe, North and South America and Asia. The firm’s main office is in Basel with additional offices in Hamburg, London,

Biography

Madrid, New York and Hong Kong.

Herzog & de Meuron have designed a wide range of projects from the small scale of a private home to the large scale of urban design. While many of their projects are highly recognized public facilities, such as their stadiums and museums, they have also completed several distinguished private projects including apartment buildings, offices and factories. The practice has been awarded numerous prizes including “The Pritzker Architecture Prize“ (USA) in 2001, the “RIBA Royal Gold Medal“ (UK) and the “Praemium Imperiale“ (Japan), both in 2007.

Current Projects Herzog & de Meuron latest completed project are the new Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, NY,

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USA. The 115 year old museum opened the doors of its new facility to the public on November 2012.

Messe Basel - New Hall in Basel, Switzerland will be open to the public in April 2013. Herzog & de Meuron are currently working on Triangle, a new development for the Parc des Expositions at Porte de Versailles in Paris, France (planned completion 2017) and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, currently under construction, a mixed-use complex comprising a new philharmonic hall, a hotel, apartments and a public plaza, overlooking the Speicherstadt in Hamburg, Germany.

Other current projects include the transformation of the Hong Kong Central Police Station, a high profile conservation project which will revitalise a unique cluster of historic structures in the centre of Hong Kong (planned completion 2014) and the new São Paulo Cultural Complex Luz in São Paulo, Brazil (planned completion 2016), notably Herzog & de Meuron‘s first commission in South America.

Biography

Museum Projects Past and Current The Goetz Collection, a Gallery for a Private Collection of Modern Art in Munich, Germany (1992), stands at the beginning of a series of internationally acclaimed museum buildings, including Museum Küppersmühle in Duisburg, Germany (1999); Schaulager Basel, Laurenz Foundation, a new type of space for art, a warehouse for open storage of contemporary art, in Basel/ Münchenstein, Switzerland (2003); followed by Walker Art Center Expansion in Minneapolis, USA (2005); de Young Museum in San Francisco, USA (2005); CaixaForum Madrid, a new exhibition space for Fundación “la Caixa” in Madrid, Spain (2008); and TEA, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain (2008). Perhaps the firm‘s highest profile museum project is the conversion of the Bankside power plant to Tate Modern in London, UK (2000). In 2005 Herzog & de Meuron were commissioned by Tate again to develop a scheme for the expansion of the gallery and its surrounding areas – The Tate

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Modern Project is projected for completion in 2016. The first phase of its extension, The Tanks - three circular industrial chambers over thirty meters across and seven meters high dedicated to exhibiting live art, performance, installation and film works - opened last year (2012). The series continues with the Extension Musée Unterlinden in Colmar, France (projected completion 2014); the new Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida, USA (under construction, planned completion 2013); and the Barranca Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Guadalajara, Mexico. In 2008 Herzog & de Meuron were commissioned to design the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art, their first project in India.

Artist Collaborations In many projects Herzog & de Meuron have worked together with artists, an eminent example of that practice being the collaboration with Rémy Zaugg (Roche PharmaResearch Building 92 in Basel, 2000; Fünf Höfe, Five Courtyards for the Munich City Centre, 2003; and many more); with Rosemarie Trockel (Ricola Marketing Building

Biography

in Laufen, 1999); with Thomas Ruff (Eberswalde Technical School Library in Germany, 1999, among others); and with Michael CraigMartin (Laban Dance Center in London, 2003). More recent collaborations include Chinese artist Ai Weiwei with whom Herzog & de Meuron have worked on the design for the National Stadium Beijing in China (2008), and on their contribution to the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008.

The collaboration with Ai Weiwei continued with last year‘s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London‘s Kensington Gardens. (2012).

Selected Works Herzog & de Meuron received international attention very early in their careers with the Blue House in Oberwil, Switzerland (1980); the Stone House in Tavole, Italy (1988); and the Apartment Building along a Party Wall in Basel, Switzerland (1988). The firm’s breakthrough project was the Ricola Storage Building in Laufen, Switzerland (1987). Renown in the United States came with Dominus Winery in Yountville, California, USA

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(1998). Their most recognized buildings include Prada Aoyama in Tokyo, Japan (2003); and the National Stadium Beijing, the Main Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Herzog & de Meuron‘s recently completed buildings include VitraHaus, a new building to present Vitra‘s “Home Collection“, Weil am Rhein, Germany (2010); 1111 Lincoln Road, a multi-story mixed use structure for parking, retail, a restaurant and a private residence in Miami Beach, Florida, USA (2010); Actelion Business Center in Allschwil/Basel, Switzerland (2010); Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Switzerland (2010); Museu Blau, Museum of Natural Sciences, in the transformed Forum 2004 Building in Barcelona, Spain (2012); and the transformation of the Volkshaus Basel, which aims to revitalize the diversity of this location, while at the same time restoring its architectural identity (re-opening of Bar and Brasserie in 2012).

of Design (GSD), USA, since 1994 (and in 1989). They are professors at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) – Department of Architecture, Network City and Landscape, since 1999, and co-founders of the ETH Studio Basel – Contemporary City Institute. The ETH Studio Basel started a research Program on processes of transformation in the urban domain.

Research and Teaching Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are both visiting professors at Harvard University, Graduate School

Biography

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Thanks to: Herzog & de Meuron Finaval S.p.a.

Except Civica Raccolta Stampe A. Bertarelli Civico Archivio Fotografico Fondazione Corrente, Archivio Treccani Fondazione Aldo Rossi Olivo Barbieri Paolo Rosselli Paolo Veronesi Velasco Vitali

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Credits Renders and drawings (pp. from 4 to 17) Š 2013, Herzog & de Meuron Basel

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