Milan Case Study - 2

Nuova sede "La Centrale"

The new headquarters for the offices of the financial company "La Centrale" was designed by architect Pietro Lingeri between 1954 and 1958.

It is a modern office complex with a large volume and an extensive functional program, updated to the most modern technological standards of the time. It is located in a central area of the city, near Piazza della Scala.

The complex consists of four parts: the two lateral bodies, of four floors above ground, are connected to the urban morphology of the block, adapting to the eaves heights of the neighbouring buildings, while the central body, of eight floors and overlooking the square in front, is set back from the boundary of the lot, giving rise to an open access space.

The openings, set back from the structural mesh, are clad in a different material and house large windows with pivoting openings. it provides a sense of importance and also creates a welcoming space in the area.

The first image shows the view from Maurilio Bossi square before Lingeri's intervention. After the intervention, as shown in the second image, this new building generates the corner of the place. With a partial step back of the building, it seems like a background of the road.

Moreover, during the progress, the intervention has different design variants. While adopting the same volumetric program, some of these proposals abandon the theme of the rational grid to present a more ordinary front set on the re-proposal of the ribbon window.

The intervention, due to the interweaving between rationalist poetics and the logic of the urban form of Milan, presents multiple aspects of interest: an outcome with considerable methodological clarity.