bocconi university - grafton architects
DESCRIPTION
Bocconi University in Milanproject by Grafton ArchitectsTRANSCRIPT
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POLITECNICO DI MILANOSCHOOL OF CIVIL ARCHITECTUREAA 2014/2015HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
MILAN`S CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY_GRAFTON ARCHITECTS
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CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
THE ARCHITECTURE
Analysis
A Piece of City
A Window to Milan
Social Lebensraum
Undercroft
Moving Skyward
Aula
WORLD BUILDING OF THE YEAR
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INTR
OD
UC
TIO
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Striking forms, suspended spaces, natural lighting, materials drawn from the local tradition and adapted to a contemporary style.
Universit Bocconis new building, located at the corner of viale Bligny and via Roentgen, is the fruit of a project by Dublin-based Grafton Architects, and in particular is the work of Shelley McNamara and
Yvonne Farrell.
Grafton won the international competition launched by the Milanese university in 2001 for the design and construction of a building with offices for the entire Faculty plus a large new auditorium, the Aula
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From an architectural point of view, the design hinges on two basic ideas: floating volumes and diffuse natural lighting. The floors of the Grafton building do not rest on pillars, but are hung by steel cables
from large roof beams a structural principle similar to those used for bridges.
The effect is a succession of open spaces, stairs and concrete elements that seem suspended in the air. The visual impact is further
lightened by the generous presence of wide glass panels and openings that convey natural light down to the basement. Internal courtyards,
hanging gardens and terraces on various levels are full of light, thanks to the absence of pillars, and even the underground levels enjoy natural
near daylight.
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THE
AR
CH
ITEC
TUR
E
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Analysis
Ground floor level
The paving pattern confers with the city and leads to a piazza inside the building.The large stairway with two flights connects to the underground level.
UnderGround floor level
Level -5.28m with access to the Aula Magna from the large foyer and to the conference rooms below via an external stairway.
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Section
Section of the Aula Magna showing inter-nal facing and connection between ground floor open public space and the internal underground public space that is open to the ground floor by a wall facade element.
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The three chimney elements (two shown in brown) connect the aula to the light-wells in-between the above lying office volumes.
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Image a: Exploded axonometric view showing the construction elements
Image b: Perpective interior view
From the very beginning, the aim was to make the structure communicate a defiance of gravity. From the underground garage level, reinforced-con-crete supports that are anchored to the ground uphold the weight of the wall-beams. From the Via Roentgen two vol-umes emerge: the aula Magna sus-pended above street level; and the offices embedded in the earth.
Image a
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Image b
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A piece of city
We saw this brief as an opportunity to make a space at the scale of the city. To this end we have built at the scale of the site,80m x160m. Inside, the building is thought of as a large market hall or place of exchange. The hall acts as a fil-ter between the city and the university.
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A window to Milan
The northern edge of the site fronts onto the artery of Viale Bligny, with the clatter of trams, the rush of busses, general traffic, people passing. It addresses the throbbing urban life of Milan, weaves into the mesh of the city.
This frontage becomes the architectural opportunity to have a window to Milan, a memorable image to confirm the important cultural contribution that the Bocconi University plays in the life of this city.
For this reason, the public space of the aula magna occupies this frontage, asserting a symbolic presence and a register of the prestigious status of the University.
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Social Lebensraum
Undercroft
The building is set back from the Viale Bligny &
Via Roentgen edges to make a public space 18m
x 90m inspired by the space forward of Hospital
Maggiore.
This new deep finger of space reaches out to
the city and beckons the visitor into the heart of
the interior. This public space continues into the
building, bringing with it its stone surface, the
floor of the city.
The underground accommodation is treated as
an erupting landscape which offers support to
the inhabited light filters above.
Spatially this underground world is solid, dense
and carved. We tried to establish a continui-
ty between the landscape of the city and the
made landscape of this undercroft.
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Moving Skyward
In order to make this grand place of exchange they thought about the research
offices as beams of space, suspended to form a grand canopy which filters light to all
levels. The offices form an inhabited roofscape.
This floating canopy allows the space of the city to overlap with the life of the
university. Allows internal and external public spaces to merge.
The beehive world of the research is physically separate but always visually connect-
ed to the life of the lower levels.
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The external wall to the sunken Aula Magna reaches the full height of the building with the upper
level offices inhabiting its roofs-cape /attic.
The full bulk and scale of this great room the embedded boulder sits directly on the street edge and is the anchor for the totality of the
building.
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Aula
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Wo
rld
Bu
ild
ing
of
the
Yea
r (
WA
FA 2
008)
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The faculty building at Luigi Bocconi University, Milan has become the first World Building of the Year at the
inaugural World Architecture Festival Awards(World Architecture Festival Awards)
2008 in Barcelona (ES).
The judges praised the architects who, though not from Milan, succeeded in distilling the essence of the city into a
confident, contemporary form, especially the magical subterranean realm.
The winning building has a heavy relationship with the landscape of Milan and has the capacity to make a profound difference to the lives of its users. Grafton
Architects have opened up the past of the city with a 21st century attitude.
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Judge Cecil Balmond from ARUP, admired the 3D design which took architecture, construction and design, using it to cre-
ate an urban weave. Its effortless structural solution suspends offices over a subterranean concourse.
We were trying to make the University a miniature city where public realm connects with the rest of the city and the campus provides a window to Milan.
Being in the city for 6 years we have grown to love this project, which has changed our lives. A wonderful client, place and ambition all contrib-ute to good architecture, and we had all three.
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WHO WAS IN?
SARA TIDU
SRNA TULI
GAIA MASERA
GIULIA BERNI
DILARA DAGLI
LORENZA SARTORI
ALESSANDRA PODIO
GABRIELE BORELLA
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MILANO27/03/2015