LA RINASCENTE

Milan | 1992

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In Milan, a shopping mall “La Rinascente” designed by Ferdinando Reggiori arose in 1950 in Piazza Duomo on the side facing Corso Vittorio Emanuele. This building opposes the facade of the Duomo with a closed and compact mass clad in the same Candoglia marble. The renovation includes the top two floors and a top floor elevation in which to place two restaurants, a café bar, a bank and exhibition spaces.

These functions, which are also open to the public independently of the warehouses below, are organized according to the raised plaza/garden typology. Some metal and glass volumes rest lightly above the existing mass but at a discrete and measured height above the cathedral. The winter garden is constructed by means of iron, aluminum, and glass, which contribute in their expressive forms to the construction of a dialogue full of allusions toward the gothic membranes of the Duomo, but at the same time, refer to the grandiose experimentation of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.

The setback from the front of the building, were the product of mediations with the Office of Cultural Heritage and the City of Milan so that the extension would not be perceived from the square in front of the Duomo. A careful study of the technology used allows the space to be enjoyed as in a true “winter garden.” In addition to a system of curtains that run along extruded aluminium rails, the glass panes, equipped with special gas chamber glass, are low emissivity and while retaining heat allow the full visible spectrum of solar radiation to pass through. The aluminium panels enclosing the side facades give an image of greater lightness along with that of a strong formal abstraction that denounces the sense and character of the new realization.