Park Associati: Terrazza Biandrà, An elevated plaza, a discreet iconic place sharing the same material qualities with the surrounding historical environment.
In the heart of Milan, in Piazza Cordusio, the restoration of the open space at the top of a building by Luca Beltrami commissioned by Countess Celeste Dario-Biandrà, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, generated an original place that slots into the built landscape of the nineteenth-century heart of the city. Made of specially designed triangle-cut handmade terracotta tiles of different shades of colour, the flooring of this new space shares its material qualities with those of Milan's roofs. Also covered in terracotta, the parapets create the impression of the building's pitched roof curving and extending onto the terrace. This creates an elevated plaza with a mimetic appearance, to which the noble materiality of terracotta lends uniqueness and understated elegance.
The project takes into account the building's Monuments and Fine Arts Office's restrictions, such as the ridge's height limits and the need to divert the terrace's existing utilities supply systems. A motorized large-panel roof window provides the main access and a scenic element of ascent and is left permanently open whenever the terrace is being used. Nautical wood seating and work areas are arranged into an extremely flexible space that can be used to take a break from work or organise outdoor meetings, conferences and events. A removable overhang protects some of the areas equipped with tables from the sun, while the entire trapezoidal perimeter of the terrace features seats and panoramic recesses coated with satin brass-effect stainless steel.
In terms of greenery, the vegetation proposed by the design approach is meant to spontaneously colonise the terracotta, in chromatic and textural uniformity with the surrounding urban context. Visitors to the terrace are welcomed at the entrance by soft-coloured medium-height plants with flexible stems that float in the wind; further on, the vegetation's size gradually reduces, with species chosen to ensure alternate blossoming throughout the year. These minimal accurate interventions, in perfect harmony with the terracotta, highlight in places small seasonal wonders, reminding us that we are in a unique place that owes its iconic character to discretion.
The project reveals a design concept focused on spontaneous nature, based on the search for a rich biodiversity populated by pollinator plants that in spring turn it into a point of reference for insects in the centre of Milan.
About Park Associati
Founded in Milan in 2000 by Filippo Pagliani and Michele Rossi, Park Associati focuses on architectural design, urban planning, landscape, interior design and product design.
Park Associati's approach to architecture is analytical, pragmatic and tailored, strong in tradition and at the same time capable of generating new linguistic codes through a process that combines listening, intuition and experimentation. Whether it is the Regione Lombardia skyscraper, the Luxottica or Salewa headquarters, a residential space, a Hermés, Brioni or Canali luxury boutique around the world, the retrofitting of a Milan’s Modernist building or the restoration of an entire neighborhood, Park Associati sees each project as an opportunity to seek innovative, tailor-made solutions expressed through quality and attention to human beings.
