“We propose a porch created from a suspended structure. With a lightweight roof and thin columns that work in tension to prevent uplift, the building's roof acts as a reverse portico blurring the boundary between public and private, interior and exterior. Throughout the urban history of Milan, there are a series of twin buildings. With CityLife, the twin building creates a new typology that blends interior and exterior, creating both an entrance and a significant destination for Milan,” says Bjarke Ingels.
“We chose this project because it embodies the future. We want it to be an iconic building, which represents the moment we live in and can remain over time as a valid example of architecture and art", explained Aldo Mazzocco.
CityLife is a total intervention area of 366,000m², one of the largest redevelopment projects in Europe.
The lighting project focuses on the CityWave designed by Studio BIG: two asymmetric buildings, connected by a portico curve. The latter fits both between the three new towers designed by architects Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki and Daniel Libeskind and between the twin Art Nouveau buildings from 1923 by architect Paolo Vietti Violi. Like a portico, it opens a passage between the inside and outside of the area; it becomes a new "front door", a sort of "telescope" from the historic city to the present and future city.
Faithful to the concepts of "openness" and "lightness", with light we want to highlight and make recognizable the various areas and the functions that take place inside, giving emphasis to the access points and routes.
Specifically, the study of shadows and light reflections was fundamental for the landscape lighting project. The light emitted externally by the large glass surfaces constitutes a luminous base capable of generating a floating effect, a luminous lantern that becomes a point of reference and meeting point for citizens and city users.
Custom-made lighting fixtures with minimal visual impact are integrated into the structural elements of the "sail" that connects the two twin buildings: the latter is held together by a series of thin columns called "fins". To underline the continuity along the facades, linear recessed luminaires were installed in the handrail of the balcony parapet, with internal inclination of the LEDs +/- 10°, respecting the pollution and visual comfort regulations, being internalised. In this way, the convex roof seems to defy the force of gravity as a light source.
