Viale Bianca Maria 31

The project entails the requalification of an historical building in the centre of Milan. Located on Viale Bianca Maria – also known as the “Circle of the Bastions” or “Circle of the Spanish walls”- which inner ring road consists of two parallel streets that trace the layout of the former Spanish walls of Milan, erected by the Spaniards in 1560, nowadays demolished.

This avenue is dedicated to the figure of Bianca Maria Visconti, daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan and in turn Duchess of Milan in the middle of the fifteenth century, during the Renaissance era. Bianca Maria was a protagonist of her time, a woman of great intelligence and diplomacy, active in the political scenario, dedicated to charity and the protection of arts. Therefore, “Bianca Maria” evokes charm, femininity, aristocracy, elegance, refinement.

The building was erected in 1904 – as part of a compound with an internal courtyard – and refurbished in 1925. The facades along the street and the internal staircase are certainly the most characterizing elements of the building. It has some typical features of the Milanese architecture of the 1920s and a decorative system with clean lines, embellished with themes that recall the Art Nouveau style. The floor finishes, the iron works and the murals create interplay of overlapping patterns. Some signs represented in the common areas and on the façade recall floral figures, branches or leaves, partly stylized and partly more organic, but generally with soft lines.

In particular, a coat of arms designed by abstracting a floral figure is recurrent in the interiors, which lends to the creation of a logo for the project. In fact, the symbol embodies the concepts of linearity and elegance and recalls both the era of construction of the building and some Renaissance lines and patterns.

The original building was composed by 5 floors above ground and an attic, which was followed in 1925 by the raising of a floor. Today, it goes over 6 floors above ground, with an attic and a basement. It stands out as an historic building with an elegant architecture, characterized by valuable elements present in the facades as well as in the interiors.

The intervention consists in the redistribution of the building’s fitout, in order to permit the creation of 11 luxurious units and a small gym. The entire layout and the technology applied to the spaces was studied to meet the high standards of the contemporary lifestyle that this development targets.
The recovery of attic spaces is possible through a total reconstruction of the roof and the creation of pocket terraces, that add prestige to the apartments on the top floor, and skylights to ensure the quality of the attic spaces.
Special attention is paid to the conservation and restoration of the facades, both along the streets and in the internal courtyard, to maintain the quality of the details. Also, in close contact with a network of specialist was studied the reinforcement of the entire wooden structure of the building and all new mechanical, electrical and plumbing features.

Location:

Milano – Italy

Phase: 

From Concept Design to
Construction Drawing
Currently on Site

Client:

Bianca Maria 31 srl

Construction Cost:

5 million Euro

Site Area:

350 sqm

Project Size:

2.200 sqm

Date:

May 2020 on site

Design team:

Tectoo – Lead Architect
Milan Ingegneria – Structural Engineering

Beta progetti – MEP Engineering

GAD – Cost Engineering

Studio Archemi – Site management

GAe – Fire Engineering