The Luxottica headquarters is a secret icon, an unexpected project, not visible from the street like many architectural beauties in Milan. It is a building bathed in light, where transparency plays a fundamental role. The glass second skin of the convex facade allows light to pervade the interior spaces and, at the same time, emphasizes the indoor/outdoor relationship, allowing users to immerse themselves in the garden of Palazzo Litta as well as in the urban context in which the building is inserted.
Acting as a linchpin among the architectural, historical and natural elements that characterise this urban microcosm overlooking the historical garden of Palazzo Litta, this new independent structure is protected by the façades of the pre-existing buildings and cannot be seen from Piazza Cadorna. On the outside, the alternation of full and empty spaces created by the new structure generates a surprising and unusual space. The traditional Milanese courtyard concept is expanded and reinterpreted in line with the contemporary requirements of fluidity, interconnection and transparency.
The clean-cut forms, the cutting-edge technology and the materials' quality give shape to an architecture that expresses innovation, beauty and functionality, starting from the façade developed in collaboration with Deerns. The highly technological double skin designed by Park Associati offers a balance between reflection and transparency. Similar to a filtering protective 'lens', the slightly convex façade lets the inside and the outside virtually come into physical contact and ensures optimal indoor conditions.
Energy certifications: LEED Gold - Core & Shell
The high-tech double skin of the façade is one of the distinguishing features of the project, offering a balance between reflection and transparency. The building emerges as a structure imbued with light, where transparency assumes a pivotal role. The convex facade's glass exoskeleton facilitates the diffusion of light throughout the interior spaces, while simultaneously accentuating the interplay between the indoor and outdoor realms, enabling occupants to become immersed in both the verdant confines of Palazzo Litta's garden and the surrounding urban landscape. Rising in the heart of Milan, the new building conceived as a transparent crystal completes the Luxottica headquarters area.
The project combines tradition and cutting-edge technology, the cornerstones of the Luxottica brand.
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 neighbourhood, Park Associati sees each project as an opportunity to seek innovative, tailor-made solutions expressed through quality and attention to human beings.