Bergognone 53 Office Building

By Editorial Staff - 11 January 2010

The “Bergognone 53” complex in Milan, Italy was the result of an international competition called by real estate developers Hines. The southern Milan neighbourhood of Porta Genoa is a former industrial area now being gradually abandoned. The Bergognone site is located between the once busy barge canals (Navigli), the ring road and the city’s outlying areas. Formerly belonging to the Italian Postal Service, the complex forms a complete urban block and comprises four buildings (A,B,C,D) and inner court, built in the sixties and seventies. Renovation preserved the existing volumes, updating their design for new functions.
New lights and double-height spaces were created along with a garden courtyard. The new main entrance on Via Bergognone required demolition of part of the building on Via Tortona to allow for views through to the inner garden. Partly paved in stone and protected by the surrounding buildings, the court is set on different levels to create a stepped garden design. It forms a single whole visible from the halls of the four buildings enclosing it. The sail-like roof is a catenary structure covered by transparent glass “shingles”, step-laid to ensure water run-off.
West-facing Building A on Via Bergognone underwent the most extensive restructuring. The new transparent outer skin is a bold statement of consistent modernity. The wide glazed lights follow the modular structural frame of the block.
The more exposed south-west side has a “second skin” projecting 60 cm that acts as a huge sun blind or passive filter. Made of selective glass, this second layer reduces solar radiation, thereby lowering air-conditioning energy requirements. In fact all the architectural solutions integrate technical plant contributing to energy saving. “Chilled” ceiling beams, partly behind perforated suspended ceilings, are connected to the ventilation system and to part of the lighting circuit.
A finned-tube battery using warm water in winter and chilled...