OFFICE 339
FASHION HOUSE – Milan
Located in the very centre of Milan, the new headquarters of Bottega Veneta occupy the former Manzoni Theatre on Piazza San Fedele, adjacent to the Piazza del Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Heavily damaged by bombing in 1943, the building was later restored and converted into a bank. Now, following a careful renovation process, the listed building hosts the fashion brand’s new showrooms and offices. The project approaches the existing building as an assemblage of distinct spaces: a long and narrow strip facing the square, a circular area behind it, two technical cores, and a lounge room overlooking the Duomo. Spaces formerly used as foyers and underground vaults are now transformed into a fashion showroom spanning over three floors. Two nineteenth-century staircases connect the showrooms with five office floors: the combination of closed and open offices, meeting rooms and informal areas challenges the idea of the contemporary working environment. At an urban level, the restoration of a passage reconnecting Piazza San Fedele with the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele plays a fundamental role in the public character of the intervention.
Year
2021 – 2024
Location
Milan, IT
Type
Culture, Mixed use, Office, Adaptive reuse, Interiors, Retail,
Status
Built
Surface
14 000 m2
Client
Bottega Veneta
Collaborator(s)
Jeroen Provoost, Progetto CMR, ESA engineering
Design team
Kersten Geers, David Van Severen, Jacopo Lugli, Ivana Čobejová, Elisa Guarnieri, Federico Taverna, Margherita Sorgentone, Marcello Carpino, Costanza Zeni
Photographs
Stefano Graziani