Milano (MI), Italia

Concorso Internazionale - 'Housing Sociale' - Via Cenni, Milan

una comunità per crescere

Studio Power, Timothy Power, Carlo Convertini

Eastern Approach - Housing Sociale - VIa Cenni

Project Description

Floating Pasture - Housing Sociale - Via Cenni

The call for new sensible housing in Milan is paramount. Milan, a city who’s growth was marked by projects that were the worlds envy, is presently in urgent need for the same quality of residential projects which has been recently built in other European capitols

Peak Access - Housing Sociale - Via Cenni

New Sustainability: A ‘new sustainability’ prescribes that in order to protect and nurture the environment, we must look beyond engineering: instead, a ‘new sustainability’ proposes to mix urban density and social variety with physical and natural phenomenon. Landscapes, weather patterns and the metropolis combine to create living environments .

Southern Pass - Housing Sociale - Via Cenni

Cliff: This project is as much a landscape as it is a building. Our proposal is a significant intervention deliberately emphasizing a great mass, as if it were as much part of the natural environment as it is of the urban environment. It is in fact an eco-system which focuses as much on social interaction and nature as it does on architecture and the urban environment. It’s insertion in the city balances the multivalent needs of its inhabitants with the existing urban fabric of Milan. Milan, ‘Southern Europe’s northern-most city, is divided from the rest of Europe by the Alps, the extensive majestic Mountain range stretching from Slovenia to France. Milans morphology is defined by its proximity to the Alps – its flat terrain in juxtaposition to the peaks visible from it’s city center.

City Terrain - Housing Sociale - Via Cenni

In this respect, this project is similar to an immense cliff, facing the south, absorbing the sun light from the morning until the evening. The vertical expanse (the Cliff), is like a precipice which rises above the alpine pasture below. Criss-crossing the grey facade are tree lined paths, connecting the sloping grassland below to the green roof (the peak) above.

City Refuge - Housing Sociale - Via Cenni

Orientation: Sunlight, Wind, Views and the combination of Indoor /Outdoor living in a european capital. Private and Public housing are combined with social and recreational facilities.

Garden Peak - Housing Sociale - Via Cenni

Suspended Garden: As in nature, many of places and spaces proposed are unpredictable. Areas of magnitude and drama are underscored by those of repose and tranquility. At the height of the bottom level of the residential units there is a warped, planar garden, suspended 7 meters above the cites bustling streets. This garden floats above the ground level, where stores, social centers for children and the elderly and a peaceful pond for migrating birds and autumn walks.

City Level - Housing Sociale - Via Cenni

Density- Emptiness. The strategy to create a single landscape/architecture follows the desire to maintain the density of the city on the northern perimeter of the site. This perimeter block typology is proposed to maximize the density of the living units on the northernmost part of the site, allowing for contemplative and naturalistic places on the southern most parts of the site. On the ground floor, we propose to combine social and commercial functions with ‘lakes’ and ‘forests’ at the base of a crystalline residential environment.