Co-design Milan

Fig: 1 - An image of construction site.

LIFESPAN OF A BUILDING

Buildings are often designed aspiring for their long lives. With our modern-day construction materials, the average lifespan of a building can be considered as 40-50 years. However, what happens when a building dies and what if it becomes defunct before that?

Buildings when clubbed together form a locality which in turn adds up to building a city. The proper functioning of any such building becomes an asset to a city. Contrarily, a defunct building is eventually a liability to a city.

Technological boost embarks our lifestyle enhancement. With this change, if a building cannot cater to the changing need of society, it gets abandoned even before its physical death.

Fig: 2 - Demolition site - In toronto city

REUSE OR DEMOLITION OF BUILDING

Historically and even contemporarily, buildings have become obsolete as society advanced due to technology. Mills, churches, airports, stadiums, convention centers etc. became inoperative due to the same. This issue was faced globally and there are multiple ways to tackle it.  

To address this issue, adaptive reuse was the most commonly adopted method. It ranged from converting deserted chapels to houses, refurbishing run-down factories for a different purpose, renovating dilapidated old theatres or opera houses for modern day uses etc. A few such examples can be found here.

In another scenario, buildings ended up being demolished when they become outdated. Such an example of a demolished building designed by Phillip Cox can be found here.

It paints a very gloomy picture suggesting that sometimes it is not the durability or ‘iconic’ design, but societal change that can lead to the demolition of a building. 

Fig: 3 - Abondoned building in portugal

AFTER DEBRIS

A building is constructed on the estimation of it to serve people for at least its physical cycle (approximately 50 years). But if it gets demolished before the physical death (assuming 30 years), there is a loss in this anticipated use of the building.

Additionally, there is a loss of money that was put into the construction materials used. Moreover, what happens to the building material when it is torn down to debris? Should this question be answered before we start building?  

With technology advancing exponentially, our building strategies are becoming inefficient to cater to the pace of changing needs. Thus, buildings are becoming incompetent in a shorter duration of time than ever before.

Is there a need to reflect on the way we’re thinking and designing buildings?

 

MILAN CITY: HUB FOR DESIGNERS

Milan is considered as a leading alpha global city with strengths in the field of fashion, finance, art, design etc.

Post the damage caused due to allied bombing in the Second World War, Milan prospered economically and a lot of buildings especially industries came up. However after the period of high industrialization, the city was left with a large number of abandoned buildings, especially factories, compounding upto an area of 6.7 million square meters (as per Giorgio Bigatti in his book on Milan’s industrial landscape).

Milan is a hub for designers and an important economic center of Italy. It captured the heart of designers and professionals when ‘assembly line’ boomed. Later, it became one of the world’s fashion capitals in the 1980s with the international success of Milanese houses like Armani, Versace and Dolce and Gabbana. It has now become an open territory for exchange among experts, enthusiasts and amateurs alike. 

Fig: 3 - Milan shopping street

BRIEF OF THE COMPETITION

Due to the high land prices found in the market areas of Milan, it becomes difficult for the young firms and freelancers to afford their own working space.
Design Brief: Propose a Designer’s Hub in CityLife, Milan that can inhabit shared studio spaces for young design firms and freelancers. (2500-3000 number of designers). 
The land prices in this district are very high. Hence, if the building designed gets demolished/defunct before its physical death, it would cost a heavier financial loss to the city than any other piece of land in the city today. This challenge is an opportunity to solve the problem of outdated buildings by constructing something evolutionary for the designers by the designers.

OBJECTIVES

• Commerce: Constitute a business strategy to provide young designers with a low rental.
• Adaptable: The design should be flexible for change in function in the future.
• Sense of place: Design should speak of it being situated in Milan.
• Re-use: Thoughts about the disposal of buildings after 50 years.

SITE

Milan, Italy

Milan, a metropolis in Italy's northern Lombardy region, is a global capital of fashion and design. Home to the national stock exchange, it’s a financial hub also known for its high-end restaurants and shops. The Gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral and the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, housing Leonardo da Vinci’s mural “The Last Supper,” testify to centuries of art and culture.

The city has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals (the others being London, New York, and Paris) thanks to several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. 

The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students. Milan received 10 million visitors in 2018, with the largest numbers of foreign visitors coming from China, the United States, France and Germany. 

The tourists are attracted by Milan's museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, including major works by Leonardo da Vinci. 
Site for this competition located at Milan a metropolitan city of Milan, Italy. It is close to the mall, hotel, parks, corporate office, residential building and San Siro Stadium making it a perfect location for the brief statement. 

• Location: 45.478448, 9.100850
• Site Area: 11,692 sqm
• Height limit: 12 m 
• Ground Coverage: 30% 
• Maximum FAR (Floor Area Ratio): 1

Setbacks (as per CAD plan)