OTB Group Headquarters, Milano

The typical Milanese courtyard inspired the space design at 8-10-12 Lorenzini Street. As is often the case within courtyards, mineral pavements are preeminent, yet nature manages to install itself in the interstices and empty spaces, overcoming the density of architecture. Something similar happens in Lorenzini Street.

The project revisits the well-known landscape of the southern Milan area, which was once made up of small Milanese industries that have now given way to the expanding Milan on the Lombard territory. The KPF signature architectural volumes generate a succession of unusually elongated courtyards while keeping the urban footprint recognisable. Vegetation climbs where it can, and outdoor stairs are no longer functional accessories but have become interpreters of contemporary Milan. Some trees, few but vigorous, master the courtyards, and they are imagined as surviving neglect and being fortified by abandonment, as often happens in these contexts. Unable to form forests, these become solitary or small-group protagonists of nature's revenge. At the main entrance of Lorenzini 8, a mineral garden is crossed by a metal walkway that accompanies the leading portal until entering a secluded place that was unimaginable before entering.

The historic building at 10 Lorenzini St. is accessed by a staircase with a few risers and a sloping ramp to its entry-level, a proper pedestal that underscores its importance. The sculptural connection is a tribute to Umberto Riva's outstanding work for the Church of San Nazaro in Brolo.

A tree-lined gravel plaza at the side of the building completes the building's buffer area. It is a charming space that is particularly enjoyable in the summer due to the shade created by the foliage, making it suitable for tables, seating and outdoor activities. The entrance to the building at 12 Lorenzini Street is set at an elevation about one meter above the city level. In this case, the carpet that defines each building is transformed into an entrance staircase with a handicapped-accessible ramp. The pedestrian passage, shaded by a pergola, between Lorenzini 10 and 12, marks the building hierarchy and leads to the public space behind a small garden contiguous to Olivetti Square. To ensure continuity with the architectural curtain at the point on Via Marelli where the courtyard is open to the city, a group of Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia' trees was inserted to close off the street frontage, but due to the light foliage of this species, allow visual permeability.

The existing stone-clad boundary wall is reinterpreted as a green backdrop by planting a topiated long Carpino hedge. Climbers here and there break the perimeter's linearity and geometry to mark its freer rhythm. A careful selection of climbers of various types, both evergreen and deciduous, overlap the structure of the outdoor staircase to define the character of spontaneity and vigour of the pioneer vegetation. The system, composed of hanging basins and steel cables interposed between them, allows for a polychrome vegetated wall to ennoble the facade of the building and achieve a unique environment. Two terraces on the third floor complete the landscape; they consist of decking to accommodate bar tables, exclusive outdoor events, and relaxation areas concealed among the vegetation.