Triennale Terrace by OBR

the Terrazza Triennale is located on the roof of the Palazzo dell'Arte in Milan. It consists on an ephemeral architecture, designed for the Milan Architecture Triennial. The restaurant will be open for the next three years, after which it will be subtracted from the top of the almost-one-century-old palace (1931).

The terrazza,which overlooks the entire city, houses a restaurant equipped with an atmosphere of glass and vegetation, similar to that of a greenhouse. OBR, winner of the competition for the design of the terrace in July 2014, has reinterpreted the traditional metal structure of the Milan Architecture Triennale by providing a lightweight component element that lies on the lower and older heavy palace.

According to OBR architects, Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi .-

"The Triennale has always been a point of reference in the social and cultural life of Milan. The form of the restaurant, a glasshouse suspended between park and city, stems from the idea of turning the terrace of the Palazzo dell’Arte into a center of urban sociability, a sensitive space in a perpetual state of evolution that encourages interaction by means of the dynamic exchanges between inside and outside."

Indeed, the combination of city and park elements is holds a great importance in the design of the glass pavilion of approximately 150 sqm, where visitors who come to enjoy the cuisine of chef Stefano Cerveni are surrounded by the scent of vegetation the entrance, while at the same time they observe the architecture of the city from a vantage point. The pavilion is retracted from the edge of the roof and its perimeter, covered by glass and covered with fabric, can be completely open or closed according to the needs of the moment.

Description of the project by OBR

The exhibitions by Milan Triennale have always been a synthesis of design and architectural experimentation; on such occasions Parco Sempione was turned into a theatrical stage for the new myths of urban living and the Palazzo dell’Arte became a marvellous device of cultural promotion.
The project reinterprets the tradition of the Triennale conceiving the restaurant on the rooftop as a transparent glass pavilion, suspended above Parco Sempione and the skyline of Milano and Castello Sforzesco.

Climbing up to the terrace of the Palazzo dell’Arte, visitors are greeted by a garden of aromatic herbs, behind which rises the glazed pavilion of the restaurant, set back from the portals in the historic façade. The pavilion, which can be opened completely all the way around its perimeter, is characterized by a light modular structure of stainless steel that allows easy and rapid assembly, combining industrial technologies with craft skills. The design of the structure itself echoes the geometry of the spans of Muzio’s historic building.

A large mobile curtain of 400 square meters floats above the glass roof. Opening completely to one side, it allows the pavilion to function as a bioclimatic self-thermo-regulating greenhouse that can be used in different ways in the day/night-time and permits guests to dine in the shade at lunchtime or under the stars in the evening.

CREDITS. DATA SHEET.-

Design team.- Paolo Brescia, Tommaso Principi, Andrea Casetto, Edoardo Allievi, Sidney Bollag, Francesco Cascella, Teresa Corbin, Maria Lezhnina, Caterina Malavolti, Monica Nastasi, Enrico Pinto, Elisa Siffredi.
Project team.- Antonio Perazzi Paesaggio, Artiva Design, Buro Happold, Milan Ingegneria, GAD, Maddalena D’Alfonso, Francesco Nastasi, Rossi Bianchi lighting design.
Design manager.- OBR Andrea Casetto.
General contractor.- Capoferri Spa.

Location.- Palazzo dell’Arte, Milano.
Dates.- 2014 (competition), 2015 (construction).

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More information

Tommaso Principi - Paolo Brescia OBR - Partners

OBR was established by Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi in 2000 to investigate new ways of contemporary living, creating a design network between Milan, London and Mumbai.

The Team of OBR develops its experimental line through the participation in international projects concerning public-private social programs. OBR intends urban design as a discipline whose effects extend beyond the physical boundaries of the project, beyond the public/private and individual/community dichotomy. Their research promotes – through architecture – the sense of community and the individual identities, design being intended as the outcome of a cooperative and evolutive process.

OBR’s projects have been featured in international exhibitions, including the 10th Architecture Biennale in Venice (2006); Architecture: Where to (London, 2007); V Bienal de Arquitetura (Brasilia, 2007); XI Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura (Buenos Aires, 2007); AR Award Exhibition (Berlin, 2008); China International Architectural Expo (Beijing, 2009); International Expo (Shanghai, 2010); 24th UIA World Congress of Architecture (Tokyo, 2011); Gold Medal for Italian Architecture (Milan, 2012); Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design (Chicago, 2012); International Green Building Summit (Istanbul, 2012); MAXXI (Rome, 2013) and 14th Architecture Biennale in Venice (2014).

Tommaso Principi was born in 1970. After studying engineering at the University of Bologna, he studied architecture at the University of Genoa, where he graduated in 1999. He works with Renzo Piano from 1998 to 2000 when he founded with Paolo Brescia OBR Open Building Research, creating a network between Genoa, Milan, London and New York, then extended to Mumbai and Accra. He has been invited as a guest professor at several universities such as Kent State University, University of Genoa, Milan Polytechnic, University of Bologna, La Sapienza, University of Messina, Reggio Calabria University and Chinese University Hong Kong CUHK.

Paolo Brescia is an Italian architect and founder of Open Building Research.He graduated with a degree in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 1996 and had his academic fellowship at Architectural Association in London. After working with Renzo Piano, he founded in 2000 OBR with Tommaso Principi to investigate new ways of contemporary living, creating a design network among Milan, London and Mumbai. He combines his professional experience with the academic world as guest lecturer in several athenaeums, such as Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, Kent State University, Aalto University, University of Oulu, Academy of Architecture of Mumbai, College of Architecture of Pune, Mimar Sinan Fine Art University, Hacettepe University. He was university professor in charge at the Faculty of Industrial Design at the Politecnico di Milano (2004-2005) and professor of architectural design at University of Genoa (2013-2015).