The façade, about 100 meters long, is built from a prototype of external studs made of recyclable transparent silicone rubber. This transparency of the rubber materializes and dematerializes depending on the time of day and the position of the sun. The roof is modified, visually raising it by 4 meters and converting it into a green and social space.
Bicocca SUPERLAB by BALANCE Architettura. Photograph by Filip Dujardin.
Project description by BALANCE Architettura
The project involves the redevelopment (LEED Gold) of a 6,500 square meter office building in Milan, located in the Bicocca District. Instead of demolishing the existing 4-story building above ground, we preferred to propose a comprehensive renovation of both the interior and exterior, but retaining the existing structure. The goal was to preserve the building's industrial memory. The project's focus was therefore to add as little as possible and work on internal flows and functions. Each added internal element remains independent of the existing structure.
Bicocca SUPERLAB by BALANCE Architettura. Photograph by Filip Dujardin.
The approximately 100-meter-long building once housed the former offices of the historic Breda Siderurgica, a renowned Milanese metallurgy factory; due to its length, it is now receiving the nickname "horizontal skyscraper." A unique feature is that the facade is made of a prototype of transparent recyclable silicone rubber external uprights developed experimentally for this project. The transparency of the rubber materializes and dematerializes depending on the position of the sun and the time of day. The top is modified through a 4-meter elevation increase, visually raising the building by one above-ground floor and allowing the roof to become a usable floor with social areas and vegetation.
