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ARCHITECTURE by Margherita ToffolonP

Double Faade

Solution
AN OFFICE BUILDING IN MILANS VIA DELLA
CHIUSA. AN ANONYMOUS-LOOKING BUILDING
IN THE HEART OF MILAN HAS BEEN TOTALLY
REDESIGNED THROUGH A RADICAL
INTERVENTION THAT INVOLVES SUPERIMPOSING
ON THE GLAZED SURFACE A SCREEN, PARTLY
TRANSPARENT AND PARTLY FEATURING WOOD
SUNBREAKERS. THIS SOLUTION FEATURES
A NEW TYPE OF SUSPENDED BOLTED FAADE

xtreme flexibility, as regards both the internal distribution and the architectural composition, is the hallmark of a restructuring project recently completed in
the historic centre of Milan, the capital city of
Lombardy. The project involved the complete redesigning of a 1960s office building to meet new internal
distribution requirements and to complement its densely built-up
urban setting. Of the original structure, all that was conserved was
the skeleton of the building, which is made up of pillars and floors in reinforced concrete and has a double faade construction
that overlooks Via della Chiusa: the internal faade, in masonry,
features thermal-break windows in aluminium, set flush to the wall,
whereas the outer faade is partly glazed and partly in wood.
Indeed, in this design, the work of Studio Fgs, all the innovative
technology of the intervention is concentrated in this front, or main
view, of the building, which is also the aspect that confers on the

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glass in it style 10-2005

On the left, a view of Milan from

the top of the building.
Note the sunbreakers.
Below left, a close-up of the bolted system, supplied by Nuova
Oxidal.Below, plans of the suspended faade and below,
nodes of the bolted faade.

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ARCHITECTURE

The project
Customer: Carlyle Europe Real Estate
Architectural design: Studio Fgs, Milan
Structural design of faades:
Giorgio De Cani (engineer),
Sipam, Merate (Lecco)
Building contractor: Mangiavacchi, Milan
Faade suspended systems: Nuova Oxidal,
Corbetta (Milan)
Suspended faades and sunbreaker:
Sipam, Merate (Lecco)
Window fittings: Giuliani Infissi, Forli
Glass: Pilkington Italia, Porto Marghera
(Venice)
Glass supplier: Vetreria Fratelli Colpani,
Pedrengo (Bologna)

Data
Total surface area of building: 4000 m2
Length of main faade: 25 m
Project dates: 2003-2005
Start of work: January 2004
End of work: July 2005
Cost of work: 5,000,000 euros

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building its strong urban character and architectural value. The

use of large transparent surfaces in combination with appropriate
screening systems makes it possible to exploit the natural lighting to the full and increase the quality of the internal working
spaces, as specifically requested by the customer, Carlyle Europe
Real Estate Partners. The whole design solution, proposed by
Milan-based Studio Fgs and selected by project managers Mcm
following a feasibility study, is based on the quest for quality in
both the internal and external ambiences (in the latter case this
is conditioned by the road network and dense concentration of
buildings in this particular urban setting). The main faade,
overlooking the road, enhanced by its elegant balance of glazed surfaces and natural materials, emerges as the most suitable technological and architectural means to achieve this goal.

Aboce, the bolted faade and decorative

elements in wood are set close together.

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ARCHITECTURE

An intimist feel
But the intervention is also characterised by a strongly intimist
feel, through the creation of two gardens entirely in wood and
set below road level. These two gardens act as places of relaxation and as catalysts of daylight for the large office areas located
in the basement and on the raised floor. This quest for versatility,
transparency and light also extends to the systems of distribution:
there are two entrances (one on each of the two access roads),
and a walkway, crossing the entire building at the level of the raised floor, that serves as a visual and functional link between the
two gardens. Externally, it is the side of the building overlooking
Via della Chiusa that fulfils this function, thanks to its large bolted faade in glass and stainless steel and the wood sunbreaker
that connects the faade with the profile of the adjacent building.
These materials, set against the background of a white masonry
wall, seem to expand the building and its internal spaces. Thanks
to the different materials and technologies used, this can be con-

sidered a double faade whether it is viewed in depth or horizontally. The large sunbreaker that covers all seven floors of the
building has been realised using waterproofed 40 mm Okum
wood slats; the faades in ultra-clear glass sheets overhanging 2
mm in relation to the existing wall, present a non-invasive structural system that, in a single solution, avoids the need to bolt the
faade floor by floor over the old reinforced concrete structure.
The innovative system is born of a progressive process of lightening of both the structure and the appearance of the faade: starting from the initial idea, which was to extend externally the heavy wooden beams (cross sections measuring approximately 20
cm) of the floors, anchoring them to the pillars behind which
in turn would be reinforced with carbon fibre the solution ultimately arrived at can almost be described as ethereal: the entire faade, which as we have said covers seven floors, is bolted
on the shell by means of a steelwork system that feeds down six
spiral stainless steel cables (32 mm thick and 23 m long). The sys-

Above, plans of the suspended faade and below,

nodes of the bolted faade.

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ARCHITECTURE

tem has cylindrical struts which, at 4,270 mm intervals, are bolted to the floors at each level using a special cap, into which have been screwed the spiders that will support the glass sheets (eight
spiders for every three glass sheets, which correspond to the height
of a single floor). Through these spiders is passed the vertical stainless steel cable. The cylindrical struts are partially hollow, this hollow section serving as a passage and support for the crossed, twocable windbracing system. The glazed surfaces are made up of
a double glass sheet, composed as follows: 10 mm Optiwhite Hst
toughened glass + pvb 1.52 + 10 mm Optiwhite hardened
glass. In short, this is a faade featuring spider glass technology
(glass-spider-cap), which is, in turn, suspended, as the spider glass

accessories are not secured to a fixed structure, but to vertical cables. This is an example of a solution in which all the structural aspects are resolved at roof level, without interfering with the loadbearing skeleton of the building and leaving the main faade free
of both visual and dimensional obstacles, thereby streamlining the
construction process and reducing costs considerably. All the
cable and windbracing systems, as well as the accessories, have
been specially developed by two companies: Sipam in collaboration with Nuova Oxidal. In this way, the faade reverses the internal-external visual relationship, increasing the luminosity of
the new working spaces inside the building, and at the same time endowing it with a distinct urban character.

Above, the building lit up at night.

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