Milano Ristorazione – Taste and Health Center

YEAR

2004 – 2010

CLIENT

Milano Ristorazione S.p.a.

VALUE

€ 16 million

TASK

Structural and architectural design,
works supervision
fire prevention design

LOCATION

Milan – Italy

CREDITS

architectural designer:
studio Montanari & Partners

The project involved the total restructuring and functional adaptation of an abandoned factory building located in the center of Milan which formerly housed the city fish market.

The building was built in 1934 and consists of a large central space, about 13 m high, flanked by two terraced lower areas and a basement. The project is the result of Milano Ristorazione S.p.A.’s plan to create a center of alimentary education and a site in which to cook the meals destined to Milanese schoolchildren.

The most important interventions consist in the erection of a metallic balcony structure inside the main area, which will house the services center, the functional adaptation of the round floor and the basement, destined for the cooking area and the accessory rooms (storage, refrigeration cells, etc.) and the complete remodeling of the exterior areas.

From the architectural point of view, it was decided to maintain the outward appearance of the building denouncing firmly the inclusion of the new construction volume (smokestacks, volume of the reading room, stairwells) by using the same type of exterior cladding characterized by a bright color.

The structural design included the realization of new elements and the adaptation of existing structures through the consolidation, demolition and reconstruction only where necessary. The MEP design paid particular attention to the environment through solutions aimed at limiting polluting emissions and energy consumption. The intervention involved the development of integrated plans: architecture, construction, structural and systems, in addition to the technical documentation needed for consultation and approval by the various agencies involved.