Despite Controversy, Herzog & de Meuron’s Porta Volta Breaks Ground
After two years in waiting, Porta Volta, the project by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron to redevelop Milan’s north-western Spanish gate, has finally broken ground. The project, which spurred some controversy when architect and critic Vittorio Gregotti accused the Swiss-led project of being an act of “architectural colonialism,” is nevertheless scheduled to be completed in 2015.
According to Herzog, the 2,500 sqm project, which consists of Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli’s 7,500 sqm Headquarters and 15,000 sqm of greenery, is “intrinsically” Milanese, having been inspired by “the Gothic tradition that is expressed in important buildings in the city of Milan [and the] farms that dot the landscape of slender Lombardy.”
Story via Herzog & de Meuron
Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli / Herzog & de Mueron
Expected to be completed in 2013, Herzog & de Meuron’s new redevelopment project in Porta Volta, Milan will include the headquarters for the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. The Feltrinelli Group considers the site as an ideal environment for the foundation’s multiple activities and the overall masterplan for Porta Volta will consist of the Fondazione, two new office buildings, and a generous green area. “This undertaking by the Feltrinelli Group has an important urban dimension in that it strengthens and reinforces the city.”
More about the project and more images after the break.
