Mac 9 - Zurich Insurance Company Italian HQ / Scandurra Studio

Daniel Sánchez — Tue, 12 May 2015 16:00:28 +0000

Finalist at the Fundació Mies van der Rohe Awards 2011 and the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture 2012, the new Zurich Italia headquarters is part of the masterplan for the former Carlo Erba area, which was once confined within a closed block and used exclusively for industrial production. The opportunity to physically open this enclosed perimeter and integrate it with the city's fabric influenced every design decision regarding the building. The entire development is conceived as permeable and an integral part of the park; the public and internal areas are designed as spaces of passage rather than mere points of arrival, where community space blends with the private realm. The geodesic structure is a single curved surface that covers the void created by subtracting volume from the building. Its profile is a non-form, a crystallization of emptiness with an eccentric effect. The structure spans a large area without the need for pillars, extending the façade: the transparency of the glass and its reflections rise from the façade to the cladding. A primary framework generates the main curve, while a secondary grid connects to the cladding, elevations, and façade.

Office: Scandurra Studio | ArchDaily

Mac 9 - Zurich Insurance Company Italian HQ / Scandurra Studio