i + D - January/February 2021 - 15

CRA created the distinct
façades of the UNIMI Science
Campus by positioning each
brick individually with a
robotic arm to form a largescale bas-relief.

CRA's design approach reflects the belief
that human interaction is an essential
component of the learning process; as such,
classroom interiors are created to facilitate
commingling among students and faculty.
(Rendering by CRA Graphic Team: Gary di Silvio,
Pasquale Milieri, Gianluca Zimbardi)

(Rendering by CRA Graphic Team:
Gary di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri,
Gianluca Zimbardi)

However, once a strict quarantine mandate
flattened the curve, Milan's A&D community
began to rebound with the promise of innovative
architecture and design projects as well as by
hosting Milan Design Week, a coordinated
multilocation event that took place from
September 28-October 10, 2020. And although
the city is enduring new lockdown restrictions as
a result of the second wave of the pandemic, the
architectural landscape of the city looks optimistic
with high-profile new projects on the horizon for
the coming year and beyond-including Carlo
Ratti's new science building for the University
of Milan, architect Arturo Tedeschi's prototype of
a new tram called Passarella, and Stefano Boeri's
designs for COVID-19 vaccination pavilions.
University of Milan's Science
Campus by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati
CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati won an international
competition to design the University of Milan's
new science campus, which will begin construction
in 2022 and is slated for completion in 2025.
Set in the MIND Milano Innovation District, the
2 million-square-foot campus will be created by
CRA in collaboration with architect Italo Rota
to accommodate 23,000 science researchers and
students across five brick buildings surrounding
a central courtyard, connected via meandering
paths, and complemented by an adjacent lake.

L

A

N
The UNIMI Science Campus
features approximately 1 million
square feet of green space,
including terraces, gardens, and
five courtyards that each will
showcase a different landscape
from Northern Italy.
(Rendering by CRA Graphic Team:
Gary di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri,
Gianluca Zimbardi)

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Familiar with the MIND district, as he worked on its master
plan in 2017 and Expo 2015, which took place on the same
site, architect and civil engineer Carlo Ratti-founding partner
of his namesake Turin, Italy-based firm, with offices in London
and New York-believes his design will resonate with the city of
Milan because it pays homage to one of its greatest landmarks:
Cà Granda, a 15th-century building designed by Florentine
Renaissance architect Filarete in the city center. " By using façades
of digitally assembled bricks, we are bringing together ancient and
contemporary influences. Placed individually by a robotic arm,
each brick will serve as a pixel to display information, " explains
Ratti, also a professor and director of SENSEable City Lab at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. " We like to imagine it as a
3D architectural tapestry, which echoes the campus's role as a site
for the dissemination and exchange of information. "
While being conscious of social distancing necessitated by the
pandemic, Ratti says, " There is something about in-person
communications that cannot be replaced by their digital
counterpart-it is about serendipity, randomness, and what
sociologists call the fostering of 'weak ties,' relations with casual
acquaintances that are vital in receiving new ideas and challenging
our preconceived biases. " Lauded as the defining design feature
of this campus, Common Ground-the public space that unites
the campus through pathways that extend from outdoors
through the buildings-fosters this type of random interaction.
Anticipating that the new campus would enrich the academic
lives of its users, Ratti says he also hopes it will " contribute
to the dynamism of the whole MIND district, making this new
area one of the most exciting innovation districts in Milan. "

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21-01-27 18:26
i + D - January/February 2021

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