Project description

The detailed project for the new headquarters of the “Paolo Frisi” Institute at Via Carlo Amoretti in Milan has been delivered. This project is financed by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU program (Investment Line PNRR M2C3I1.1 Mission 2 Component 3 Investment 1.1). The design was entrusted by the Metropolitan City of Milan to a consortium composed of Degli Esposti Architetti, Elisa C. Cattaneo, CEAS, Rethink Energy, Corbo Rosso, and Umberto Guerra, following their victory in the PNRR School of the Future competition organized by the Ministry of Education and Merit.

The new Frisi Institute, which is part of the historic educational institution in Milan founded in 1857 as the Royal Technical School, will be an open and inclusive building. It aims to provide students and citizens with a place for education and cultural exchange, social activities, and innovative learning experiences, all within the tradition and spirit of the institute, its teaching staff, and students. The new school, after the demolition of the existing buildings from the 1960s and subsequent reconstruction, will serve as a dedicated teaching facility (housing the Giovanni Gastel High School for artistic and socio-economic studies, part of the Frisi Institute) and simultaneously seeks to promote the identification, cultural integration, and social inclusion of communities, starting at the neighborhood scale: Vialba II, one of the well-known examples of Milan’s public residential construction policy in the post-war period.

The new building is a state-of-the-art structure designed in compliance with the latest environmental requirements. It incorporates design and engineering solutions that ensure maximum flexibility of use while minimizing energy consumption. A long loggia-balcony connects the school spaces with the new park to the west of the project area, surrounding open-air garden classrooms. The volumes of the gymnasium, auditorium, and film studio, located in the eastern part of the building, shield it from the railway tracks. The open spaces for outdoor activities and gardens are based on the landscape as a performative infrastructure, delivering ecological and environmental benefits, in line with the principles of Landscape and Ecological Urbanism disciplines and European and global urban agendas.

CEAS, embracing the principles of recovery, functionality, and community integration outlined in the competition, has been responsible for structural design, geotechnics, and safety design coordination throughout all phases. CEAS has also handled demolition and excavation issues and assessed the future comfort of use of the building through vibration analysis related to transit on the adjacent railway line.