COIMA SGR, the leading asset management of investment funds on behalf of institutional investors, has named the Norwegian Snohetta and the Italian Park Associati as the architect selected to design the redevelopment of the Via Pirelli 35 building in the Porta Nuova Gioia area of Milan.

The collaboration between Snohetta, participating in its first project in Italy, and Park Associati will combine their respective expertise, delivering a partnership that will is based on a strong alignment with our sustatinability principles, especially around environmental aspects of the project and the area’s urban transformation, to prioritise the impact goals of the development. The two firms were chosen from a list of 15 that were prequalified for the competition, which helped to increase to more than 500 the number of firms taking part in competitions organised by COIMA in the last 24 months.

The development will focus on the relationship between the building and its integration within the block, creating a connection between the public areas of BAM – Biblioteca degli Alberi – and Via Bordoni which are currently isolated at the back of the building’s single block. The area between Piazza Luigi Einaudi, Via Melchiorre Gioia, Via Pirelli and Via Bordoni will be made permeable and viable by the new project, with open facades on both sides of the building, key element in the architectonical and urban relaunch process put in place by COIMA for the quadrant.

Pirelli 35 was among the symbols of Milan’s "business centre" in the 1960s, originally designed by Melchiorre Bega: this location hosted the headquarters of Sipel, merged into SIP which later became Telecom Italia and occupied the property until 2018.

The architectural project, 40,000 square metres on two levels, respectively of ten and five floors, will see the harmonious enhancementof the existing features throughout the complete redevelopment of the building, which, from being a closed environment, will transform into an open space characterised by two glazed patios and an internal square. In order to expand the feed-through area of the court in a single element, the project has seen the demolition of the original ‘E’ plant’s main body, replaced with a shorter bridge-like building, with no supports on the courtyard, characterized by a big perimetric porch, creating pedestrian pathways on each front of the area and two frontal facades on both access sides.

The building will retain its commercial use, but will be completely redesigned to achieve maximum efficiency, sustainability and flexibility. With a minimised environmental impact, avoiding the energy expenditure of a complete demolition and the consumption of raw materials required for a complete reconstruction, Pirelli 35 is qualified to obtain LEED Platinum, WELL and Cradle To Cradle certifications. The work is expected to be completed by 2023.

COIMA SGR Founder and CEO Manfredi Catella said: "Rethinking our future cities will necessarily involve the renovation of obsolete buildings or the reuse of abandoned spaces, as part of sustainable regional redevelopment. Pirelli 35 is moving in this direction, after a global search by COIMA for the best partners with the most suitable approach to each project’s strategic directions, including those social and natural aspects that Park and Snohetta can enhance."

Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Founding Partner, Snohetta: “Pirell 35 has been redesigned with the specific aim of fulfilling the project’s social and environmental ambition. Every element or new solution are in a symbiotic relationship which is functional to the scope. We are proud and grateful for being able to take part in this international collaboration and for having the chance to contribute to Milan’s renewal.”

Michele Rossi, Founder Architect/Partner, Park Associati: “We believe that the most sustainable building is the already existing one. P35 will become a key example to demonstrate how an obsolete building, through a high quality projectual process, can be transformed into an architecture capable of interpreting the future and its demands for sustainability."

The property is located in the Porta Nuova Gioia area, which is undergoing an extensive urban redevelopment project by COIMA. In partnership with the Municipal Administration, COIMA is preparing a unitary master plan to be presented in 2021. The area, which includes two plots of land between Via Gioia and Via Pirelli, as well as the buildings in Via Melchiorre Gioia 22, Via Pirelli 35 and Via Pirelli 39, is a model sustainability district and a community activator thanks to its integration with BAM - Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, which constitutes an urban and social hub.