The Project
The new seat of the Foundation is the oldest part of the former Riva & Calzoni complex. It is situated between Via Solari and Via Savona, in a zone of Milan that has rather uniform features due to the concentration of activities connected to the arts and creative activities in general. In 1926 the plant began to build the hydraulic turbines of the industrial group, which among other things produced the hydroelectric machines and apparatus for Niagara Falls.
Today the part of the facility occupied by the Foundation has become an exhibition space and a laboratory for art. The restructuring and renewal of the building, entrusted to the Cerri & Associati firm (architects Pierluigi Cerri and Alessandro Colombo), gave priority to the conservation of the structure, maintaining the features of an old industrial plant.
The main gallery is a very light steel structure flanked by a lower structure with a two-pitch roof overlooking the street whose brick faŠade has an impressive pattern of large windows. The taller roof, on the other hand, is in the shape of a shed supported by a grid of light and elegant beams. The light, airy quality of the roofs is contrasted by the network of powerful grid metal pillars that once supported the massive gantry cranes. The building is made up of two naves with an industrial warehouse structure, the lower one along the street and the other, taller one in the interior, occupying a surface area of roughly 3,000 square metres. Access to the public entrance is on Via Solari, consisting of an entranceway with a reception area, cloakroom and bookshop, while two large passageways for cars that can be accessed by passing through an attended gateway along Via Stendhal.
The large interior space, with a maximum height of 15 metres, contains a system of three levels of walkways accessed by stairways, 120 cm wide, and two lifts in keeping with the standard facilities for the disabled that take one to the three exhibition terraces, each of which is roughly 110 square metres in size. The terraces can be moved into different positions and levels by means of the two gantry cranes, which can also be used for transporting and positioning the artworks.
On a level with the first walkway, and above the entrance area, there is a library measuring about 100 square metres. The area is occupied by theatre tiers with a seating capacity of about one hundred. The floors are made of painted cement on the ground floor, while all the walkways and terraces are coated with transparent resin. The side walls are painted white and the metal structures are of a light grey colour.
In 2006 the Foundation was awarded the IN/ARCH-ANCE National Architecture Prize for renovation work.
Today the part of the facility occupied by the Foundation has become an exhibition space and a laboratory for art. The restructuring and renewal of the building, entrusted to the Cerri & Associati firm (architects Pierluigi Cerri and Alessandro Colombo), gave priority to the conservation of the structure, maintaining the features of an old industrial plant.
The main gallery is a very light steel structure flanked by a lower structure with a two-pitch roof overlooking the street whose brick faŠade has an impressive pattern of large windows. The taller roof, on the other hand, is in the shape of a shed supported by a grid of light and elegant beams. The light, airy quality of the roofs is contrasted by the network of powerful grid metal pillars that once supported the massive gantry cranes. The building is made up of two naves with an industrial warehouse structure, the lower one along the street and the other, taller one in the interior, occupying a surface area of roughly 3,000 square metres. Access to the public entrance is on Via Solari, consisting of an entranceway with a reception area, cloakroom and bookshop, while two large passageways for cars that can be accessed by passing through an attended gateway along Via Stendhal.
The large interior space, with a maximum height of 15 metres, contains a system of three levels of walkways accessed by stairways, 120 cm wide, and two lifts in keeping with the standard facilities for the disabled that take one to the three exhibition terraces, each of which is roughly 110 square metres in size. The terraces can be moved into different positions and levels by means of the two gantry cranes, which can also be used for transporting and positioning the artworks.
On a level with the first walkway, and above the entrance area, there is a library measuring about 100 square metres. The area is occupied by theatre tiers with a seating capacity of about one hundred. The floors are made of painted cement on the ground floor, while all the walkways and terraces are coated with transparent resin. The side walls are painted white and the metal structures are of a light grey colour.
In 2006 the Foundation was awarded the IN/ARCH-ANCE National Architecture Prize for renovation work.
Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro - vicolo Lavandai, 2/A - 20144 Milano - P.IVA 12775620151 - Tel.+39-0289075394/5 Fax.+39-0289075261 - info@fondazionearnaldopomodoro.it -
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