LPzR: K19 Milano

The historic center of Milan stands out for its private courtyards with unsuspected urban landscapes.

Inside the building complex formerly called Quarteriere Piave, near Porta Venezia, the young Milan-based studio LPzR has designed two residential projects set among historical buildings, typical Milanese tenements and refurbished factories.

The architects addressed both a new construction project (where they decided to demolish an abandoned garage), both a refurbishment one (inside a barrel-vaulted garage from the Fifties). The refurbishment project K19A is marked by a series of barrel vaults with different heights. The volume is completely hidden by the surrounding buildings: the succession of curved elements coated with titanium zinc can only be seen from above. The internal layout is a complex jigsaw puzzle that gives rise to apartments on multiple levels, each with balcony, terrace or patio. Both the main facade and the common corridor are covered with pietra piasentina. The two buildings are connected by a new, fresh-looking garage.

K19B is a seven-storey new volume with a strong architectural identity. The facades are distinguished by the abstract composition of geometric elements, according to modular patterns. The project materials are strictly Italian, such as the pietra piasentina from Friuli, a warm-looking gray stone, and the oiled larch. The common areas are furnished with some antiques from the client’s private collection, arranged to contrast the minimalist interiors. K19 Milano project is conceived as Near Zero Energy Building thanks to the technologies adopted to reduce non-renewable energy consumption. The use of geothermal energy along with a complete study of all the building details to eliminate energy losses have resulted in an extremely efficient implementation, in which architecture and technology join perfectly.

K19A, Milan, Italy
Program: residential complex
Architects: LPzR architetti associati (Gabriele Pranzo-Zaccaria and Federico Reyneri)
Design team: Gabriele Pranzo-Zaccaria, Federico Reyneri, Camelia Stefan
Art direction: Gabriele Pranzo-Zaccaria
Structural design: FVPROGETTI s.r.l.
Systems design: Italprogetti s.r.l.
Client Piave 12 s.r.l.
Contractor: Cile S.p.a.
Budget: € 5,000,000
Area: 3,705 sqm
Completion: 2014