The Feltrinelli project for Porta Volta represents a major intervention on an urban scale. Alongside the building reserved for the Foundation Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, the project also includes two further structures primarily intended for offices, as well as meeting places, large green areas and cycle paths with pedestrian routes. The design proposal was developed according to a historical analysis of the site, which is distinguished by its location along the so-called Mura Spagnole, or “Spanish Walls”, built to fortify the city in the 16th century. These defensive structures were the last in a series of fortifications which, since Roman times, have defined the city’s boundaries.
With the opening of the city gates, or bastions, in the late 19th century, Via Alessandro Volta marked the start of Milan’s expansion beyond the historical city walls, constituting a new urban axis connecting the old city centre to the Monumental Cemetery.
A narrow gap separates the Fondazione Feltrinelli from its neighbouring building, thus reflecting the specific desire to conceive two autonomous constructions which nonetheless make part of a single overall design.  The ground floor of the Fondazione Feltrinelli features a cafeteria and bookstore, while the first floor is occupied by a double-height multifunctional space. The third and fourth floors, instead, are given over to offices. The reading room on the top floor offers researchers an opportunity to study documents held in the foundation’s historical collection, which are stored in the archives on the complex’s underground level. The new buildings were inspired by the simplicity and imposing scale of Milan’s historic architecture.