The project for the Museum of Cultures originated from the former industrial area of Ansaldo. The building features blocks of squared off forms clad in zinc and a crystal structure – lit around the clock – that bursts geometrically upon the area hosting it and appears very different from the adjacent rooms. The MUDEC sets itself apart by its central hall in a free and organic shape which generates an internal courtyard with a characteristic “flower” shape, a covered piazza, a meeting place between cultures and communities.
Within the building various spaces are laid out that offer the visitor and the city a multiplicity of cultural proposals and services, spread over 17,000 sqm.

The ground floor is devoted to welcoming; it has a bistrot, a design store, ticket office, wardrobe, restoration workshop and storerooms set up for visits by small accompanied groups.
The exhibition area of the Museum, located on the first floor, is set around a large covered central piazza and hosts the section of the museum itinerary holding the works from the permanent collection and halls given over to the large temporary shows. The space is rounded out by the auditorium, a theatre that sits three hundred, devoted to performance and visual arts.

Il piano terra destinato all’accoglienza, è dotato di bistrot, design store, biglietteria, guardaroba, sala Forum delle Culture, sala conferenze-spazio polifunzionale, spazio per la didattica, laboratorio di restauro e depositi allestiti per essere visitati da piccoli gruppi accompagnati.

L’area espositiva del Museo, sita al primo piano, si sviluppa intorno a una grande piazza centrale coperta e ospita la sezione del percorso museale con le opere della collezione permanente e le sale dedicate alle grandi mostre temporanee. Completa lo spazio l’auditorium, un teatro da trecento posti dedicato alle performance e alle arti visive.

Al secondo piano si trova invece il ristorante. L’identità visiva di MUDEC, progettata da studio FM milano è costruita sulle contaminazioni e gli innesti provenienti da tutte quelle culture che compongono il mosaico della storia del mondo. A cominciare dal marchio, la “M” zoomorfa iniziale, che si ricombina all’infinito con gli accenti, i segni e le peculiarità degli alfabeti prodotti da tutti i popoli.

On the second floor on the other hand there is the MUDEC Club restaurant. The visual identity of the MUDEC, Museum of Cultures, designed by the FM milano practice has been built on the contaminations and grafts from all the cultures that make up the mosaic of the history of the world. Beginning with the brand, the “M” zoomorphic initial letter of MUDEC and Museum, which recombines an infinite number of times with the accents, signs and peculiarities of the alphabets produced by every people.