Binocle: Via Zumbini Offices

Milan-based architecture studio Binocle, in collaboration with Atelier LC, has recently completed two office buildings in the southern outskirts of the city. Two separate buildings —Block A and Block B — are organized around a common courtyard. Block A is the result of a transformation of an existing structure, while Block B was built from scratch. The complex features seventeen units of 100 and 150 square metres.

Block A is composed of three floors, preserving most of its original structure. Each floor has been divided in five separate spaces. By demolishing most of the strip containing a sequence of small rooms in each floor, the office spaces are exposed to natural light from two sides. Sustained by a galvanized metal structure attached to the existing building, two long balconies provide access to the different offices on the first and second floor and offer — with their 1,5 metre depth — a cozy space for socialization. A modular system of metal frames and stretched mesh protects the balconies, supports climbers and becomes a second façade for the building. A new staircase, attached to the structure of the balconies and placed outwardly above the courtyard, diagonally crosses the entire elevation providing, together with a new elevator, additional vertical connections between floors. The old roof has been removed and replaced by a new metal structure, composed of nine pentagonal trusses, designed to carry all the weight of the new large suspended mezzanines.

Most of the surface that was made available after the demolitions has been employed to build a completely new, rational and efficient construction on the other side of the courtyard, parallel to Block A. Block B has been conceived on the module of a car, featuring fourteen parking spaces below, and is suspended at 2,5 metres above ground. The building is made accessible by two stairs and through external balconies, featuring a generous amount of natural light despite the close presence of Block A. The shell is composed by prefab modular elements: the floor, the roof and the outer walls have been realized employing industrial sandwich insulated panels. The ample windows have been cut out from the main façade according to an asymmetric and irregular string. In this way the module of the elevation, which is based on the width of the outer layer's prefab sandwich panels, is not immediately perceptible.

The architects chose to adopt similar materials and a similar palette for the two buildings, despite their different character. Material choices reflected practical and economical concerns, favoring light and easily mountable materials with high performance. Because the offices have been designed for unknown users, the materials, colors and finishings were chosen to create neutral environments, allowing space for further transformations and customizations. In the offices, external balconies and the courtyard white and black are predominant: if white is associated with to the continuous elements (the gypsum board panels and the masonry walls), black is the color assigned to the discontinuous ones (the beams, the columns, the trusses and the window frames). This contrast give an essential, graphic and direct atmosphere to the interiors.

The building seeks to integrate nature with the architecture. The twelve ampelopsis quinquefolia that form the living screen of Block A will change three times every year: the transition from one state to the other will be announced every autumn by the deep red color of the leaves. On Block B's rooftop, a horizontal carpet featuring a mix of small intensive shrubs, will be characterized by a more stable presence, contributing to mitigate the impact of the sun radiations.

Binocle: Via Zumbini Offices
Architectural design: BINOCLE / Lorenzo Bini
Architectural consultant: Gennaro Postiglione
Collaborators: Claudia Brunelli, Valentina Cocco, Michela Fancello
Structural design: Atelier LC / Marco Clozza
Lighting design: Rossi Bianchi Lighting Design
Client: Immobiliare del Nord S.p.a.
Project area: 1,350 square metres
General Site Area: 1,900 square metres
Typology: offices
Project: 2008-2011