After restoring the panoramic terrace above the main hall to the form it had in Giovanni Muzio’s original design, the Milan Triennale is offering visitors a new restaurant curated by the Michelin-star chef Stefano Cerveni.

OBR, winner of the idea competition held by the Milan Triennale in July 2014, has come up with a design that interprets the tradition of the Triennale in a light, rigorous and dynamic manner. The restaurant has been conceived as a transparent glasshouse immersed in vegetation and suspended above the Parco Sempione, with a spectacular view of the Castello Sforzesco and the entire Milanese skyline. Climbing up to the terrace of the Palazzo dell’Arte, you are greeted by a garden of aromatic herbs laid out by the landscape designer Antonio Perazzi, behind which rises the glazed pavilion of the restaurant (33 x 5 meters), set back from the portals in the historic facade.

The pavilion, which can be opened up completely all the way around its perimeter, is characterized by a light modular structure of stainless steel that allows easy and rapid assembly and dismantling directly on site, combining industrial technologies with craft skills. The design of the structure, engineered by Buro Happold and Milan Ingegneria and made by the company Capoferri Spa, echoes the geometry of the spans of Muzio’s historic building. A large mobile curtain of 400 square meters floats above the glass pavilion. Opening completely on one side, it allows the pavilion to function as a bioclimatic, thermoregulating greenhouse that can be used in different ways in the daytime/nightime and summer/winter and permits guest to dine in the shade at lunchtime or under the stars in the evening.

Like a video installation, the curtain stretched over the glasshouse is brought to life with images and lighting studied by Guido Bianchi, alluding to the events promoted by the Triennale for the Expo.

Between the pavilion and the pre-existing porch a garden of aromatic herbs is laid out that acts as an environmental buffer through witch guests pass as they move toward the entrance of the restaurant along the existing arcade.

The geometry of the pavilion clearly identifies three functional areas: the reception area with a panoramic bar at the southeast end, the show-cooking area at the north-western and the dining area in the middle, with different possible configurations providing the flexibility needed for performances and temporary events.