From the Columns to via Savona and the Naviglio Grande: the Building Group designs the new forms of living in Milan.
Milan, 23 June 2021. The Gruppo Building, founded in 1983 in Turin, focused on prestigious real estate and the transformation of historic buildings, winner of the Archdaily Building of the year in 2015 for The Number 6, has begun to rethink and design the future of living in Milan. In the metropolis, between the beginning of 2020 and the autumn of the year of the outbreak of the Pandemic, the Building Group launched two important operations: in Porta Ticinese Gate Central, with the architectural design of the ACPV Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel studio, and the first residential village green of the city, Forrest in Town, which will rise on the perimeter of the ancient Galbani factory between the Naviglio Grande and the IULM, with the architectural design in collaboration between Daniele Fiori – DFA Partners and BP + P Boffa Petrone & partners, the design studio of the Turin group. In the autumn, the Building Group will also launch two new housing projects: Bloc Savona, in via Savona, the epicenter of Zona Tortona, and Garden in Town, on the trail of the green village and not far from the Forrest in Town project.
“Milan is the great city of architecture and design; the cranes in the sky and the great architects Stefano Boeri and Herzog & de Meuron in the center, OMA at the Prada Foundation, Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki and Daniel Libeskind at City Life, together with the future projects of Sanaa, Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Kengo Kuma testify that the city lives in a continuous tension towards the future. Building, together with the BP + P studio and numerous Milanese partners, has decided to focus on Milan, to unite it with Turin in a perspective of the great megalopolis of Northern Italy, according to a common sensitivity for living and luxury, which today it is no longer the ephemeral, but the essential, according to the ethical duty to build cities and homes on a human scale, for the environment, for the future ”declares Piero Boffa, President of the Gruppo Building.
Economic value and statistics
Between Gate Central and Forrest in Town and with the imminent start-up of the Bloc Savona and Garden in Town construction sites, the Building Group has invested over 100 million euros for all the operations for a real estate value of around 140 million. of Euro. With the four projects, the group will enrich Milan with a total of 200 real estate units and related garages, for a commercial area of approximately 22,000 square meters. Gate Central in June 2020 was also the subject of a record real estate crowdfunding loan, thanks to the 2.5 million euros raised by the authorized Consob Concrete Investing portal, through the participation of 190 investors.
Living green between the Naviglio Grande and the design district
In its new projects in Milan, as in Turin and in the rest of the world, Building puts architecture at the center of the greatest challenge of modernity, namely the environment and the fight against the climate crisis.
In the theories of the cities of the future, the archipelago shape and the “15-minute rule”, multicentric cities are imagined with many neighborhoods-villages connected to each other, but self-sufficient in essential services such as school, health, sport, leisure. Imagining the city of tomorrow, Building focuses on an idea of developing ethical building, on all aspects of the design process, from land consumption to materials and on a conceptual level, as proof of the idea, together with Daniele Fiori – DFA Partners, of the first green residential village in Milan: Forrest in Town. Located on the surface of the former Galbani Factory, between the Naviglio Grande and the IULM, Forrest in Town aims to create an urban forest in which to live, with 5,500 square meters of greenery in the heart of the city. In a green and quiet oasis with a countryside atmosphere, with home environments characterized by high technology, sustainability and low environmental impact, one of the community services of the village will be the condominium gardens, cultivated with aeroponics. Thanks to aeroponics, the fruit and vegetables in the village garden will be grown underground; the plants are irrigated with the ideal elements for nutrition, growing where air and water are not polluted. Forrest in Town will therefore be the first residential village to offer its inhabitants and condominiums an underground cultivation garden. A futuristic production process where design, architecture, technology and innovation converge, which is why DFA Partners and Building will participate in the Fuorisalone in September to raise awareness of this above-ground cultivation technique, with a site specific installation created at the new headquarters of the Group, in the heart of the historic district of the Milanese design week.
The concept of the residential suburb, again developed by Building and designed by DFA, will also be revived in Garden in Town. This project, also located in the Naviglio Grande area, will be a smaller urban garden with every facility for green living and architecture on a human and environmental scale. The works will start at the end of the summer, at the same time as the fourth residential project: Bloc Savona. In the heart of the historic design district, Bloc Savona, designed by DFA Partners, includes two buildings connected by a communal garden; the facades, like many post-industrial buildings behind Porta Genova, will be brick; the housing units will be suitable for families and mobile and flexible professionals, divided into two-room and three-room apartments, with large balconies and terraces. Bloc Savona is also a concept of value, focused on new luxury, attention to the environment, in particular to efficiency and energy saving.
Gate Central
Launched in summer 2020, Gate Central is the Building Group’s project for one of the most classic corners of Milan, Porta Ticinese and its historical wonders, the Columns and the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Roman excavations of the Naviglio basin and the same Roman gate. In a residential and at the same time nightlife area, Building worked with the ACPV Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel studio to develop a prestigious residential building, which fills an urban void in front of the Columns, which has never been filled for decades. Gate Central will feature two mezzanine floors and four above ground floors; the ground floor and the first basement are intended for commercial use, while the other floors are intended for residential use. The design of ACPV, with the facade characterized by burnished bronze windows and the base in Ceppo di Grè natural stone with a Milanese flavor, favors the integration of the building with the surrounding context. The design is combined with technology, innovation and energy saving (Energy Class A) of 8 residential units divided into three-room and multi-room apartments, made with quality materials, latest generation systems and fine finishes. Marketing will start in the autumn.
“The Building project restores the historic building fabric, with a building for urban functions and the creation of green and public spaces, filling an urban void dating back to the Second World War and contributing to the urban regeneration of the entire area. The contemporary design of the building and its materiality respect the important pre-existing structures, while creating a unique relationship with the nearby historical monuments “says Patricia Viel, architect and co-founder of ACPV.
“The absolute relevance of the Gate Central project, the quality and standing of the partners involved drove the success of raising capital on our platform. Investors have positively assessed the financial structure of the transaction and the protections reserved for them. The partnership with Gruppo Building, aimed at opening some of their initiatives to investors through our portal, demonstrates how even the real estate sector, typically unwilling to embrace innovation, is able to seize the challenges that fintech realities such as ours offer ”says Lorenzo Pedotti, CEO and founder of Concrete Investing.
“I met Building when it was approaching the purchase of the Barona area. I liked them immediately, I was impressed because they talked about works of art that they love to put into their finished creations. I thought I wanted to work with them !!! So it was and together we will develop a project for the transformation of an area with a rural destination. It will be a project aimed at living in the green, with an organic construction, with wooden floors, lime on the walls and news of which I am proud, fresh vegetables and totally in the absence of chemistry, available to condominiums !!! In reality, for once, architecture will be a side dish “declares Daniele Fiori, architect and founder of DFA Partners.
“For REMI it is a source of great pride to collaborate with Building” says Paolo Pertici, CEO of RE.MI. “Building is a true excellence in the sector, which has a solid and deep-rooted family and professional history. We were immediately struck by the passion of President Pietro Boffa, the enthusiasm in wanting to create truly differentiating interventions. And certainly also the love for art and beauty present in every creation. The “différence” that Building proposes is really the most evident and commercially competitive aspect for our market. As well as the attention to sustainability and urban regeneration that we at Re.Mi. we know we are an increasingly requested driver in research and purchase. The four projects on which we are committed with Building in the Milan area contain formidable uniqueness: the horizontal village with a garden unique to Milan and aeroponics; prestigious homes in an exceptional central area; as well as two other projects about to start. What we provide to Building every day ”concludes Paolo Pertici“ is our knowledge of the Milanese market to ground all the major projects in the pipeline and therefore more and more building relationships with them ”.
