IULM6 University

Milan, Italy

IULM6 University
Milan, Italy
2003-2015

International Award “Grand Prix” Casalgrande Padana, “Facades” category (2016)
Honorable Mention at “The Plan International Awards” in the “Educational Buildings” category (2015)
Special Mention at “La Ceramica e il Progetto” in the “institutional-urban design” category (2015)
Special Mention at the “AIT International Awards” (2014)

program: IULM (University Institute for Modern Languages) enlargement: tower: digital library; north building: library; south building: halls, laboratories and offices, auditorium (600 seats)
area: 9 950 m2
client: IULM Libera università di Lingue e Comunicazione
project: Alfonso Femia * with
structural engineering: IQuadro ingegneria
services engineering: Deerns Italia spa
fire prevention: Studio Tecnico Zaccarelli
contractor: Italiana Costruzioni spa
photos: ©E.Caviola, ©S.Anzini, ©L.Boegly
ceramic model: Danilo Trogu
“An outskirt becoming almost centre. A building which is not accidentally located inside a lot, as the modernity in everything, but that constitutes full and empty spaces in the same way. A mimetic building in respect to the surrounding area. Bricks, exposed concrete, glass, plaster. In the inside part an explosion of emerald green ceramics. As a traffic light in the fog.” AF
The space in which the city enters the university and the university opens its knowledge. A place for dialogue and communication essential in every university. The three buildings that divide the building space are designed for distinct but complementary functions. 1) The tower, centered on a helical staircase, is where the classrooms, laboratories, archives – and their consultation spaces – the digital library are located. 2) The south building, low and linear, houses various types of academic facilities (offices, laboratories, rooms, classrooms) and also areas for hosting events and activities related to companies. 3) The north building, in direct contact with IULM headquarters, is also low and linear (two floors) to allow permeability with IULM itself. This building houses the canteen and kitchens, the library, and the more traditional archives, compared to the digital one of the Tower. The auditorium represents another essential hub of the complex: the communication between the university and territory finds its most extensive dimension in a place of great architectural prestige suitable for projections, congresses, cultural and artistic events. In this way, IULM can strengthen its vocation as a multipurpose cultural center for the most vital Italian city in the artistic field.

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