ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA GROUP HEADQUARTERS -

MILAN

The gradual revitalization in recent years of the historically industrial area in Milan of Riva Calzoni has produced a business district almost entirely dedicated to the fashion sector. This project, developed for Ermenegildo Zegna, substitutes an existing shed, impossible to preserve because of the complexity of its structures, with a completely different space which, with its two underground levels of parking, takes up the previous disposition of volumes. The brand new building, even if reproducing the profile of the shed roofing, gives a fresh interpretation of the interior spaces. Totally set in a courtyard system, the structure addresses the street only via a long glass gallery which opens itself on via Stendhal through a narrowed foyer. The long gallery, on four levels, contains the stairs and footbridges connecting the showrooms to the offices. Zegna's headquarters in Milan has a showroom for each of its collections located to the north of the central courtyard. The day-to-day works spaces, including the commercial offices, the public relations department face the showroom across the courtyard. Positioned at ground floor directly accessible from the foyer is the presentation space conceived as a theatre. Only partly glazed and clad with highly polished materials, the facade exploits the outline and shapes of the inclined planes, allowing the new building to dissolve into the surrounding built context.