PRINCELESS -

MILAN

PRICELESS MILANO is a temporary installation located on top of Palazzo Beltrami in Piazza della Scala, Milan. This living unit designed entirely by PARK Associati can be moved around and placed on top of existing buildings in striking locations. It is also designed to be a sort of travelling gastronomic theatre, a ‘Carro di Tespi’ (travelling theatrical company ), where leading chefs from all over the world are invited to show off their skills on a rotational basis at special cooking shows. The pavilion features a number of integrated features of varying degrees of complexity forming a sophisticated building programme that brings together architecture and interior design carefully created right down to the most minute detail. The aim was to create a distinctive but not over-imposing form that confronts rather than collides with miscellaneous urban surroundings. So PRICELESS MILANO is a temporary structure serving as a restaurant fitted out with an extremely flexible space that carefully adapts to the locations in which it is installed. The pavilion is open to the general public for bookings and can accommodate up to 24 seated guests around one single table (plus the restaurant staff) or, alternatively, 66 people standing for special events. This travelling restaurant concept has been developed by MasterCard for EXPO 2015 and for the ‘EXPO in città’ project, the agency FourWard Events managing all the activities held in the pavilion with the patronage of the municipality of Milano, with the chosen location being on the roof of Palazzo Beltrami, home of the Gallerie d’Italia and Intesa Sanpaolo Museum Centre in Piazza della Scala. The 24 guests will be involved in an unique experience. For the occasion sliding walls can be used to separate the kitchen area from the dining area. The table lifts up to the ceiling and the space can be completely opened up. Window-doors providing access to the outside terrace have been placed along the longest sides of the dining area. The pavilion is covered with a perforated, press-formed, anodised aluminium skin in bronze/gold shades. The aluminium skin that rests on top of the restaurant units like a wing is held in position in the middle by 8 “invisible” supports. This “sail” is designed to protect the structure against solar radiation, also ensuring conditions on the terrace below are comfortable: its broken-wing shape creates an overall sense of lightness and suspension. Saporiti Italia supplied all the furniture.