The project of the new operative HQ of Gruppo Unipol gives life back to a building left unfinished for many years, returning Milan an innovative and cutting-edge place in line with the contemporaneity of the surrounding Isola district. The wide-spectrum restoration work aims not only at changing completely the building’s aesthetical features, but also and foremost at improving its functionality, its energy performance and overall management efficiency.
A peculiar element of the building is the new façade, sewed on the complex as a precious glass dress that reflects sunlight in a constantly different way, giving a vibrant feeling of unexpectedness to the building. A prismatic façade, both dynamic and elegant, in dialogue with the surrounding buildings and well inserted in the architectural language of the district.
A turning-key element of the project, entirely designed using BIM, lies in its technical and engineering innovation, which turns the building into a vivid example of green architecture. Part of the external surfaces is covered with titanium dioxide, a specific material that can “melt” the polluting agents in the air through an advanced photocatalytic process.
The building features cutting edge systems that use renewable sources for energy production. The photovoltaic panels placed on the roof are able to produce around 40,000 kWhel/year, cutting the emissions by 13t/CO2 per year. In addition, a highly efficient heat pump uses geothermal energy for both heating and cooling, without releasing pollutants into the air.
Awards
"Bim&Digital Award 2018" - Large scale commercial buildings
