Hostel San Remo

Location

Milan, Italy

Project Team

Atelier Marsala (FB)

Mattia Di Carlo

The chosen site is located in the very center of Milano, in the midst of its oldest nucleus. The area is presently unresolved for a specific reason: the realization of an inner traffic ring planned in the 30s was interrupted after WWII. leaving a series of run-down areas which were not built up because of their location along the envisaged “cut”. Today these areas are waiting for a new programme and role, respectful of their delicate location and context but adequate to a contemporary metropolis and its new values.

The design program includes a student hostel, services and a multi-purpose space for events and expositions, plus the creation of a meaningful public open space in the form of a new square. For the principle of Urban Grafting we decided to rethink two outmost common typologies of the Milanese cityscape which are the residential tower and the ‚Ringhiera‘ courtyard. The combination of these two into one complex was reinforced by the big offer of urban activities as well as diversified public spaces in the groundfloor. The variation of the ‚confine‘ theme generated transitions between the state of void and solid on the facade enriching the broad range of relationships from interior to exterior.