Restructuring of the public spaces, Milan Triennale

In 2002 the new distribution layout of the ground floor of the Palazzo dell’Arte was inaugurated, involving the atrium, box-office, cloakroom, bookshop, coffee shop and areas for temporary exhibitions. The space has been completely freed from accretions and returned to Muzio’s original formulation, with symmetrical but not pedantic geometries and monumental but controlled proportions.
The environment is airy, clean and simple: the walls have been plastered, smoothed and painted white; the marble washed and the chips repaired. Pipes, electrical cables and various junction boxes have been buried in the walls and, where possible, eliminated. The floor has been sanded, replacing the parts worn by use.
Entering from Viale Alemagna, eight large glass panels organise the information on the programme and accompany visitors towards the atrium. This central distribution environment stretches out in length and width, giving direct access to the Galleria dell’Architettura and the Galleria della Curva on the ground floor. Immediately afterwards we find the impluvium, where the bookshop is located, with the monumental staircase opposite. Finally you arrive at the coffee shop, which stretches out transversally at the back. The counter of the cafeteria is disguised by a tall dais, on which a number of design objects are on display; the chairs and armchairs are all different from each other. A large transparent glass wall separates the coffee shop from the atrium and from a lateral operational area.
The lighting has been designed to highlight the purity of the space. The cylindrical lamps, which integrate transformer and fluorescent light bulbs in a single element, have been arranged at regular distances on the ceiling to obtain a diffused light without disturbing Muzio’s architecture.