Portrait Milano hospitality complex

The Portrait Milano project reclaims a symbolic location of sixteenth-century life in Milan, today the heart of the Quadrilateral of fashion, for hotel and commercial use. The archbishop’s seminary built at the wishes of San Carlo Borromeo, with its monumental porticoed cloister, becomes a hospitality complex welcoming shops, restaurants and a luxury hotel: a new piazza for Milan, open to tourists and citizens, who can admire the historical architecture here reintegrated into the flow of contemporary life. The project by AMDL CIRCLE investigates the historical identity of the location in order to conserve and showcase its construction characteristics, respecting its symbolic meaning.
Bearing witness to the history of the building, cornices, apertures, colours and materials are maintained. From a study on the historical morphology of the doors and windows, conducted thanks to the Achille Bertarelli civic print collection, there has resulted a rereading in a contemporary vein of the design of these elements, which become an expression of the synergy between the new use of the complex and its history.
The frames of the doors and windows, with two-door shutters and glass doors for the commercial activities, soften the impact of the large wall surfaces respecting the principle of non-invasiveness. The integration of logos and graphics onto the glass doors and windows respects the uniformity of the façades and the “visual silence” that is appropriate to the seminary.
The cloister is the fulcrum around which the entire complex is developed. A double loggia of coupled columns frames it around four sides. In all ecclesiastical architectures, the loggia is a covered element of distribution that regulates the conducting of activities. This characteristic is maintained and highlighted. On the ground floor the porticos are used as a space to access the restaurants, the café-bistros and the exclusive boutiques, as well as an access for the hotel. The loggia on the first floor, intentionally left open as in the 16^th century, is reserved for customers of the hotel, who access their rooms from here.
All four internal sides of the complex have a strong personality and the choice of distribution of the public functions of the ground floor derives from the peculiarities of each wing.
The hotel reception finds its natural location on the right of the entrance porch in Corso Venezia, which maintains its role as the main entrance. On the left of the door there are two double-height rooms, used respectively as a cultural space and a meeting room.
The north side can be used for its entire length and the restaurant and the hotel cafeteria with access to the garden are located here. The garden is a simple, refined green space, embellished by the restoration of the existing architectural elements. A light veranda allows use on cold and rainy days.
The west side is the one that looks onto the elegant commercial area of Via Sant’Andrea and contains the double-facing boutiques, which enjoy the exposure from the street and views of the monumental cloister.
The volume to the south, contained between two historical stairways, is characterised by an initial area devoted to boutiques, to then continue beyond the central staircase with the insertion of a large restaurant with the best exposure to the sun of the whole complex.
On the upper floor is the hotel, with around seventy luxury rooms and reserved dining, reception and lounge spaces. The north side of the roof is transformed into a rooftop bar.
On the basement floor are a swimming pool, gym and wellness area, in addition to a large area for events. The service and technical rooms complete the level. Beneath the central courtyard, the pre-existing underground garage open to the public has been maintained, with direct access from Corso Venezia. The car park, which is a precious commodity in the historic centre, frees up the loading and unloading services of the entire complex, releasing the external gardens in favour of the usability of the spaces. The sombre appearance of the ancient internal frontages is attenuated by the green project. Plants in vases with bushes, trees, seasonal flowers and herbs of various colours and heights create areas of multi-coloured vegetation interspersed with benches, tables and streetlamps. The vegetation interrupts the monotony of stone and cement, and the domination suffered due to the grandeur of the monument is split up into a number of small green areas that are moving in their simplicity. In the centre of the temporary space, pavilions can be built for organising events and displays.
Calibrated and discreet lighting values the main characteristics of the building. In the evening, the colonnades, cornices and façades are highlighted by light points to underline their shapes and three-dimensionality. In particular, the beauty of the loggia is emphasised by the “backlighting” effects of the evening illumination. The resulting impression will be that of a serene building of ancient tradition, which has maintained its original elegance over time.