CASA BFF MILAN
An exterior precedent for large-scale commercial architecture utilizing a detached structural colonnade and oversized solar canopy to enclose a glazed workspace block.
- What we like about this project
- The roof canopy extends far beyond the building footprint like an open pergola filled entirely with photovoltaic panels.
Materials
- glass
- steel
- photovoltaic-cells
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- solar-canopy
- slender-columns
- glass-facade
- perimeter-colonnade
Style tags
- contemporary
- sustainable
- high-tech
- corporate
Visual tags
- commercial
- sustainable
- double-skin
- urban-facade
- canopy
- Geometry
- An orthogonal multi-story glass volume is enveloped by an independent perimeter colonnade carrying a massive overhanging planar roof lattice.
- Facade system
- Unitized glass curtain wall behind a secondary structural exoskeleton and sunscreen roof.
- Structural guess
- Steel perimeter colonnade and roof space frame supporting an independent internal core and floor slabs.
- Spatial scale
- Large multi-story commercial scale; the slender columns span seven or more vertical levels.
- Lighting
- Soft, overcast ambient daylight casting gentle reflections on the glazing and high-contrast silhouettes through the bare winter trees.
- Atmosphere
- Calm, civic dignity under an overcast sky, balancing heavy corporate scale with lightweight structural delicacy.
- Environmental context
- Urban street edge with a multi-lane road in the foreground, blurred car light streaks, and mature deciduous trees.
- Spatial experience
- The building presents a striking urban presence, where a lightweight outer cage and expansive roof canopy create a monumental threshold framing the glass block inside.
- Composition rhythm
- Dense, uniform vertical rhythm of slender white columns against a gridded glass and solar panel grid.
- Style reading
- Contemporary sustainable corporate architecture
- Program
- Commercial office headquarters
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- glass, steel, photovoltaic-cells, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- solar-canopy, slender-columns, glass-facade, perimeter-colonnade
- Style tags
- contemporary, sustainable, high-tech, corporate
- Visual tags
- commercial, sustainable, double-skin, urban-facade, canopy
- Geometry
- An orthogonal multi-story glass volume is enveloped by an independent perimeter colonnade carrying a massive overhanging planar roof lattice.
- Facade system
- Unitized glass curtain wall behind a secondary structural exoskeleton and sunscreen roof.
- Structural guess
- Steel perimeter colonnade and roof space frame supporting an independent internal core and floor slabs.
- Spatial scale
- Large multi-story commercial scale; the slender columns span seven or more vertical levels.
- Lighting
- Soft, overcast ambient daylight casting gentle reflections on the glazing and high-contrast silhouettes through the bare winter trees.
- Atmosphere
- Calm, civic dignity under an overcast sky, balancing heavy corporate scale with lightweight structural delicacy.
- Environmental context
- Urban street edge with a multi-lane road in the foreground, blurred car light streaks, and mature deciduous trees.
- Spatial experience
- The building presents a striking urban presence, where a lightweight outer cage and expansive roof canopy create a monumental threshold framing the glass block inside.
- Composition rhythm
- Dense, uniform vertical rhythm of slender white columns against a gridded glass and solar panel grid.
- Style reading
- Contemporary sustainable corporate architecture
- Program
- Commercial office headquarters
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture