Great Building. Daniel Libeskind got approved on his plans for new museum of contemporary art to be located within the citylife plan on the former fiera grounds in milan, italy. It features a vertical structure of five floors which twists from its square base and forms a circular terrace at the top. Its design references Da Vinci’s golden section, transforming in accordance to principles of self-evolution and spherical astronomy.
five square floor plates rotate with each successive level generating a fluid geometry. The most important design objective sought by city authorities and the designers was the greatest possible flexibility in order to respond to all of the, nowadays often unpredictable, needs of a space dedicated to contemporary art. the slender horizontal bronze varnished aluminum panels create a brise soleil pattern while filtering direct light from entering the galleries. Influenced by leonardo da vinci’s proportions of the vitruvian man, the twisting form promotes the visionary design, fashion and furniture work that has become internalized within the milanese lifestyle. planned public transportation stops intend to link the cultural center with the city’s thriving core.
This is why the five galleries of the new building are presented as stand-alone units, with a minimum height of 5.5m and equipped with complex lighting and air conditioning systems that make it possible to stage any type of exhibition while at the same time keeping the dominant line of the structure visible to the visitor, the square that becomes a circle, as it moves from the ground to the sky.
The building will consist of five thousand square meters of conditioned gallery space and seven thousand square meters of external space with garden terraces on every floor including the roof. the ceilings were placed at a minimum height of 5.5 meters to ensure their ability to host any proposed exhibition.
The “screen” is formed by a series of bronze-colored varnished aluminium strips that also provide a great sense of lightness and luminosity. the lobby features an 8 meter high atrium to suspend artwork while providing ventilation to upper galleries. the light rhythmic exterior cladding is visible from the interior through the glass curtain wall allowing visitors to experience their luminous qualities.
