EXPO VIABILITY

MILAN, ITALY
The system of roadways, made up of parts in tunnels, parts on an embankment, and parts on an overpass, was conceived as a single architectural unit, continuous and winding, and fits in with the nature and the construction found in Lombardy and with that of the immediate surroundings. It is inspired by the tortuous morphology of the waterways, by the skyline of the mountains that surround the area, and more abstractly by the legendary emblem of the regional capital of Lombardy.
The result is a dynamic form, almost animalistic, which starts from the ground, lightly touches the waters that confine Expo, passing over the traffic of the principle highways, capable of generating positive connections between the parts by limiting the pillars that support them, with the goal of reconnecting, or at least giving order to an urban landscape which is difficult, but at the same time rich in diversity and potential. The qualifying proposal of this project is the realization of a modern structure which evokes the dynamism of the metropolis ever reaching out to the international scene, even beyond Expo 2015. The shape of the infrastructure proposed, more than being the new northwest entrance to Milan proposes a new territorial vision which makes the favorable impact it has on the landscape it’s added value.
The bridge is meant to be a single construction with particular territorial value, while the part leading to Expo takes on exceptional value and is proposed almost like a permanent exhibition of land-art. Leaving the overpasses of the highway, the three central ramps of the roads corresponding to the eastern side of the fair grounds have a direct rapport with the waterways surrounding the fairgrounds, with the area dedicated to biodiversity (greenhouses and hills) and naturally with the structures connected to the north-eastern entrance. It is for this reason that in the composition of the sequence of arches, the tallest and most symmetrical one was created in direct rapport with the hill and the north-eastern entrance to Expo creating in this way a positive architectural tension with the emerging elements of Expo.
In this sense, the soft forms of the bridge and its tubular structure are also justified, and propose a background of overlapping images, which can be crossed visibly and physically, and at the same time are almost transparent. The great planked bridge with it’s finely shaped structure and main framework in plain sight is held up by steel tie-beams, despite its dimension seems lightly suspended and is of great impact. It is a decorum accentuated by the (system of) indirect lighting of the supporting elements which are stretched/taut to valorize by mutual contrast the line/linearity of the bridge and the fine plan of the tie-beams optimized in their construction needs. This piece of work overlaps the outside navigable waters of the canal that border on the area and the points that touch the ground in front of Expo, are limited to only 4 elements; these have an almost sculptured effect at the base in which the deformation at the foot of the tubular section points out the structural tension of the arch. In the design of the ramp, all along the ramp there is ample possibility to cross smoothly and also future adaptations of the system of entrance ways, at medium and long term, are amply permitted. Starting from the conception of the bridge as a form of landscape painting integrated into the works of environmental mitigation, a proposal of general systematization, particularly referring to the front of Expo was formulated. There was also a proposal of general organization of the eastern parking areas. This proposal allows to optimize the final structure of the roads and the round-abouts foreseen in the phases during and after Expo solving the interference determined by the work done on the canals (the new flood plan for the Guisa river) and by the rolling (flooding) coherent with the proposed system of landscape mitigation forming almost an urban park.
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
CREDITS
YEAR: 2011
LOCATION: Milan
TYPOLOGY: Infrastructures and master planning
CLIENT: TOTO S.p.A.
LANDSCAPE: Studio AG&P Milano
Milan, Italy

Master Planning
CERCA