The architecture of the Mondandori Headquarters

The headquarters of the Mondadori Publisher located in Segrate near the Idroscalo, now owned by General Insurance, is considered one of the greatest examples of contemporary architecture present in Italy, for its architectural features, innovative structural and plant systems.

Designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who died in 2012 at the age of 104, who was commissioned in 1968 by Giorgio Mondadori, son of founder Arnoldo, and inaugurated in 1975, as the Milan office was no longer sufficient to accommodate the company's booming workforce.

Fiorentiniassociati architecture firm

Andrea Fiorentini Architect

The "monumental" architectural structure consisting of a monolithic volume of 200 meters in length is characterized by a supporting structure of exposed reinforced concrete, articulated by large expressive arches of varying amplitude, which emphasize the character celebratory of the company tradition, a kind of "advertising architecture" as the architect Niemeyer himself had called it.

The large concrete arches emerge from a large body of water that refers to the Lombard agrarian landscape characterized by rice paddies, a large lake of 20,000 square meters that enhances with reflections the lightness of the arched structures and at the same time fulfills technical functions of water supply needed for irrigation, firefighting and air conditioning systems.

Access to the offices is via a "walkway" on the water that transforms the simple journey from the parking lot to the workplace into a pleasant "walk".

The volume of the offices behind the concrete arches is composed of 5 floors entirely glazed, "hanging" on the structure of the concrete arches, innovative solution that allows in addition to a visual lightness, total flexibility and freedom internal distribution of offices.

The headquarters are completed by two low volumes that house services such as restaurants, shops and leisure and sports equipment, composed of "naturalistic" plants that refer to leaves.

All this is set within a large park of about 200,000 square meters designed by The Tuscan landscape designer Pietro Porcinai.

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