The integration of the built environment with nature through the principles of biophilic architecture and the process of regenerating an area according to new standards, is the basis of the approach of “Welcome, feeling at work”. The futuristic business center designed by the Japanese firm will be the first biophilic office. Kengo Kuma and Associates will be the first Italian biophilic office.
Welcome will represent a new way of working and living. Natural light, noise control, encouragement to exercise, to eat healthily, ease of movement, will be the main strengths.
What does the biophilic approach to architecture and design mean?
Yuki Ikeguch, architect at Kengo Kuma’s office and project coordinator, states:
A biophilic urban approach brings the city back to life. This will be the beginning of a new era in which green architecture intervenes to redefine the urban horizon and increase the quality of space. This will encourage creativity and innovation in professional life and beyond. Natural elements in architecture such as light, air, and wood stimulate the senses and make a difference in the workplace, in lifestyle, and improve health and productivity.
Metamorphosis of a historic building into an iconic place for future urbanity and society
Image from https://welcomemilano.it/
The project is located in the northeast suburbs of Milan and is part of a complex urban regeneration plan for a purely residential area. It will take shape where the historic headquarters of the publishing house Rizzuli Corriere della Sera is currently located. This building of symbolic value has remained empty and abandoned for years, leading to the degradation of the area.
This is one of the last remaining parts of the redevelopment of this maxi-area, which began in the 2000s.
The completion project, blocked by the financial crisis between 2011 and 2012, was only unlocked in 2018 and materialized last year under the ownership of the Europa Risorse platform with the architectural project “biofilica” by Kengo Kuma.
What will architect Kengo Kuma’s first biophilic office look like?
According to the biophilics the office will be built in 2024 in Milan in the green space of the park. Kengo Kuma himself was impressed. “Milan is a city that presents an exciting combination of modernity and tradition in terms of art, architecture, and craftsmanship. This makes it the ideal place to carry out our work.
Welcome feeling at work is an emblematic case of biophilic architecture, in which architectural design and nature come together. Kuma’s goal is to create a workspace that integrates harmoniously with the surrounding natural landscape.
A redevelopment that will transform the neighborhood, bring it back to life, and give it added value. Offices, an auditorium, spaces for co-working, restaurants, shops, a supermarket, and venues for events. Public and private, work and leisure, apparent dichotomies that come together, linked by lush vegetation that will cover the entire structure to resemble a true hill.
Kuma’s biophilic office: the most advanced sustainable intervention in Europe
WELCOME is a project of urban and environmental regeneration that meets high environmental, social, and governance standards.
The ESG criteria are the fundamental dimensions for measuring any company’s commitment to safeguarding people and the planet. Environmental, Social, and Governance.
Image from https://welcomemilano.it/
Sustainability and innovation for the material chosen. The key element is wood, which, together with steel, is used for the above-ground architecture, while concrete was chosen for the foundations and underground. The complex will benefit from Well Platinum certification, intended to measure the quality of interior spaces, as well as compliance with the energy efficiency protocol.
Leed Platinum an ecologically sustainable project attentive to a policy of circularity in the use of construction materials, an energy production system for heating (and air conditioning) which, together with the use of photovoltaic panels, will allow the building to guarantee maximum energy efficiency.
The Welcome project represents an opportunity for the city of Milan to sketch out new paradigms, a dialogue between man and nature, and a response to the needs dictated by the pandemic in order to preserve the world for future generations.
