Milan Luiss Hub is a new space dedicated to professional training, business development and creative activities wanted by the LUISS - Free International University of Social Studies "Guido Carli" of Rome. The digital manufacturing laboratory is capable of bringing together school-work type of activities and trainings in advanced management, emerging startups and events open to the public.
The original building located in a central and strategic area of Milan was a former municipal carand freight depot. The area was abandoned and very separatedfrom the rest of the city. The building, positioned in the rear part of the lot and equipped with a large internal courtyard, had a single floor divided into two L-shaped sheds with trussed roofing covered with a layer of tiles and supported by internal brick pillars.
Taking into consideration the advanced state of decay of the old building, it had to be almost completely demolished to make way for the new hub.
The new shape of the building follows the design of the original L-shaped floor. The main colors of the project are white, grey and black, and for materials are used glass, steel and cement. This defines the contemporary language of the new structure. The forms instead, appropriately revised according to the new requirements, allude in part to the pre-existence. The old building was basically emptied but the L-shaped form was kept and again filled with series of volumes arranged planimetrically freely with respect to the rigid layout of the original building. The two main wings, together with the glass case, work independently of one another but at the same time are connected from the inside.
The three volumes, with their glass walls, establish an osmotic relationship with the external environment, both with the garden and the urban scenery. Milan Luiss Hub exposes its activities to the exterior, just like a showcase, and the city could visually perceive the rooms of the structure, sharing its vivacity and its energy. In this way Milan Luiss Hub becomes an integral piece of the wide urban mosaic.
The structure consists of 3 functional programs. Among these is theEducation Center, where trainings and courses for citizens, as well as non-profit organizations, private companies, and institutions, oriented to high school studentsare taking place in terms of creating a school-work exchange. In the rooms it is possible to organize events, conventions, company reunions and discussions on innovation topics, social enterprise, new technologies, art and culture, creativity and digital fabrication. Another fundamental part of the program is the FabLab which allows exploring the new frontiers of digital manufacturing such as rapid prototyping. Within the laboratories there are two areas of experimentation: the one dedicated to makers, designers and artisans and the other one, designed for citizens.
Here the former will be able to support the latter by developing knowledge-based processes and development from a basic level. The third program is the Business Accelerator, aimed at the development and support of startups, or young companies engaged in the implementation of innovative projects.
Material Used :
1. Thema srl - doors, windows, gate -Schuco
2. Neri Glass srl - glass boxes
3. Scrigno - door frames for interior sliding doors - Invisibile
4. Oddicini - operable partitions - Maxparete HSP
5. Exenia - lighting elements - Hola, Io, Led ranner
6. Viabizzuno - lighting elements - A1 sistem, Trasparenze
7. I Guzzini - outdoor lighting elements - Reflex, Linealuce, Woody
8. Ceramica Flaminia - health - Monò
9. Catalano - Bathroom sink- Premium
10. Geberit - Toilet drain - Duofix Sigma 01
11. Cristina - Rubinetteria - Rubinetto
12. Lucernari - Velux - Velux
13. IPM Italia - Resin Floor - craftsmanship
14. Opere in acciaio - Chimismi srl- craftsmanship
15. Gruppo Forest - Roof sistem - craftsmanship
16. Riverclack - Roof cladding - 50
17. linee vita - Sial Safety – Coverline basic_RK
18. Air conditioning and ventilation system: Toshiba - MMY
19. Audio wire broadcasting system: Bose
20. Kartell - chair - Maui
