The New Urban Campus for Bocconi University Invites Natural Hues

Japanese studio SANAA designed the urban campus for Bocconi University in Milan as a series of curved volumes clad in perforated metal plates surrounding a green courtyard. Occupying the land of a former dairy factory next to the existing university, the new campus is the headquarters of the Bocconi School of Management which is equipped with several facilities such as a sports center, dormitories, and recreation center.

SANAA's new urban campus design for Bacconi University.

However, SANAA does not necessarily include all of these programs into one mass that fills a site covering an area of ​​350,000 square meters. Instead, the studio breaks down the program into several transparent white organic shapes that allow the campus design to embrace the garden in the center. The campus and park are integrated into an open space for campus residents and the general public, with winding and shaded paths as a circulation system.

Perforated and corrugated metal layer that forms the facade of the building,

The buildings on this campus have different architectural styles, but they are still part of a larger system. This is evident in the typical interior courtyards of Milan architecture found in every building. Additionally, each floor is lined with balconies covered in corrugated metal mesh, creating a porous connection to the city context. The ground floor of each building features a foyer that provides a peaceful environment for socializing, studying, or simply enjoying the fresh air from the garden.

The foyer on the ground floor is also shrouded by a metal net.

The inner courtyard is a feature of every building on this campus.

Furthermore, the metal layer that becomes the facade of the buildings is useful for reducing heat exposure from the sun, before it penetrates the glass walls. With diamond-shaped perforations, the metal screen also provides a visual effect that unifies the entire building. The finishing will look silvery white during the day and look like a lantern at night. SANAA also deliberately raised this layer of netting slightly above ground level to create a strip of exposed glass that visually connects the interior of each building with the garden.

The interior of the restaurant in the business school building.

The concave classrooms follow the geometry of the building and are equipped with acoustic panels on the ceiling.

With the configuration of a business school building on the northeast side of the site while a sports center and dormitory in the south, the campus interior is characterized by rows of cylindrical columns, transparent rooms, and endless green views. The cylindrical structure seems to guide everyone who enters the business school lobby to move to the public cafes, restaurants, and bookstores that are there. Meanwhile, the concave classrooms and meeting rooms follow the geometry of the building, having a good arrangement of acoustic panels on the ceiling. Large steel columns, which support the structure's concrete slabs, also define the edges of this space and have been spaced to avoid disturbing the line of sight across the interior. On the other hand, the three-story sports center which houses an underground Olympic-sized swimming pool also provides an indoor court on the upper level with spectator stands surrounding it.

SANAA designed the new urban campus for Bocconi University