Palazzo Ricordi

After three years of works and the important certification (first in Italy) of Leed Gold Core&Shell for an historical building, Palazzo Ricordi re-opened, just a few days before the opening of Expo.

Located in the block among via San Raffaele, via Berchet and via Foscolo, it is close to the east entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Duomo.

This building, that dates back to late XIX century, used to be the headquarter of the renowned Casa Ricordi, an Italian music production company that worked with Verdi, Puccini and all major Opera musicians and singers.

The ground floor, mezzanine and basement now houses a Ferrari Flagship Store while upper floors are locate to one tenant as offices.

The renovation project involved all 7 floors to give a new, more contemporary image to this office/commercial building. The main elements of the project have been new layout for all floors, a new function for the inner courtyard with some additions and an important renovation on the facade that re-opened the windows, partially cluttered by the previous works.

The most important operation was the regeneration of the courtyard: previously only dedicated to systems and piping, it is now an open space with terraces on different floors where employees can enjoy their breaks. Three new additional volumes project out on the courtyard with full height glass windows; from the top one an unforgettable view frames the spires of Duomo.

The base of the courtyard, over the mezzanine, has a glass floor with a constant water flow over it; it works as a skylight window to bring natural light through the commercial floors down to the basement.

Moreover, a lot of care has been dedicated to the design of details and the choice of materials and finishing that connote the entrance hall, the vertical links and the common areas.

Furthermore, under the project of the P+F Architetti as well, all streets around the building have been renovated and became a pedestrian zone.

The new design of the streets reminds of the classical look of Milanese streets of the city-centre by using traditional materials and laying schemes of stones and cobblestone.