Mario Cucinella Architects and SOS - School of Sustainability inaugurate new headquarters in Milan

On September 22 the Fondazione SOS - School of Sustainability and the MC A Mario Cucinella Architects studio inaugurated their new Milan offices located in Via Poma 52, in a former factory dating back to the 1930s. The Fondazione SOS - School of Sustainability is a private non-profit organisation created for civic, solidarity and social utility purposes thanks to the collaboration of its three founding members: Mario Cucinella Architects, Fondazione Iris Ceramica Group and SAIB Spa. Through initiatives aimed at promoting post-graduate training and international research in the sustainability sphere with a focus on architecture and design, the Foundation trains new generations of sustainable design professionals in accordance with the provisions of the UN agenda as set out in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An activity that will now continue in the School's new Milan offices, in an interdisciplinary context and in close collaboration with the MC A studio and their industrial partners.
The new headquarters are located in a former factory, of which only the external façade has been preserved and restored, while the interior spaces have been completely redesigned and redeveloped. The result is an 800-square-metre space distributed over 3 levels which, as stressed by architect Mario Cucinella during the inauguration, very much reflect the studio’s diversity. A space designed to become the very heart of the ecosystem of professionals revolving around the studio’s projects, a community of over 100 specialists in sustainability and its various other fields: integrated architectural design, industrial design, cultural, exhibition and editorial production, educational and participatory planning paths for local communities, scientific research and more. "It is a place which", for architect Mario Cucinella "speaks of sharing, research, environment care and creativity".
Inside the building, a full-height void has been created, which starts on the first floor and reaches up to the garden terrace, with the internal balconies of the offices distributed on the upper levels overlooking this large central void. On the first floor, instead, a green platform has been designed in correspondence with the void, with plants and seats reserved for appointments and special events. The building’s green areas were designed by architect and landscape architect Marilena Baggio from the Greencure studio.

In addition, during the inauguration of the new Milan office, two new editorial projects were also presented. The first is entitled Il futuro è un viaggio nel passato. Dieci storie di architettura ("The future is a journey into the past. Ten stories of architecture") by Mario Cucinella and published by Quodlibet, a collection of travel reflections in cities and places that have offered the architect food for thought on the environment and on the rational exploitation of available energy resources. The second project, on the other hand, is the first volume of the series entitled I Quaderni: Architettura dell’Educazione ("Architecture of Education") by Mario Cucinella Architects, edited by Elena Dorato and published by Maggioli Editore. The volume contains a collection of multidisciplinary essays and innovative school projects created by the studio.

(Agnese Bifulco)

MC A - Mario Cucinella Architects
Fondazione SOS - School of Sustainability

Title: Il futuro è un viaggio nel passato. Dieci storie di architettura
Author: Mario Cucinella
Publication date: September 22, 2021
Publisher: Quodlibet Habitat
Pages: 128
Size: 12 x 18.2 cm
Language: Italian

Title: Architettura dell’Educazione
Authors: Mario Cucinella Architects curated by Elena Dorato
Publication date: July 2021
Publisher: Maggioli Editore
Pages: 202
Size: 19 x 27 cm
Language: Italian

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