Photos reveal BIG's CityWave under construction in Milan

Danish architecture studio BIG has released photos of its CityWave office development in Milan, Italy, which is topped with a 140-metre-long sweeping roof.

Taken ahead of a topping out ceremony that took place during this year’s Milan design week, the photos show the main structure of the building largely complete.

Work can be seen on building the distinctive curved roof, which will be entirely clad in photovoltaic tiles when it is complete.

The building is being built as part of the CityLife development, which already contains completed skyscrapers by Zaha Hadid Architects, Daniel Libeskind and Arata Isozaki.

According to BIG, which designed the building in collaboration with Atelier Verticale, the development was designed so it didn’t compete with this trio of towers.

Named CityWave, the project will consist of two office buildings – 12-storeys and 22-storeys high – connected by a giant canopy.

Constructed from dowel-laminated veneer lumber, this canopy was designed to be a covered public space that also acts as a gateway to the wider development.

“Milan’s history is defined by twin buildings and grand gateways – architectural markers that shape the city’s fabric,” said BIG partner Lorenzo Boddi.

“Rather than proposing two towers, we envision two courtyard buildings defined not by their height, but by connection – bridging the scale between the neighbourhood and central towers,” he continued.

“A sweeping canopy spans the void, serving as a tangible memory of Milan’s historic axis, while a colonnade of slender steel columns transforms the open space into a new public realm for the entire city – dissolving barriers between indoors and outdoors, between buildings and people.”

BIG is an architecture studio founded by Ingels in Copenhagen in 2005. Also in Milan, BIG created an undulating fountain for Roca, which was one of the 11 stand-out installations at this year’s Milan design week.

The studio’s other recent projects include a glulam airport embellished with decorative carvings in Bhutan, a hospice in Denmark designed as “village for life’s final days” and a sculptural opera and ballet theatre in Kosovo.

The photography is by Alberto Fanelli.

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