Green walls design is able to reinterpret a courtyard with flamboyant greenery respecting the original atmosphere. In Milan, contemporary vertical green techniques and classic local plant species converge to create a welcoming environment. A hidden treasure for customers and employees of the city branch of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Being an intervention on a building in the historic centre, I first arranged the submission of the project to the Landscape Commission of the Metropolitan City of Milan. Following, I drove the Client’s requests to construction project level, helped to select providers, then coordinated and supervised the whole construction process. The peculiarity of this three-storey green courtyard project is the masking of the thickness of the supporting structure of the green wall systems by adding bright coloured thresholds and frames. The continuity between architecture and green walls is reinforced by the integration of the fertigation and recirculation system into the existing flooring. The natural effect of this ‘upward courtyard’ is amplified by the use of typical yet often underestimated species of Milanese courtyards such as Bergenia cordifolia, Vinca major and Campanula spp.
Location: Largo Cairoli, Milan, Italy
Site area: 134 m2
Partners: Peverelli Srl, Banco dei Paschi di Siena architectural department
Year: 2015
Services: Construction design, plant design, technical advise on green walls systems and architectonic integration, construction works supervision
