BiM, Milan
BiM, Milan
DATA SHEET

Client: Aermont – Kervis
Architectural design: Piuarch
Landscape design: Studio Antonio Perazzi
Photo credits: Piuarch

A far cry from the gloomy, smoky atmosphere of the factories of the past, the Bicocca district contains buildings of great urban and monumental character, the result of the gradual decommissioning of the Breda and Pirelli industrial areas, and the project of renewal – advanced for its time, and on an unusually large scale – implemented in the mid-1980s by the studio helmed by the architect Vittorio Gregotti.

Today Gregotti’s legacy continues in the work of the architects of Piuarch and the landscape designer Antonio Perazzi, involved in the recovery and enhancement of a large portion of this historic zone of Milan – over 50,000 sqm – which includes two buildings located at Viale dell’Innovazione 3 and Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli 10.

Organized by the private investor AermontKervis, the BiM project – an acronym for Bicocca incontra Milano – develops a site for innovative, efficient and sustainable working, open and connected to the city, with the coexistence of offices and functional spaces with large terraces, high-end business services and spaces for culture, social interaction and free time.

A central role has been assigned to greenery, redesigning the shared spaces, in dialogue with the architecture. Antonio Perazzi, the creator of the 6000 square meters of gardens that make the plaza at the middle of the complex become an urban forest based on the circular economy and natural biodiversity, explains that the plantings are not simply decorative, but become “a pretext for aggregation, a meeting place where people can spend time, surrounded and protected by the vegetation. A place where they will want to linger after working hours, feeling like part of a community.” The piazza will come alive with new collective services offered to tenants and citizens, surrounding the so-called Pavilion, a multifunctional space of 800 sqm, also designed by Piuarch.

Although the complex will be ready by the end of 2026, the worksite will be accompanied by a partial, immediate activation of the site, wagering on temporary initiatives of cultural appeal. Besides the already operative BiMstrò, a café designed by Paola Navone – Otto Studio, visitors can also enjoy a cultural area set aside for art and experimentation, developed by the creative magazine C41.