Global studio SOM has renovated the Corso Italia 23 office complex in Milan, originally built in the 1960s, by enhancing its layout for better connectivity and transforming its central courtyard into a shared garden, while preserving 70% of the existing structures to meet modern energy standards and maintain the architectural integrity of the original design. The project aims to create a more open and inviting urban campus while honoring the legacy of its original architects, Gio Ponti and Piero Portaluppi.
The most valuable insight for you is that SOM's retrofit of the Corso Italia 23 complex in Milan exemplifies a strategic approach to adaptive reuse by transforming a closed, insular block into an open "porous urban campus." This project underscores the importance of material reuse and sustainable design practices, as 70% of the existing structures were retained, significantly reducing embodied carbon while updating the complex to modern energy standards. This approach can serve as a model for balancing historical preservation with contemporary performance needs in architectural projects.