The SFE Façade Design and Engineering Awards recognise excellence and achievement in façade engineering. We will be using the SFE newsletter as a platform to showcase some of the winners from 2023.
Deerns Italia SpA and Park Associati Luxottica Digital Factory was awarded first place for The International Refurbishment category.
- Client: Luxottica Group SpA
- Architect: Park Associati Srl
- Facade Engineering/Consultant: Deerns Italia SpA
- Facade Contractor: Stahlbau Pichler Srl
The project is a refurbishment of a last century factory building with a strong industrial soul. Built to house a turbine production plant, it is a typical example of Milanese industrial architecture, a tile of the large Tortona manufacturing fabric. The district, bordered on one side by the railway and the river and on the other by two urban axes, was one of the main scenes of the last century city's industrial epic, replaced with design and fashion functions in the 1980s.
The intervention, that follows a LEED quality and sustainability protocol, helps revitalize an area of the city that from suburban environment has been turned into a vital area, which is thus returned to the urban and social fabric.
The retrofitting intervention lends a new identity to the ex-General Electric factory, turning it into the Digital Factory for Luxottica. The archetypal elements of the industrial space are enhanced: the shed-style roof, the wide spaces, and the even-spaced reinforced concrete grid are turned into the design’s pivotal points.
The external envelope is the result of a technological and structural research, that lends the building the greatest transparency. The project finds its highest expression in the urban frontage: the building opens up to the city through large full-height windows alternating with slender bronze-tinted metal pilasters, following the regularity of the sheds.
The project was driven by technological innovation, materials research, and cutting-edge tectonic solutions. The external skin, characterised by significant dimensions and high solar factor, is the result of technological research to achieve lightness and monumentality. The interior volumes, made of recyclable metal materials, enhance the monumental character of the spaces: the feeling given by burnished brass, brushed stainless steel and perforated aluminium is weighed by the solid oak flooring and the acoustic fabric panels, specially designed to increase acoustic performance and maintenance flexibility.
The main façade features an aluminium stick-system with double glazed units panels measuring 3.2x10m for the vertical façade. The main entrance is a fully glazed façade, stick system, with glass fins as supporting structure and double glazed units panels of 2x12m. The façade on the courtyard is an add-on stick-system aluminium façade on a steel structure with double glazed units panels of 2x10m. The complexity of the fully customized façade systems with oversize glass panes, which had to be fit within an existing building and primary structures, required a highly coordinated study of the proposed technical solutions and façade details, while adhering to the timeline for façade production and installation of such not-standard façade components.
Dealing with an existing building necessitated meticulous coordination of the façade design with other disciplines, in particular with the structural engineer. The cladding zone, which encompassed aspects such as glass thickness, mullions depth, brackets geometry underwent thorough examination to accommodate site conditions, including tolerances and deviations from the existing structure's plane alignment. Each structural connection between the new façade and the primary existing structure was tailored to suit variable site conditions and prevent the transfer of loads not compatible with the geometry and strength of the existing structures. The new glazed facades were required to meet stringent energy performance standards to minimize reliance on the new MEP system, while simultaneously promoting daylighting and views, thus enhancing the occupants' visual comfort and mental well-being. These objectives were successfully achieved through effective coordination with the MEP and sustainability.
The sustainable strategy was based on holistic approach, spanning from natural lighting to cross-ventilation and indoor green. The project has achieved the LEED Gold certification. The key sustainability topics for the design are related to high energy performance and compliance with materials criteria of the certifications.