CASA SIEMENS

BARRECA & LA VARRA, DEGW (INTERIOR DESIGN & SPACE PLANNING)

Cotto d’Este porcelain stoneware has been chosen to cover and define the aesthetic of “Casa Siemens”, the new Milan offices that the German multinational commissioned in Via Vipiteno in Milan with the aim of establishing its headquarters there. It is a very innovative project designed by the Barreca & La Varra firm: 15,500 sq m in this area of the city within an area of 86,000 sq m owned by the company are a powerful symbol of urban development in the north-eastern outskirts. The management and offices that were previously based in Bicocca are housed here.

The building, made according to the most advanced construction techniques, has been designed as a sort of Siemens city that can encapsulate the philosophy of the community of the future, defined by sharing, integration, mutual exchange and environmental protection. Siemens is very attentive to the environment and to sustainability, an ethical approach fully shared by Cotto d’Este, which has always stood out for its practices aimed at minimizing environmental impact.

For the surfaces and finishes, the Barreca & La Varra firm chose, for the covering of the external façades, Kerlite5plus, laminated, 5 mm-thick Cotto d’Este porcelain stoneware in the Auvergne Layè shade, from the Cluny collection. Cotto d’Este’s variety of formats, colours and surfaces made it possible to use Auvergne Layè in a 14mm-thick version for the external pavement that surrounds the perimeter of the building, ensuring perfect design continuity.

Auvergne Sablé was chosen for the interior flooring on the ground floor. Featuring a thickness of 14 mm, this surface is slightly rough, non-reflective and more rustic, making it perfect for lending residential and commercial locations a bold and elegant style thanks to its slightly textured aesthetic, which evokes all the allure of natural stone.

Finally, the Silvis collection was selected for the floor surfaces of the inner courtyard. Presented in the Robur shade, this 14 mm-thick porcelain stoneware completely retains the look of wood, maintaining slight differences in reflection due to minimal variations in depth between the materials’ fibres.

Photo credits: Carola Merello, Dario Tettamanzi