Certosa square, Milano

Contemporary dialogues: memory reshaping the landscape

Typology

Park Rain Garden

Program

Workplaces Commercial

Perspective

Urban Regeneration Social Engagement

Location

45.502 016, 9.135 705

The project emphasises the identity of a site suspended between industrial memory and everyday life, transforming it into a shared and permeable landscape, within a contemporary narrative of sustainability and sociality.

In the heart of Certosa, a new park is being created, transforming an entirely paved area into a lively place for meeting, resting and connecting. As part of the regeneration process of the Milano Certosa District, this open space reinforces the area's reputation as an urban hub for creativity, music, and socialising. The courtyard connects three buildings: the already active Co-Factory, a club nearing completion and a bistro undergoing renovation, becoming a natural extension of their functions and a new landmark for the neighbourhood.

The landscaping regenerates the site's identity, drawing on its productive past. The removal of paving and the reuse of original materials, porphyry cubes, interlocking blocks, regenerated railway sleepers and steel, restore a physical and tactile presence to the industrial memory.

The result is a sustainable, material landscape that allows the place's stratification to emerge. The gravel scattered across the green areas softens the edges and invites a slower pace, promoting a more intimate and sensory experience of the space.

Filtering paths, tree-lined clearings, and small green squares form a mosaic of evolving atmospheres, where greenery alternates between density and openness, shade and light. Grasses, shrubs, and herbaceous plants coexist with new trees, creating green backdrops and micro-spaces for rest. Rain gardens improve natural drainage and mitigate microclimate impacts, transforming greenery into active infrastructure for well-being. The courtyard is designed as an extension of the public space: open to the neighbourhood during the day, it comes alive in the evening through the activities that take place there, becoming a setting for meetings, events, and daily breaks.