The translucent box from which to descend under Piazza Gae Aulenti

In May, a low glass cylinder appeared in Piazza Gae Aulenti, which lights up in the evening with colourful and warm pastel shades: this is the second UNIQLO store in Milan, in the Portanuova district, which is located in the basement of the square. The Entrance Box project, entrusted to the Milanese architecture studio Piuarch, with its curvilinear shape with soft and smooth lines, presents itself as an element strongly integrated into the context in which it is inserted, entering into dialogue with the surrounding buildings and spaces and fitting into the pedestrian flows in the square. Even the height - 4.5 m2 - was specifically chosen so as not to interfere with the vertical reading of the elements of the square, placing it at the level of the axis of the transom of the shop facade of the nearby building.



ph. Marcello Mariana

Enclosing the store windows, lift and elevators leading to the retail space, the Box has a “double skin” facade which emphasises the lightness of the structure and its open dialogue with the surrounding space, thanks to carefully studied transparent effects and well-calibrated solids and voids. The gap between the two facades, characterised by different depths, offers the eventual possibility to play, not only with transparency, but also with the introduction of colour.



ph. Marcello Mariana

The internal perimeter structure with its white matt walls is enclosed by a second facade in which the extra clear glass windows alternate with a translucent U-glass surface. These semi-transparent glass sheets characterised by a U-shaped section, whose use was formerly restricted to an industrial context owing to their capacity to filter the light and limitheat dispersion, now assume new forms of expression in urban architecture too. Piuarch has adopted the solution in this project for its capacity to confer lightness and elegance to the walls, while recalling a concept of minimalism and simplicity typical of the UNIQLO brand.

ph. Marcello Mariana