Monte Amiata Housing
Encyclopedia
Monte Amiata Housing is a residential complex in the Gallaratese
district of Milan
, Italy
, designed by architects Carlo Aymonino
and Aldo Rossi
in the late 1960s. It is sometimes referred to as the "Red Dinosaur" in reference both to the reddish color of the buildings and the oddity of their design. The project is well-known in the international architecture community, and regarded as one of those that better represent Aymonino's vision of the city as a turbulent, intricate, and varied texture, a paradigm that is known as "fragmentism".
The complex, named after Mount Amiata, extends over an area of 120,912 m² enclosed between the Via Cilea and Via Enrico Falck streets.
The complex comprises five red buildings: two eight-stories slabs, a long three-stories building, another three-stories slab, and an interconnecting structure; these are grouped around a central area with a yellow, open-air theater, and two smaller triangular plazas. The complexity of the skyline is enriched by a number of passages, decks, elevators, balconies, terraces and bridges connecting the buildings with each other and providing for a great variety of pedestrian walking paths.
The complex was conceived as an utopian micro-city within the city, and based on Aymonino and Rossi's vision, emphasizing the interplay between housing blocks and their urban context. Aymonino and Rossi explicitly mentioned the Unité d'Habitation
in Marseille
as one of their main sources of inspiration, although their intent was to improve on Le Corbusier
's model. Rossi also took inspiration from Giorgio de Chirico
's paintings when designing one the five buildings, the smaller slab.
In the early years after its construction, the complex was abusively occupied by homeless families. In 1974 it was deserted, and was later converted into a middle-class condominium.
Gallaratese
Gallaratese is a district of Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 8 administrative division of the city. It is located about 7 km north-west of the city centre...
district of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, designed by architects Carlo Aymonino
Carlo Aymonino
Carlo Aymonino was an Italian architect and urban planner best known for the Gallaretese housing complex in Milan.-Early life:Born in Rome, he studied at the University of Rome, obtaining his degree in 1950...
and Aldo Rossi
Aldo Rossi
Aldo Rossi was an Italian architect and designer who accomplished the unusual feat of achieving international recognition in four distinct areas: theory, drawing, architecture and product design.-Early life:...
in the late 1960s. It is sometimes referred to as the "Red Dinosaur" in reference both to the reddish color of the buildings and the oddity of their design. The project is well-known in the international architecture community, and regarded as one of those that better represent Aymonino's vision of the city as a turbulent, intricate, and varied texture, a paradigm that is known as "fragmentism".
The complex, named after Mount Amiata, extends over an area of 120,912 m² enclosed between the Via Cilea and Via Enrico Falck streets.
The complex comprises five red buildings: two eight-stories slabs, a long three-stories building, another three-stories slab, and an interconnecting structure; these are grouped around a central area with a yellow, open-air theater, and two smaller triangular plazas. The complexity of the skyline is enriched by a number of passages, decks, elevators, balconies, terraces and bridges connecting the buildings with each other and providing for a great variety of pedestrian walking paths.
The complex was conceived as an utopian micro-city within the city, and based on Aymonino and Rossi's vision, emphasizing the interplay between housing blocks and their urban context. Aymonino and Rossi explicitly mentioned the Unité d'Habitation
Unité d'Habitation
The Unité d'Habitation is the name of a modernist residential housing design principle developed by Le Corbusier, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso...
in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
as one of their main sources of inspiration, although their intent was to improve on Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
's model. Rossi also took inspiration from Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico was a pre-Surrealist and then Surrealist Italian painter born in Volos, Greece, to a Genovese mother and a Sicilian father. He founded the scuola metafisica art movement...
's paintings when designing one the five buildings, the smaller slab.
In the early years after its construction, the complex was abusively occupied by homeless families. In 1974 it was deserted, and was later converted into a middle-class condominium.