Milan, a city that until the end of the 70s of the last century was a symbol of Italian industry, managed to adapt its economy to modern trends without significant crisis moments. Changing like the northern European industrial centers, Milan is more successful than other Italian cities, dynamically responding to the new challenges of the globalization process. As a result of economic, social and cultural changes, the metropolis has evolved over the past thirty years from an industrial center to a city of culture, art, fashion and design.
Shortly before the start of the new millennium, the “city-archipelago” system was introduced in Milan, which simplifies the reconstruction of individual areas, is flexible and can be adapted to the requirements of the current moment. These plans for change and the newly acquired autonomy of private investors have made various international corporations, banks and insurance companies the most important actors in the city's transformation. Large privately funded projects (Bicoca, Porta Nuova, CityLife, Portello, Santa Giulia) have produced a domino effect throughout Milan, where buildings have emerged that have taken a prominent place in the world's architectural practice.
Along with large urban transformation projects, a less aggressive method of linking local and global trends is used, linked to the pressing theme of industrial heritage reuse. Examples of this new form of reconstruction are the districts of Ventura, Isola and, most importantly, Tortona. Huge factory and warehouse premises with their “machine” charm have become a magnet for creative people - artists, stylists, designers and architects. The "cathedrals" of the industrial era of indisputable aesthetic quality receive first temporary and then permanent new functions. The abandoned factory becomes a laboratory, an exhibition hall, a new space for creativity. The spontaneity of Tortona's development puts it on a par with the Soho districts in London or Chelsea in New York, where the identity of the territory is determined precisely by its unplanned and heterogeneous development.
Tortona is located in the south of Milan's center, in the immediate vicinity of the oldest currently operating Porta Genova train station, in the past, the generator of the development of this area. With the closure and withdrawal of enterprises from Tortona, it has become one of the brightest zones of revitalization both in Milan and in the world; At the same time, the station served as a physical barrier separating the area from the rest of the metropolis, allowing it to develop its own identity. The historic urban fabric of Tortona is not only about industrial sites and housing for workers, but also the associated traditions of crafts and local commerce. The new creative industry is quite accepting of their presence. The coexistence of urban functions from different periods, as well as the contrast - not only formal, but also functional - create the special character of Tortona. As a result of all the changes, it is not uncommon to meet artists, models, auto mechanics and businessmen at the same time in a local cafe.
Fashion magazines and internationally renowned fashion photographers Flavio Lucchini and Fabrizio Ferri were the initiators of the transformation of abandoned industrial buildings in Tortona. The closed General Electric plant has become the first photo studio. Superstudio, as it was called, expanded its area and functional program and today it occupies the entire block and from a photography studio has become a "hybrid unit" where graphic, set design, production studios, schools of photographers, stylists, designers and directors, and modeling agencies are located. The heterogeneous nature of today's Superstudio has been defined by various architects, and its final form was given by Antonio Citterio. The renovation project did not affect the original character of the building. Historic steel structures, lanterns, gray concrete floors - the foundation, which is complemented by the latest technological solutions.
The fact that fashion was one of the driving forces behind the transformation of Tortona is confirmed by the location there of the headquarters of one of the most famous fashion designers - Giorgio Armani. Realizing the potential of the area, he set up exhibition space, administrative and warehouse premises in the former Nestlè factory, thereby creating an “Armani oasis” on rue Bergognone. The designer entrusted the project of the Armani Theater, intended for the defile, to Tadao Ando, enriching Tortona with another big name. Then, for Expo 2015, the Armani Silos complex was completed, marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of Giorgio Armani S. P. A.: following the logic of previous projects, the exterior of the bunker was preserved, changing only its internal structure.
The former Ansaldo factory can be considered the creative center of the whole of Tortona. Under the name "City of Culture" this complex became the subject of an international competition in 1999 with the aim of creating a new museum quarter - modeled on Berlin and other European cities. Designed by David Chipperfield, the factory retained its structure and two new buildings were built -
Museum of Cultures (MUDEC) and Puppet Theater Museum; the whole ensemble is united by new horizontal and vertical connections. By preserving existing objects and introducing new architectural forms and materials, Chipperfield portrays the character of Tortona as a contrast between modernity and history.
The Museum of Cultures itself continues the same logic, from Agora, the central monumental space of free geometry, to opaque, regular exhibition halls. The huge ex Ansaldo complex has made it possible to place in its workshops, among other things, the laboratories and workshops of the Teatro alla Scala and the innovative Base project: more than 2,000 m2 dedicated to culture and creativity, where they study, work and play at the same time.
The former post office complex, rebuilt according to the project of Mario Cucinella, contrasts its modern forms with the industrial setting. The development of Tortona contributes to the emergence of modern residential projects, for example, the Tortona 37 office of Matteo Tuna (in addition to apartments, there are also offices) offers a new standard of housing. The existing "mix" of functions is complemented by the Domus Academy design school located there, the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation, the Giardini and Tod's factories, the School of Comics, the Free Theater … In the immediate vicinity of the main centers of activity, young artists and creative professionals are mastering the deserted industrial structures, creating their own studios and giving this or that abandoned courtyard a certain theme. On the days of the Furniture Salon or Fashion Week, in accordance with the established practice, creative people organize their exhibitions and parallel program events in Tortona. Moreover, objects that have not yet been reconstructed are sometimes of greater interest than renovated ones, creating a contrasting "decoration" from the industrial past and modern design and fashion.
An individual approach to the industrial heritage sometimes leads in Milan to its demolition and new construction (Portello, Porta Nuova, Bicoca), when all traces of the past are removed in accordance with the requirements of a globalized society. In other cases, reconstructed industrial buildings are turned into cultural institutions (Fondazione Prada, HangarBicocca, Frigoriferi Milanesi, Fabbrica del Vapore) or housing. Tortona is different from everything else because it is a completely autochthonous example of a virtuoso urban transformation, where harmony with the industrial past has been preserved. The successful revitalization of Tortona is driving similar changes in other areas, such as Lambrata and Isola, which are currently undergoing a transformation.
