Location: Milan, Italy.

Architect: Grafton Architects.

The building was formally opened in the presence of the Head of State of Italy, the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano on 31 October 2008. The idea was to make two worlds, one hovering over the other, with the space of the city flowing between. At the most public corner, the aula magna occupies a symbolic presence and a register of the prestigious status of the University. The offices form an inhabited roofscape and the underground world is solid, dense and carved. The structure has an elemental heroic quality at the scale of the site.

Photo credit: Federico Brunetti.