Towards a new perception on industrial architecture. A different proposal for the ex Falck area at Sesto San Giovanni. Industrial symbiosis

In spite of being one of the most developed cities in Italy, the production apparatus of Milan seems to have a lower performance than in its golden days at the beginning of the twentieth century. Even if benefiting from a strong tertiary sector, Milanese economy cannot stand up by itself in order to become one of the economical pushing engines of Europe. An Industrial renaissance would diminish the economical crisis and its effects, by assuring a high-speed economical advancement. The creation of one position in manufacturing will generate two in the administration and services sector, as the main part of development and modernization originates in industry.Despite the technological advancements and the use of processes that make the industry a clean branch, industrial settlements are still pushed away from the cities. Besides the position in the outskirts of the cities, the industrial settlements suffered also from an architectural abandonment. Factories, plants and other industrial facilities were never seen as subjects with a strong architectural potential. Why should industrial architecture have a less privileged status than museums, schools or exhibition areas? Why office buildings or research facilities are more interesting than a factory or power plant? The latter produce as much as the former for the economy and the financial rise of the cities, why not being worthy of architectural character and power?The aim of the project is that of transforming Milan and the dependent areas into a network of industrial settlements and facilities, able to react and interact both to local and foreign conditions. In other words, a network of interconnected industries would promote Milan among the dense industrialized poles of Europe, creating a proper environment for international exchange and a nourishing terrain for the local economy and employment.