Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

The local headquarters will be expanded by 40%, with new systems and new functions - Photo gallery

Milan, June 14 2021 – Councilors Filippo Del Corno (Culture) and Marco Granelli (Public Works) today inaugurated the book lending point in Piazza Insubria 3, a temporary replacement location for the Calvairate Library, currently closed until the completion of the expansion and renovation works.

The building that will house the lending point, recently renovated, is located within a complex owned by ALER. The shelves will host around 4.000 documents including books and audiovisuals, which together with the online catalogue, will be made available for the local and interlibrary loan service.

The Insubria loan point will remain open to the public at the following times: Tuesday, Thursday from 10 to 14:30, Wednesday, Friday from 14 to 19, Saturday from 10 to 14. In the new office, accessible by appointment, will be bibliographic consultancy, registration, loan, reservation and return services are available. It will not be possible to stay for consultations on site or for study.

In the meantime, the expansion and renovation works of the Calvairate Library in via Ciceri Visconti - piazzale Martini continue, which will bring the spaces from 900 to 1.250 square meters with an expansion of approximately 40%.

The works started in February 2020 and will end next October. The tests and fulfillments to obtain the safety certifications will follow. The location is expected to open in spring 2022.

"The Library has been a symbol of this neighborhood – declares Marco Granelli, Councilor for Public Works – since 1969 when it was inaugurated and has always been widely used and enjoyed by residents. This is why it is so important to give citizens new, more functional and pleasant spaces to use. A center of culture but also of exchange and meeting for all ages which with this expansion will be able to multiply its use".

"The expansion of the Library headquarters, both in volumetric and functional terms, represents an improvement in the overall quality of the service – declares the Councilor for Culture Filippo Del Corno –. The previous headquarters was housed in a prefabricated building, with all the limitations that such a structure requires, while this new building will allow a more efficient service, improving the quality of services offered to the neighborhood and the city. This new library represents a further, big step forward in that plan that we launched together with Mayor Sala in 2016, according to which many library branches were refunctionalized and made safe and, as in this case, the spaces were completely reinvented".

The new headquarters, in addition to the expansion of the spaces, will see a total rethinking of functions and services, also improving the accessibility and visibility of the building by moving the main entrance of the library to Piazzale Martini.

It will be divided into a large entrance and reception space, more informal and for first access to services; a large central part that will host the collections, the study area, the children's and teenagers' space, and services intended for new audiences (services for teenagers, coworking space), the design of which will include a preliminary process of questioning and listening to the territory to gather their needs and expectations. On the first floor there will be a large multipurpose room, to be used for courses, conferences, book presentations and events, also held in synergy with the Town Hall. The first floor can also be used when the library is closed.

The furnishings will be completely renewed and designed to respond to the new functions.

The existing building developed on a single floor above ground with a covered area of ​​approximately 930 square meters, and was built with structures, metal walls and sheet metal roofing.

To expand the Library, part of the existing building was demolished and a two-storey reinforced concrete building was then rebuilt. The remaining part of the library, the lower body, remained unchanged in size, surfaces and volumes. The perimeter walls and the roof have been completely replaced with materials and finishes compliant with current regulations in terms of energy containment and acoustic insulation. Even the air conditioning, heating, lighting and fire prevention systems are completely replaced and adapted to current regulations; the heating power plant and air conditioning machines will also be positioned on the roof of the building on the Piazzale Martini side, suitably shielded; Also on the roof is the installation of a photovoltaic solar system which will produce part of the electricity absorbed during the operation of the structure.

Furthermore, the external spaces and green areas pertinent to the library are also redeveloped, while maintaining their direct connection with the library rooms to allow users to also enjoy the spaces outdoors, in the greenery.