Neighborhoods. CASVA, final project approved
A new cultural meeting space will be born in the structure of the former market in QT8. The start of construction is expected in summer 2021
Milan, November 14 2020 – The definitive project for the construction of CASVA, the Center for Higher Studies for the Visual Arts, which will be built in the QT8 district in place of the former covered municipal market at the foot of Monte Stella, has been approved.
The project, estimated at approximately 7,35 million euros, will transform the abandoned building between via Isernia and piazza Santa Maria nascente into the new headquarters and archive of the CASVA, which today is housed in some rooms of the Castello Sforzesco, with a large part prepared to host neighborhood initiatives.
"The new life of the former municipal market in the QT8 district begins here - commented the councilor for Mobility and Public Works Marco Granelli -. We have already secured and illuminated the area and we expect to start the construction site next summer. This is a very important project capable of integrating the cultural offer of CASVA with the initiatives of Municipality 8. I also thank the president Simone Zambelli with whom we worked on a shared solution for the design of spaces reserved for sociality and activities in the neighborhood ”.
“The approval of the definitive project is an important step for the birth of a new cultural space in the city – declared the councilor for Culture Filippo Del Corno -. After the assignment procedure to the companies, work will be able to begin on the construction of the structure which will house the archives of the most important figures of the project's culture, and will become a meeting, cultural and social place for the neighborhood and the entire city".
The CASVA collection, which has recently been enriched by the professional archive (from 1952 to 2015) of the artist, architect and designer Enzo Mari, collects the archives of many prestigious others including Luciano Baldessari, Roberto Sambonet, Studio DDL (Jonathan De Pas, Donato D'Urbino and Paolo Lomazzi) and Vittorio Gregotti. CASVA is therefore already configured as a center of European importance for the study of twentieth-century architecture, art and design.
The structure of the former municipal market will be totally renovated to house the CASVA archives: on the ground floor, in continuity with the urban space, an exhibition space of over 500 square meters will be set up, spaces dedicated to research and conservation for use of staff, rooms for consultation for researchers, students and citizens and spaces for dissemination which will be open to the public on the occasion of events, exhibitions, conferences or public demonstrations in the neighborhood organized by CASVA, in addition to a cafeteria. The basement, however, will be dedicated to the storage and archive of the CASVA's documentary heritage.
Updated: 14/11/2020