Impressions of Milan – Principles of a Modern City

 

A visit to Milan in June 2015 inspired FORM SOCIETY to reflect on the modern city, of which Milan is an exceptional example. In the exhibition Innesti/Grafting at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, curator Cino Zucci presented Milan as a “laboratory of modernity” where the urban texture and and the architectural structures of the city are constantly transformed. Today, Milan confronts its inhabitants and visitors with a variety of architectural forms and urban settings. However, it seems that these distinct elements are not without relationships to larger systems that can be traced in the configuration of the city. The following text will outline some of Milan’s urban situations and the principles on which they are built.