“The Nest – Unexpected Living” is an urban regeneration project located within the interior of a city block in a central area of Milan.

The building involved in the intervention is a multi-storey parking structure built in the 1960s, composed of two distinct volumes: a cylindrical one housing the helical ramp, and a cubic one consisting of four above-ground floors, a raised ground floor, a semi-basement, and an underground level. The property occupies the central portion of a traditional urban block, mostly built along its perimeter and made up of multi-storey residential and office buildings.

The architectural project by Barreca & La Varra and Studio Grazzi + Marciello is conceived as a demolition and reconstruction intervention. The new architectural volume is a single integrated building composed of a “cube” (Building A) and a “cylinder” (Building B), with separate entrances and containing 27 and 12 apartments respectively. Office spaces are located in the semi-basement of Building A and on the ground floor of both buildings. In the demolition and reconstruction process, the existing volume is only partially reproposed, and the original footprint is not fully exploited: the new volume is in fact inscribed within the existing one.

Pedestrian access is provided through a new concierge area created by the extraordinary maintenance of the ground-floor space of the street-facing building. The courtyard is organized with planted basins forming paths and resting areas with seating. The direct route from the concierge to the entrances of the two buildings is covered by a canopy.

Although integrated into a single complex, the cube and the cylinder have separate entrances and stairwells. This choice is driven by the different vertical organization of the floors: in Building A, the semi-basement level is used as gross floor area for offices, while in the cylindrical Building B the usable surfaces include only the above-ground floors, with underground levels reserved exclusively for service spaces. Building B organizes the apartments around a central space which, from the first to the fourth floor, serves as a shared condominium landing for stairs and elevators, while on the fifth floor it becomes the access space for the largest apartment (the penthouse). The rooms are trapezoidal in shape, exploiting the circular geometry in a “slice of cake” layout. The underground parking provides 23 parking spaces.

The façade cladding choices pursue a dual objective: ensuring efficiency and sustainability of the envelope components to enhance the building’s energy performance, and differentiating the character of the two buildings, which share some materials while remaining distinct in others.

Building B is entirely clad in wooden slats with a 3 × 10 cm profile made of Siberian larch. These profiles are positioned approximately 3 cm away from the external insulation system, finished with grey render. The wooden slats are arranged with two different horizontal spacings: 9 cm and 18 cm. The denser spacing, used on a smaller portion of the façade, defines more compact areas generally near window openings and is also employed—appropriately reinforced—as balustrades for loggias and French doors. The wider spacing (18 cm) represents the standard façade treatment and, in addition to providing shading, creates a vibrant and non-uniform appearance when viewed in motion. This slatted treatment continues to clad and conceal the balustrades of balconies and French doors, giving Building B’s façade a strong sense of unity with changing and modular elements. The same cladding is also applied to the existing boundary wall, from the courtyard entrance to the building.

Building A features a more articulated façade treatment, divided across its various elevations, which are rarely perceived from a single viewpoint. This volume also incorporates the wooden slat cladding described for Building B, particularly on the adjoining north-facing façade. The remaining portion of the north façade is clad with vegetal materials placed in multilayer felt pockets and fixed in front of the rendered insulation system. The design of the balustrades in this central façade section echoes—through their green color and form—the variety of the vegetal system, acting as a visual link between the green wings of the façade. On this elevation, bay windows project outward, aligning with the level of the green cladding.