Via Roentgen Building

The Bocconi campus building located at the corner of Viale Bligny and Via Roentgen is the fruit of a project by Dublin-based

Grafton Architects, and in particular is the work of Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell.

It hosts all of Bocconi’s faculty, divided into 8 Departments, 8 Research Centers and 4 Labs. It is also the venue for conferences and events and home to the Aula Magna, a public auditorium that symbolizes Bocconi’s connection to the city.

The impressive plate glass wall that visually connects the main foyer and the sidewalk is like a window onto Milan.

Striking forms, suspended spaces, natural lighting, materials drawn from the local tradition and adapted to a contemporary style.

The Building
Architecturally, the design hinges on two basic ideas: floating volumes and diffuse natural lighting.
The floors of the building do not rest on pillars, but are hung by steel cables from large roof beams – a structural principle similar to those used for bridges.

The effect is a succession of open spaces, stairs and concrete elements that seem suspended in the air. The visual impact is further lightened by the generous presence of wide glass panels and openings that convey natural light down to the basement.

The Surrounding Area
This broad sidewalk stretches to accompany visitors from the city into the heart of the building in a virtual overlap of university life and urban life, marked also by the grey color of the surfaces.

The Exterior
The outside of the building is clad in the stone known as ceppo, a conglomerate harder than cement and about the same shade that comes from the rivers near Lake Iseo. It is widely used for distinguished building around Milan.

Download the Roentgen building brochure (PDF, 906 KB)