Parmigiano Reggiano
Cheese Factory
Location: Fratelli Branca Distillerie srl, Milan, Italy
When: Winter, 2022
Supervisor: o. Univ. Prof. Greg Lynn, Maja Ozvaldic, Bence Pap, Kaiho Yu
In collaboration with: Sepideh Sarpishehgi, Markus Lagler
The project aims to create a garden-like viewing experience for visitors at varying distances and heights by embedding a visitor path using Mocap technology, seamlessly integrating it with the cheese-making process. This approach fosters a connection with the city while encouraging interactions among people, the street, and the surrounding environment.
Landscape staircases guide pedestrians to an open-air atrium featuring four "screens" that showcase the overall production atmosphere. These screens serve as circulation cores, linking each production room. Simultaneously, the ground floor is transformed into a vibrant public landscape.
The visiting paths encircle or penetrate each room to form the Poche Loop, a pathway recessed or protruding based on the layout of the workstations. This design creates three distinct spatial typologies: Path, Island, and Shop Window. Visitors can observe Cheese Wheels being transported to the storage tower as they walk, marvel at the Salting Bath and dancing machinery in the island theater above, and seamlessly shift their perspectives between various shop windows.
Externally, Open Voids are integrated into the façade to allow natural light into the building while offering glimpses of the interior to the city, further enhancing the project's connection with its urban surroundings.