Spatial Tensions in Architectural Design: Strategies, Projects and Visions

The essay studies the concept of tension in architectural design: how it could become a tool of intervention and in what extension tensions could be captured in the recent projects we find in our cities. Milan tells of a continuous overlap of different tensions that have developed in many forms over the last few years, precisely after constructing some significant new interventions in the city. Starting from the projects, nearing completion, of Porta Nuova and City Life and from the new interventions that have been recently opened, including the transformation of the former railyard system, the essay tries to describe the latent tensions that are generated in the different design phases. Tensions that work on different levels, starting from the contrast between the traditional language of the city and the new and iconic architectures that these projects define, up to the tensions related to the design and construction of contemporary public space. Interpreting the tensions of the major urban projects already underway or about to be built in Milan means understanding what relationships exist between tensions, architecture, and design and identifying what forms of tensions new interventions could generate in the city.