Monumentality and Adaptive Reuse: Terzo Palazzo SNAM, from office quarters to unconventional affordable housing!

This paper addresses an uncommon office building case study, listed as protected heritage: Terzo Palazzo SNAM, designed by Franco Albini and Franca Helg (1973). The building is linked to Metanopoli, an unusual urban development carried out by ENI in San Donato Milanese. The monumental 40,000 sqm building, surrounded by greenery, features striking horizontal red façades with aluminum ribbon windows separated by curved polyester resin surfaces. The cruciform design is accessed through a metal canopy, and its central atrium houses Albini’s polygonal staircase. Currently abandoned, the municipality seeks a conversion into a mixed-use housing project to revitalize the area. Milan faces a housing crisis, caused by a gap between the new needs of unconventional households and scarce affordable housing, even for the middle class. The adaptive reuse of Terzo Palazzo into affordable housing is part of the PRIN research project UAH! led by Politecnico di Milano, to offer new housing insights. While preserving the building’s structure and identity, the interiors will be reimagined through natural light and space to accommodate new dwellings. In its monumentality, Terzo Palazzo will provide the city with a new centrality, stronger connections to its surroundings, and innovative strategies for unconventional affordable housing, preserving the past for the future.