The Third Place. Vivere e lavorare

It is impossible to use traditional categories to separate residential spaces from working and leisure areas in the contemporary city; in this scenery the idea of coworking does not just bring a way of working, but also a new way of thinking the relation between life and work. The following paper presents a renovation of a former artistic foundry located in the Milanese neighborhood. The aim, towards the reconversion of the site, is to transform it into a coworking space and, at the same time through the design of the equipment, allowing to simultaneously carry out parallel activities. The goal of this new type of working areas is not just to share the same space with each other, but also to allow and facilitate the collection of potential synergies among those who use the facility. Sharing work spaces allows disciplinary contamination and drives to the development of an innovative and creative community. The proposed design wants to be an attempt to realize “new urban typologies” capable of holding together the many needs of different users which think of their workspace not just as a “production place”, but more as a space for human relations and cohabitation: a place to “live together”. The design has been developed progressively following the outline of the new internal path, upon which stands a series of “folies” giving a direction to the sequence of the wide collective work areas, through the location of smaller spaces dedicated to individuality. The bottom line idea is that the distribution path becomes the place for social interaction, an in-between, not a mere passage. With the introduction of new elements for the partition of space or the identification of activities, the building is divided in three big blocks: In-between, Inside, Outside. Thus the design creates the collective identity and introduces to the possibility for new habits and singular peculiarity. The connective tissue is outlined by a green rubber mat and it is thought to become the space for socialization: it connects together the Login Bistrot, the Phone Booths, the Book Crossing and the Area Meet Up. The internal space, is occupied by the Work Areas, designed through the principles of flexibility and adaptability to satisfy different needs and fit numerous scenarios. The wide undivided space for collective work is dotted by individual micro-cosmos. The courtyard is the center around which the spaces are organized and it is rethought as a micro-garden, place for socialization and gathering, by the implementation of benches and vertical gardens.