The New Trade Fair is made of eight big monoplanar and biplanar pavilions that, together, make a gross expositive surface of about 345,000 m², plus 60,000 m² outdoors. The whole route is on two areas, the one of the East entrance and the one of the West entrance. All the accesses and the exits to the Fair are organized through them. The buildings have got different functions (services, snack points, offices, hotel, commercial gallery, receptions of the pavilions, smaller expositive spaces). The placement of the buildings on the central axis is on different surfaces among water pools, green areas and epoxy resin floorings.

As background there are the big pavilion façades made of glass and mirror stainless steel. Above this space there is the big cover named “Veil”. The flow of this veil is made of constant arithmetic variations that refer to natural landscape: “craters”, “waves”, “dunes”, “hills”. This spine (1,500 m in length and 32 m in width) is the symbol of the project: a “spinal column” that covers about 47,000 m².

This is a construction thought for affairs, but not only. Indeed, the Fair finds its natural prolongation on a structure thought for communication and exchange of ideas: a Congress Centre subdivided into ten rooms (for a total of 2600 seats). Close to the Congress Centre, in the central point of the veil, there is the multifunctional service Centre.

Lastly, a 9-hectar park and a green internal route surround the expositive pavilions on North West. Together, they represent a relax area of about 180,000 m².

SITE
Rho-Pero, Milano, Italy

ADDRESS
Strada Statale del Sempione, 28, Rho

PERIOD
2002-2005

CLIENT
Fondazione Fiera Milano

ARCHITECT
Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas

DESIGNER AND ART DIRECTOR
Doriana O. Mandrelli

LIGHTING
Lamp “Lavinia” – iGuzzini (design by Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas)

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Astaldi SpA, Vianini SpA, Pizzarotti SpA

AREA
2,000,000 sq. m.

CONSTRUCTED AREA
1,000,000 sq. m.

PARKINGS
visitors
lorries
exhibitors
20,050
7,000
4,320
LENGTH OF CENTRAL AXIS 1,500 m
NUMBER OF PAVILIONS 8 – 6 one-floor, 2 two-floor
EXHIBITION AREA oltre 400,000 sq. m.
OUTDOOR EXHIBITION AREA 60,000 sq. m.
CONFERENCE CENTRE 47,000 sq. m.
CONFERENCE ROOMS 80
CENTRAL AXIS VEIL

STRUCTURAL CONSULTING
Mero GmbH & Co.
Schlaich Bergermann und Partner

LOGO SERVICE CENTRE
Structural design: Schlaich Bergermann und Partner

CURTAIN WALLS
Permasteelisa SpA

STEEL STRUCTURE
Icom Engineering, Ask Romein, Carpentieri d’Italia

COVER
Bemo Systems

WORKING DESIGN FOR THE PAVILIONS
Studio Altieri

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FOR CIVIC WORKS
Studio Marzullo

COST
800,000,000 Euros