1970’s-1980’s Years

Architecture in Milan in the 1960’s followed a two-way path: on one side the work of established architects persisted, in continuity with the experience of the preceding two decades, while on the other a new group of figures arrived, intent on introducing new theoretical and ideological approaches. The architects of the new generation – including Gregotti, Vercelloni, Canella, Rossi and Grassi – added research, teaching and political activity to their professional lives, contributing to the defence of the historical centre and to the construction of public buildings in the Milan hinterland. During the early 1980’s, in conjunction with the approval of new planning regulation, the situation changed once again; the closure of factories and the growth of tertiary occupation raised the question of the reuse of abandoned industrial areas, while extensive construction of office buildings began, above all in the outskirts. A new cultural attitude gave architecture an element of fun and playfulness, together with a rejection of International Style and the use of forms, technologies, materials and references to traditional tendencies.