MBM Houses in the Gallaratese neighbourhood, Milan
MBM Meregaglia
Istituto Autonomo Case Popolari (IACP)
Façade: prefab concrete panels
Windows: aluminium, painted white
Roof: flat, but unusable
Load-bearing structure: self-supporting reinforced concrete panels
The Gallaratese tower complex is one of the most famous, comprehensive and debated social housing neighbourhoods in Milan built in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The complex designed by Magistretti is an excellent example of his focus on prefab elements, not least due to his long collaboration with one of the sponsors of the project: the MBM company that manufactured the self-supporting reinforced concrete panels used in the towers. The building system was based on a French patent also used in the Olmi neighbourhood in Baggio; it involved assembling the panels (already equipped with the finishes and systems) to establish the perimeter of the minimum-sized apartments. The identical three-room apartments were grouped in fours on each of the fourteen floors of the towers; apart from the fixed position of the windows and service columns, there was a certain amount of flexibility regarding the internal layout. In the basic model two small bedrooms were located next to the living room, dining room and kitchen which were all in a single space that could be screened using modernfold partitions.
This was the first large-scale application of heavy prefab systems in residential housing; unlike many of the buildings constructed in the Gallaratese neighbourhood during that period Magistretti's project was favourably viewed, especially by Aldo Rossi who described the towers as a positive landmark in what he considered "the insubstantiality of the general plan of this new part of the city" (1972).
One interesting fact is that the advantages of prefabrication were presented to the public in several magazines and mock-ups as a way to standardise the furniture and furnishings in each apartment, outfitted with the best solutions available on the market.
Vico Magistretti: soggiorno - pranzo - cena, in un piccolo alloggio, in Domus, maggio 1965
L. Patetta, Alcune opere recenti del professionismo milanese, in Controspazio 1, 01 giugno 1973
Una casa per tutti, in Abitare 68, settembre 1968
Depliant MBM degli interventi realizzati, s.d.
G. Gramigna, s. Mazza, Milano. Un secolo di architettura dal Cordusio alla Bicocca, Milano 2001, pp. 430-431