NH Hotel Fiera di Milano

The new towers of the NH Hotel Fiera di Milano serve Milan’s exhibition district at Rho-Pero and are located opposite the main gates. The two gigantic monoliths are a fine example of the creative verve of Dominique Perrault, the internationally acclaimed French architect. Their restrained and rather sombre, glossy black shape soars up, tilted 5 degrees off the vertical, with 400 three- and four –star accommodations. The minimalist vocation of Perrault is best expressed in the sophisticated treatment of the building’s outer skin, an expanse of ventilated walls pierced by irregular openings that underline its homogeneity but also its subtle tension. The elements that constitute the face use a completely hidden anchoring system and are the outcome of the fortunate partnership between the designer and Marazzi Engineering, which had the brief of creating a unique and highly innovative product – one that satisfied the stylistic canons of the French master perfectly and fell in with her ongoing experimental approach to materials and their power of appeal. The result is Jolly Black, a large plate (50 x 100 cm) with a porcelain stoneware base covered with a layer of black glass ceramics. The porcelain stoneware support guarantees a superior technical performance and enables the anchors to be inserted next to the internal face for coupling to the anchoring substructure.