Designing a factory is a challenge, as it has to be intended as a workplace, as well as a symbolic representation of the company and its
referential markets.
The issue was to create a building capable of letting a large stock coexist with offices and a showroom. The aim was to express Midj’s build
quality, know-how and technology, without risking hasty experimentations or too much "formalist" solutions that would have been unfit for the
brand.
The shape of the volume was dated, as well as its layout and construction system. The idea was to make the company's activity "transparent",
with furnishing visible through floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the day. The entrance stairs and elevator are contained in a red vertical
volume, which has been separated from the rest of the building by a pool of water. A walkway suspended on the water leads to the main entry.
The constructive system is very simple: two prefabricated elements, a concrete frame and a curtain wall, that have been set close together.
However, the image that results is sophisticated and far from a simple beaux art "dressing". It is rather the excavation of a monolith that makes
inner meanings emerge. The work does not deny its essence and function. It is an industrial building whose container seeks a congruent
symbiosis with the content. It is therefore as solid as a granite, like the idea of industry should be. It's simple and rational; here the “less is
more” concept fully emerges in a skilful game of rhythms, solids and voids, and random textures that dynamically punctuates the fronts. The
dark grey colour lightens the masses and emphasizes the light emerging from the windows on top, enlightening the presence of the red
staircase body in the middle.
The openings bring green and open spaces inside, reinterpreting the modernist theme of the roof garden, recreating the concept of "quality of
work" developed by Wright and Canali. Led lights - which are placed according to the "random" geometry of blades drawn on fronts - enhance
dynamism, as well as turn the company into an urban landmark. Showrooms and offices have been designed by Oximoro Architetti as a single
open space punctuated by cylindrical islands that can be moved and/or set up easily. Finally, have also been realized a reception, a small
waiting room painted in red, a kitchen with teak tables and fires, and the porthole room with games for children.
