The project proposed by Stefano Boeri Architetti draws inspiration from the Christian monastic tradition and reinterprets the archetype of the cloister as a spatial and symbolic device. According to the architects, the design creates an introverted yet permeable space, simultaneously religious and civic, articulated around a triangular cloister located at the intersection of the Cardo and Decumanus in the MIND area.
The complex integrates the Garden of Religions, maintained by various religious communities, and a perimeter colonnade connecting the cloister to the new Pastoral House. This building unfolds as a large, ascending nave capable of accommodating between 300 and 350 worshippers, complemented by community spaces and adjoining residences.
Architecturally, the church materially extends the cloister's roof through an upward gesture reminiscent of the forms of Milan Cathedral. At the heart of the complex lies the Library of Religions, a transparent volume dedicated to study and interdisciplinary dialogue. Its landscaped roof houses historical sculptures from the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, bringing a usually inaccessible collection to the public.
Rendering. Ambrosian Monastery Milan by Stefano Boeri Architetti.
Project description by Stefano Boeri Architetti
The project presented by Stefano Boeri Architetti for the MIND area, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Milan, is conceived with the intent of creating a place capable of integrating spiritual life and interfaith dialogue.
The new Monastery is developed over a total area of 2,700 m², with 1,100 m² allocated to open spaces, establishing itself as an attractive hub not only for the future residents of the MIND area and the nearby district of Cascina Merlata, but for all worshippers and citizens of the greater Milan metropolitan area.
Inspired by the Christian monastic tradition, the project reinterprets the archetype of the cloister as both a spatial and symbolic device: an introverted yet permeable space, articulated around three fundamental dimensions — care, dialogue, and spiritual inquiry.
The triangular-plan Cloister, positioned at the intersection of the two axes of the Cardo and the Decumanus of the MIND area, opens itself to the flow of citizens and worshippers who, inspired by their religious communities, will tend to the Garden of Religions and its plantings.
The Cloister is enclosed by an open colonnade along the sides of the Cardo and the Decumanus, embracing the Garden and extending northward to form a large ascending Sail, within whose space the main nave of the new Pastoral House opens, rising toward the north and housing the altar at its apex.
The new Church, with its triagonal plan and liturgical spaces, is designed to accommodate up to 300–350 worshippers, and is complemented by spaces for community activities.
In architectural terms, the church is developed as a material continuation of the cloister roof, defined by an ascending gesture that recalls the forms of the Milan Cathedral — as though the great Sail housing the new Pastoral House descends with its projections to embrace the Cloister of Religions and enclose it within its perimeter colonnades.
At the heart of this embrace sits the trapezoidal, transparent prism of the Library of Religions which, dedicated to study and learning, fosters interaction among the disciplines and religious traditions that characterise the civic fabric of Milan.
Within it, the programme includes study rooms, an open-air amphitheatre, multipurpose spaces, and a section dedicated to pastoral care, with five attached residences.
On the rooftop, the Library hosts, among the cherry trees of a small grove, a selection of sculptures from the storage collections of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo — as though, having descended from the Cathedral’s spires, the statues wished to mingle with, and welcome, the visitors and worshippers ascending from the Library of Religions below.
A gesture of openness, intended to make a historic heritage collection — otherwise largely inaccessible — available to the wider public.
