CICLOFFICINA
San Cristoforo Ciclofficina is a temporary, reversible cycle workshop built on a disused railway site in Milan, designed by Tommaso Aliverti, Paolo Catrambone and Tommaso Sossi. A lightweight steel structure, polycarbonate envelope, and reused materials define an adaptable, lantern-like space for repair, meetings, and community activities, embracing infrastructure, circularity, and social reactivation between active railway lines.
San Cristoforo Ciclofficina is a temporary architectural device inserted within the former railway tollbooth area on Via San Cristoforo, in Milan’s Municipality 6. Positioned between an urban road and two active railway lines, the project embraces this infrastructural condition as a defining element, transforming a residual and disused site into an active civic space.
Set on a flat, uncultivated grassy field, the intervention adopts a fully reversible construction strategy that preserves the continuity of the ground. The building rests on a light 25 centimeter embankment of compacted soil, eliminating permanent concrete foundations and clearly expressing its temporary character. Three exposed steel beams form the structural base, subtly echoing the linear geometry of the adjacent railway tracks.
The architecture is defined by a modular system of braced steel frames, conceived as a simple, repeatable skeleton capable of future extensions. A ventilated sheet metal roof improves summer performance and limits condensation, while generous overhangs on all sides protect the envelope and reduce solar gain.
The external enclosure is composed of thick cellular polycarbonate panels, selected for their insulating properties and ease of assembly and disassembly. Semi transparent by day, the building becomes a luminous lantern at night, restoring visibility and presence to the Casello garden. Large fixed windows and aluminum French doors along the longitudinal façades ensure ample daylight and natural cross ventilation.
Inside, the project foregrounds reuse and material circularity. Aluminum sheets, plywood panels, and other reclaimed elements are reintegrated into the finishes, translating sustainable principles into tangible architectural choices.
Originally conceived as a cycle workshop, the building is designed as a flexible, multifunctional space. It functions as an information point, meeting venue, workshop area, and neighborhood hub. Lightweight yet durable, San Cristoforo Ciclofficina operates as an open and inclusive structure, an adaptable social infrastructure capable of anchoring new forms of collective life within Milan’s evolving urban landscape.
