Photos: Nemesi & Partners
For Milan Expo 2015, architecture firm Nemesi & Partners will adorn the Palazzo Italia in a smog-fighting facade.
Inspired by a “petrified forest,” the building’s 100,000-square-foot latticed skin will be made from a special air-purifying cement created by material manufacturer Italcementi.
“In direct sunlight, the active principle contained in the material ‘captures’ certain pollutants present in the air and converts them into inert salts, helping to purify the atmosphere from smog,” Nemesi & Partners explains on their website.
Further enhancing its green properties, the cement will be made from 80 per cent recycled materials, while the pavilion’s glass roof will produce solar energy.
The six-story Palazzo Italia is one of the few Expo structures that will remain on the site after the fair is over.
