Mapei played their part in breathing new life into the former Via Cirié Community School in the Niguarda area of the city by donating decorative and protective wall finishes to repaint the internal areas of the building, which included the foyer and auditorium, and to treat various features, such as radiators and plastic doors.

The Community Centre, which was formerly a base for various associations and group activities, is part of the G124 Programme by the architect and life senator Renzo Piano, an urban redevelopment project for city suburbs the senator is financing with the salary he receives as a senator, and which also involves 12 students awarded bursaries from the universities of Milan, Padua, Rome and Catania.

Thanks to the interventions proposed and carried out by a group of young architects from Milan Polytechnic coordinated by Professor Raffaella Neri, and the sponsorship received from several companies, such as Mapei, Via Cirié Community Centre now has a new layout which allows the various associations that use the centre to make the most of areas that were previously unavailable, turning it into a place where the entire community can meet and bond.

To finish off various surfaces Mapei donated the following products:

– Malech water-based acrylic primer and adhesion promoter with good defect-filling properties;

- Dursilite Base Coat smooth, coloured acrylic undercoat and adhesion promoter with good defect-filling properties;

- Dursilite water-based interior wall paint with low dirt pick-up and excellent cleanability;

- Elastocolor Paint elastomeric, crack-resistant protective interior and exterior paint with permanent elasticity and high resistance to chemicals.

While to decorate various furnishing accessories, Mapei donated:

- Dursilac Base Filler water-based acrylic interior and exterior filler and undercoat with high covering and defect-filling properties;

- Dursilac Satin water-based acrylic-urethane enamel paint for interior and exterior use with excellent flow and a hard surface finish.

The inauguration ceremony of the Community Centre was held on Wednesday 20^th December in the presence of various associations, participants in the G124 Project and representatives of Ward 9 of Milan City Council.

Apart from Via Cirié Community Centre in Milan, Mapei also took part in another programme promoted by G124, the ”Family House” of the Women’s Section of Rebibbia Prison in Rome, for which the company donated products to waterproof rooms, decorate walls and to treat wooden features, based on a design by architects from the La Sapienza University in Rome coordinated by Professor Pisana Posocco.

Apart from the projects Mapei took part in, the G124 work group also collaborated with the University of Padua on the redevelopment of the Arcella area of the city and with the University of Catania on the redevelopment of the Mazzarona area of the city.


Photo credits: Alessandro Lana, Raffaella Neri, Valerio Gardoni, Sara Anna Sapone, Maria Giulia Atzeni