ACPV ARCHITECTS unveils RG27, a 5,000-square-metre headquarters featuring a landscaped courtyard, a glass bridge, flexible workspaces and dedicated design laboratories — reimagining the office as a place where creativity, research and human connection thrive.
MILAN— What if an office were more than a place to work? What if it functioned as a living cultural hub, where architecture, nature, research and human interaction came together to inspire new ideas?
That vision is at the heart of RG27, the newly inaugurated headquarters of internationally renowned design practice ACPV ARCHITECTS Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel in Milan’s Porta Venezia district. More than a change of address, the project represents a fresh approach to workplace design, placing openness, collaboration and cultural exchange at the center of the professional environment.
Located on Viale Regina Giovanna, RG27 transforms approximately 5,000 square metres of existing space formerly occupied by Telecom Italia’s headquarters into a contemporary architectural studio designed for an evolving, internationally connected practice.
The project reflects a growing ambition in workplace architecture: to move beyond conventional office layouts and create environments that encourage people to exchange knowledge, experiment with ideas and work across disciplines.
For ACPV ARCHITECTS, the workplace itself becomes an expression of its design philosophy — a space that connects people, fosters creativity and makes the process of designing architecture more collaborative.
“First and foremost, the new Headquarters is a place where architecture is designed, discussed, explored, passed on and shared,” said Patricia Viel, co-founder of ACPV ARCHITECTS.
A Garden at the Heart of the Workplace
<text color=”secondary” size=”sm”>Architecture meets nature at the center of RG27.</text>
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One of RG27’s defining features is the ACPV Garden, a landscaped central courtyard that serves as the green heart of the building.
Extending across three levels, the headquarters has been reorganized around this central space, establishing visual connections between different work areas. An elevated glazed bridge crosses the courtyard, linking the building’s two principal wings and creating a sense of continuity throughout the studio.
The garden is conceived as much more than a decorative landscape. It functions as a contemporary agora — a shared gathering place where employees, collaborators and visitors can meet for talks, conferences, presentations and informal exchanges.
The design also brings the outdoors into everyday working life. A communal break area with seating for 80 people opens directly onto the garden, reinforcing the connection between interior spaces and the surrounding greenery.
Landscape design was developed by Parcnouveau, with lighting by Metis Lighting, acoustics by Acustica Studio and structural engineering by Studio Capè Ingegneria.
An Open Office Designed to Evolve
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The operational center of the new headquarters is a roughly 2,000-square-metre open-plan workspace on the first floor, accommodating 250 workstations.
Rather than relying on rigid office configurations, RG27 is organized around three principles: openness, sharing and interconnection.
Its flexible layout is intended to respond to the changing needs of a growing practice, allowing teams to collaborate while supporting different working styles and project requirements.
A redesigned entrance facing Viale Regina Giovanna leads into a spacious reception area. A connecting staircase links the building’s levels, while meeting rooms and workshop spaces distributed throughout the headquarters accommodate everything from spontaneous conversations to structured design reviews and detailed working sessions.
The result is a workplace conceived to encourage movement, interaction and the exchange of ideas rather than confining collaboration to designated meeting rooms.
Where Research Meets Design
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A particularly distinctive aspect of RG27 is the integration of more than 600 square metres of dedicated laboratories within the headquarters.
The facilities include ACPV Lab, ACPV Materials and ACPV Index, spaces devoted to research, experimentation and the development of design ideas.
By bringing these functions into the same environment as the main studio, ACPV ARCHITECTS aims to strengthen the connection between conceptual thinking, material exploration and architectural production.
This arrangement makes research an integral part of everyday practice rather than a separate activity undertaken away from the design process.
The headquarters also incorporates a dedicated Data Hub housing the computer systems and technological infrastructure that support the studio’s daily operations.
Together, the laboratories, collaborative workspaces and technology infrastructure reflect a workplace model in which creative thinking, technical expertise and experimentation operate in close proximity.
A Workplace That Doubles as a Cultural Platform
RG27’s social spaces are central to its broader purpose.
The ACPV Garden is designed to host public-facing activities and professional exchanges, creating opportunities for conversations that extend beyond individual projects or teams.
Workshop rooms, meeting areas and informal gathering spaces provide different settings for sharing knowledge, while the garden offers a flexible venue for larger discussions and presentations.
This approach positions the headquarters as a platform for cultural exchange, reflecting the belief that architecture develops through dialogue among people with different experiences, disciplines and perspectives.
Sara Busnelli, partner and CEO of ACPV ARCHITECTS, described the project as a new space for an evolving practice, with architecture, knowledge and collaboration at its core.
From Milan to a Global Design Practice
Founded in Milan in 2000 by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, ACPV ARCHITECTS has developed into an international, interdisciplinary practice with more than 230 professionals guided by 13 partners.
Its portfolio spans Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the United States, encompassing projects ranging from master plans and residential developments to corporate campuses, hospitality, industrial facilities and cultural spaces.
The move from the firm’s historic premises on Via Cerva to Viale Regina Giovanna marks a new chapter in its development.
Rather than simply accommodating a larger workforce, RG27 reorganizes how the studio operates, bringing its people, research facilities, technology and social spaces into a connected environment.
The project also reflects the practice’s longstanding emphasis on context, functionality and attention to detail — qualities associated with Milan’s design tradition but applied to an increasingly international architectural practice.
Ultimately, RG27 makes a statement about the future of the workplace: productivity need not be separated from culture, technology from nature, or professional ambition from human connection.
By bringing all these elements together under one roof, ACPV ARCHITECTS has created a headquarters that is both a working studio and a reflection of how the firm believes architecture should be practiced — collaboratively, experimentally and in constant dialogue with the world around it.
Project credits
- Design architect: ACPV ARCHITECTS Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel
- Landscape design: Parcnouveau
- Lighting design: Metis Lighting
- Acoustics: Acustica Studio
- Structural engineering: Studio Capè Ingegneria.
