Industrial grey: the old and the new

It’s winter and this morning the sky in Milan is still grey.

Right after waking up, Marco goes straight to the kitchen, already looking for his Gaggia Classic Industrial Grey, which has been waiting for him to start his morning ritual. Aware of the busy day he will have, he decides to take a moment just for himself, that has now become something undeniable: the preparation of his favourite espresso.

Every gesture is accurately done, and he adjusts and regulates each parameter. First thing, he selects a blend from the shelf. Then it’s time for grinding it, and the entire room fills up with an inebriating scent. After tamping, a rapid gesture to level and clean, and then he locks the filter-holder to the machine. Just a click on the button and the coffee flows in the cup. Finally, he enjoys it. This is how Marco prepares one of the most ancient beverages in the world, with sequential gestures performed with extreme dedication, as they are key to create his favourite espresso, every day.

Music plays in the background. It’s a loyal companion for this kind of moments, and it puts him in the right mood even on such gloomy days.

It’s time to leave the house to reach viale Bligny. Today’s schedule includes the finalization of a restoration project for an ancient building, located in the neighbourhood of Porta Romana. In the last months, this job has absorbed him day and night, but it has been a very interesting one.

At the end of the day, Marco says goodbye to his clients. Before entering the subway, he walks under the drizzle along the streets illuminated by the silver light coming from the lampposts. He looks around him, always searching for an inspiration.

Over the last years, this area, located in the south-east part of the city, has become more and more lively, also thanks to the opening of new places. On the west side of the district there is the Bocconi University, with a campus where historical and modern buildings – such as the monolith located in via Roentgen – perfectly merge. On the east side, instead, there is the magnificent Arch of Porta Romana, built in 1596, with Corso of Porta Romana and Corso Lodi, being the two most ancient historical streets in Milan.

Not only here, but in other areas of Milan, it is possible to admire an architecture where the city’s roots and its centenary – and even millenary – monuments live together with new façades, new colours and new materials of modern buildings. There is a perfect balance between tradition, which must be respected and included, and the possible alternatives suggested by the contemporary style, typical of a city that keeps growing and evolving.

Once he gets home, looking for some relax, he puts on one of his favourite vinyls: Cool Struttin’ by Sonny Clark. Marco starts thinking about the day he just had. There is nothing more satisfying for him than watching one of his projects taking shape, step by step, with harmony…just like the succession of the notes of that one song you like and that, even after years, are still modern.

The night has come, the music shuts down. Tomorrow is another day. Time for another project, new lines, new ideas, but his coffee, his home and the background music will still be there. This is what Marco needs to keep his balance: a few staples in a continuously evolving world.