alpine garden installation by BUREAU emerges in milan’s urban fabric for winter olympics

BUREAU’s Alpine Garden as Urban Pavilion at Centro Svizzero

Flora Alpina is an installation by BUREAU created within the courtyard of Centro Svizzero in Milan as part of the House of Switzerland during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Conceived as an alpine garden, the project interprets Switzerland through the spatial and cultural framework of the ‘Hortus Conclusus,’ the historic concept of the enclosed garden. Defined yet permeable, the garden becomes a constructed fragment of landscape embedded within the urban fabric.

The project positions Switzerland symbolically as a garden bounded by political borders yet open to exchange, climate, and movement. Drawing from historical garden typologies across cultures, the installation understands the garden as a composed environment where living and non-living elements coexist. Plants, rocks, and constructed features operate together to create spatial sequences and moments of pause within a controlled setting.

At the center of the courtyard, the alpine garden references the shared mountainous culture linking Switzerland and Italy. The installation functions as a temporary gathering space for a diverse public during the two-week Olympic period, accommodating celebrations, informal meetings, and cultural programming.

all images by Dylan Perrenoud

Flora Alpina: Flexible Garden Pavilion Shaped by Modular follies

The design integrates architectural ‘follies’ and modular elements that structure activity within the garden. Colored patterned modules host various functions including stage platforms, tribunes, bleachers, kiosks, and market stalls. Additional graphic patterns extend into lighting features supported by Milan’s characteristic street bollards (‘panettoni’), which are incorporated into a family of site furniture including stools, tables, and signage supports.

The garden extends into the interior restaurant space known as Swiss Corner. Photographic works by Dylan Perrenoud are presented as illuminated lightboxes depicting archival imagery of rocks and floral compositions from 1980s slide collections. Opposite these installations, 140 potted flowers are displayed within the depth of the show windows, creating layered reflections that connect interior and exterior. The existing architectural character enhances these visual overlaps, redefining the relationship between the installation and the street facade.

Flora Alpina by BUREAU design studio is conceived as a flexible and adaptive environment. The project draws from the symbolic role of flowers in sports, medicine, and cultural rituals, acknowledging their presence in ceremonies and public celebrations. Through the integration of plant life, constructed modules, and urban context, the installation frames the garden as a spatial and cultural mediator within the city during the Olympic event.

Flora Alpina occupies the courtyard of Centro Svizzero in Milan for the House of Switzerland

the installation was created during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games

the alpine garden interprets Switzerland through the concept of the Hortus Conclusus

colored metal sheets form the installation’s main material palette

plants, rocks, and constructed features create spatial sequences and points of pause

architectural follies and modular elements structure activity within the garden

graphic patterns extend into lighting features supported by Milanese street bollards

140 potted flowers are arranged in show windows, creating layered interior-exterior reflections

defined yet permeable, the garden integrates landscape within the urban context

alpine garden by BUREAU functions as a temporary gathering space for the public during the Olympic period

project info:

name: Flora Alpina

architect: BUREAU

lead architects: Daniel Zamarbide | @daniel_zamarbide, Carine Pimenta, Galliane Zamarbide

location: Milan, Italy

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom