DROPCITY is an ambitious and open platform for architecture and design, located in Milan's formerly abandoned Magazzini Raccordati tunnels behind Central Station. Initiated by Andrea Caputo in 2018 and open permanently since 2024, the project reimagines 40,000 square meters into public galleries, production workshops, prototyping labs, and research spaces. The founder of the platform is Andrea Caputo, an Italian architect and researcher. During Milan Design Week 2025, ArchDaily's managing editor, Maria-Cristina Florian, had the chance to sit down with Andrea Caputo to explore his vision and plans for DROPCITY, the platform's connection to the city of Milan and its active architecture scene.
Caputo's career spans professional practice and academic inquiry. In 2011, he established his architecture studio, which today operates internationally with offices in Milan and Shanghai, working across a range of projects from commercial buildings to cultural centers. Earlier, in 2009, Caputo published All City Writers, a study on graffiti and street culture that anticipated the urban focus seen in DROPCITY. In 2018, he began the "Studio Visit" column for Domus magazine, examining contemporary architectural practices.
We started seven years ago as an idea to endorse the strong network we have in Milan, not just architects but designers, in a city with a deep concentration of architecture and design schools and great institutions such as Triennale, creating a space for daily creative engagement.
The center's program includes a civic library focused on architecture and design, an environmentally classified materials archive, state-of-the-art prototyping facilities, free exhibition spaces, and over 400 tailored office workstations. DROPCITY's mission is to foster collaboration among emerging designers, researchers, and architects, offering open access to essential resources while promoting sustainability, innovation, and interdisciplinary exchange.
Milano is incredibly attractive, especially today, but at the same time, large part of this program is temporary. DROPCITY is more an answer to the need of, permanent programs. The way we conceive exhibitions, the way we conceive lecture programs, is more related to the idea of stretching this all over the year and not just being focused on one week or two weeks.
During the interview, Caputo explains that DROPCITY is aimed at supporting Milan's extensive network of designers, expanding the definition of design beyond traditional academic boundaries. He describes the project as a response to the city's need for more permanent cultural spaces, complementing its internationally recognized landmarks and events. Referencing initiatives such as Zurich's viaduct and Berlin's Mitte district, Caputo highlights DROPCITY's ambition to offer a lasting platform for architecture and design. By revitalizing an abandoned urban site, the project proposes an open space for experimentation, responding to the challenges of contemporary global crises. The plans for the space also include a new urban landscape with reduced vehicular traffic, green spaces, and a new cycle path, revitalizing an underutilized area of the city.
So [DROPCITY] wants to build up a relationship with the city, which is not just on spot, it is related to the local communities we have in Milan, but also to the surrounding centers for architecture, such as Zurich and Mendrisio, where the academia is, and where the schools are. So it opens up, but in order to do that, it has to be consistent in time.
During Milan Design Week 2025, DROPCITY presented several exhibitions, resulting from years-long research programs. "Prison Times – Spatial Dynamics of Penal Environments" explored the design and architecture of detention spaces, prompting discussions on the role of design in the penal system. The exhibition features objects from prisons worldwide and examines how design practices can reinforce and challenge the prison industrial complex. Concurrently, "Bruther.fbx" showcased the work of Paris-based architecture and research studio Bruther, highlighting their spatial investigations and the integration of contemporary technologies with physical artifacts. Another exhibition on show is "Marble Journey - From Matter to Material". Curated by Giulia Albarello, Laurian Ghinițoiu, and Maria Jose Rubira, the project explores marble's transformation from geological material to global commodity.
Complementing the exhibitions, the exhibition center hosts a series of public programs and lectures, including "Reform Trust: Ideas on Penal Environments," a discussion series curated by Federica Verona and Valeria Verdolini, and "Beautiful Mistakes," a series of talks where architects and designers share insights into their professional experiences. These programs aimed to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue and engage the public in conversations about architecture's role in societal issues. By combining exhibitions with educational and participatory events, DROPCITY is positioned as a dynamic platform for critical discourse and innovation in architecture and design.
There's the idea of involving people, which is very much in focus in this field. [..] The logic is to let the content be very much open to possibilities. We need to participate into what we do, and of course, the criteria of selection is mainly related to contemporary visions of architecture.
Since 2018, DROPCITY has been establishing its position as a platform for architectural design and collaboration in Milan. Caputo's vision extends beyond temporary events such as the Milan Design Week, highlighting the need for permanent, year-round programming that engages with local creative communities and connects to broader architectural centers. By prioritizing accessibility and public engagement, DROPCITY shows a commitment to expanding the dialogue in contemporary architecture and nurturing a collaborative environment that transcends commercial boundaries.
