LE OFFICINE DEL GAS DELLA BOVISA [IT]
Exploration #60. The production of the gas in this vast area called “la goccia della Bovisa” started in 1905 by the French company Union des Gaz. The gas was to produce gas for the city’s lighting. Production took place by distilling the fossil coal that arrived by rail and the waste, consisting of coke, was sold for heating and industry. The gas was produced from the distillation of fossil coal initially for the city’s lighting and then also for cooking and heating. The gas was then stored in big gasometers ready to be pumped the city network.
The production of the gas stopped in 1994: the coke ovens were demolished but the two big gasometers and machinery rooms were saved. The “goccia della Bovisa” has recently been redeveloped to create space for a new campus of the Politecnico di Milano. The gasometers will be saved and reconverted into residential buildings, while the machinery rooms will be emptied and only the walls of the buildings preserved.
