The project emerges from the study of Ca’ Granda and its transformations over time, focusing the architectural intervention on the Cultural Heritage Office (CHO) building. Through the idea of “Resurfacing the Invisible,” the project reveals traces of spaces and architectural relationships that have disappeared, making these absences perceptible rather than reconstructing them.

The intervention works through a series of lightweight elements inserted within the existing architecture. Selected walls are removed to reconnect previously fragmented rooms and establish a continuous sequence for exhibitions and public activities. New elements remain visually distinct from the historic fabric, creating a dialogue between what has survived and what is newly introduced.

Within the courtyard, a delicate scaffold-like structure traces the geometry of the former arches, creating a ghosted presence of the architecture that once occupied the space. The structure becomes more than a representation of the past, forming an inhabitable framework for circulation, gathering and cultural activities while maintaining the openness of the courtyard.

Through this approach, VESTIGIA treats heritage not as something frozen in a single historical moment, but as a collection of visible and invisible layers. Architecture becomes a tool for revealing memory, allowing traces of the past to resurface while giving the CHO building new spaces for exhibition, learning, research and public life.