Get to know the order

The headquarters in via Solferino 17-19 are right in the historical centre of Milan, in a barycentric position in relation to the metropolitan area and is easily accessible by public transport. Approximately 800 square metres of space, distributed on three levels, house the offices of OAMi and the OAMI Foundation, as well as a space dedicated to the Regional Council of the Order of Architects of Lombardy.

The ground floor also houses an exhibition space, the library's book and magazine reading room and spaces for meetings; the adjacent private courtyard with direct access from via Solferino 17, is used during Design Week and for open air events in summer.

The conference room on the first floor, which has a seating capacity of about 80, is used as a venue for cultural and educational activities which are also open to non-members. Lastly, the basement houses the archives, library storage and service rooms.

The first Lombardy Register was created in Milan, the centre of the debate over a new idea of architecture and a new awareness of the professional category, in 1928.

During the fascist regime, all Orders were abolished and the professional categories were formed into trade unions. The first register kept in the archives dates back to 1938, and was established in Milan by what was known then as the Interprovincial Fascist Union of Architects of Lombardy.

The latter was renamed the Interprovincial Order of Architects of Lombardy, following the issue of Legislative Decree no. 382 of 23 November 1944, which reintroduced the institution of the Professional Order.

The various provinces gradually broke away from this single Interprovincial Order, which united members from all the cities in Lombardy, to form independent Orders. The first to break away, between the 1950s and 1960s, were the provinces of Brescia, Como, Bergamo and Varese; later, in the 1980s, also Cremona and Mantova, then Sondrio, Pavia and finally Lodi in the 1990s. Consequently, it was only in 1997 that the name Order of Architects of the Province of Milan was registered.

In 2005, following the establishment of the new province of Monza Brianza (2004), the Order of Architects of Monza Brianza was set up and 2000 members were transferred to it.

As a result of Presidential Decree no. 328 of 5 June 2001, which redefines the classes and categories of professional titles, the name Order of Architects, Landscape Architects and Planners and Conservationists of the Province of Milan was imposed.

The Order first began operating from an office located inside the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, before moving to an office in Via San Nicolao, with an increasingly consolidated organizational structure. As the number of members continued to increase, the office subsequently moved first to Corso Italia 47, then to Via Santa Cecilia 5, and finally to Via Solferino 19, its current premises.