The Galfa Building or Galfa Tower (''Torre Galfa'' in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
) is a
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, located in the
Centro Direzionale di Milano
The Centro Direzionale di Milano is a business district (''quartiere'') in Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 9 administrative division. It is located north-west of the city centre, between the major railway stations of Milano Centrale and Milano Por ...
district, north of the city centre. It was designed by architect Melchiorre Bega in 1956 and completed in 1959. The name "Galfa" is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsInternational Style architecture. The building is rectangular, with the two lowest floors larger than the main body. The main structure in
reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
is almost completely hidden by curtain walls made of glass and
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
.
The tower was originally built for the Sarom company; in the mid-1970s, it was sold by Sarom to the Popolare di Milano bank, and thereafter served as a service centre and headquarter of the bank. In 2006, Popolare sold the building for 48 million euros to Fondiaria Sai Group.
On 5 May 2012, the building was
occupied
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by a group of people which intended to create a space for artists; the project's name was ''Macao''. The building was cleared by the authorities ten days later; anyway, project Macao remained, and Mayor
Giuliano Pisapia
Giuliano Pisapia (; born 20 May 1949) is an Italian lawyer, politician, former mayor of Milan, former member of the Italian Parliament and member of the European Parliament.
As a politician, he has been a member of two left-wing parties, first P ...
promised to provide it another seat.
After acquiring Fondiaria-Sai in 2012, the insurance group
Unipol Group
Unipol Gruppo S.p.A. is an Italian financial services holding company operating in the insurance and banking fields with headquarters in the Unipol Tower, Bologna. As of 2009 it was ranked as the country's fourth-largest insurer.
The company tra ...
took possession of the building and began discussions with the Milan city council as to its eventual renovation.Articolo L'edificio sarà riqualificato: Comune e Unipol lavorano insieme al progetto , del 10 gennaio 2014, sul sito del Comune di Milano. Work began in 2016, led by the design firm, Studio BG&K. In an interview with the Italian design magazine
Abitare
''Abitare'', published monthly in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's best known design magazines. It was first published in 1961.
History and profile
''Abitare'' was launched in Milan in 1961 by Piera Peroni. The magazine was published monthly. ...
, Maurice Kanah, lead architect on the project, said that the refurbished building will contain "a mix of residential, hotel and commercial functions.”