The Torre Velasca (''Velasca Tower'', in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
) 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 ...
built in the 1950s by the
BBPR
BBPR was an architectural partnership founded in Milan, Italy in 1932.
Partnership
The BBPR studio was formed in Milan in 1932 in a climate described by Giorgio Ciucci as “oscillating between differing and contrasting positions.” The name ...
architectural partnership, 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 ...
.
The tower is part of the first generation of Italian modern architecture, while still being part of the Milanese context in which it was born, to which also belongs the
Milan Cathedral
Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...
and the
Sforza Castle
The Castello Sforzesco (Italian for "Sforza's Castle") is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later reno ...
.
[In 1957, ''LIFE'' magazine said, "Pointing to the eight-story overhang, reminiscent of Lombardy castles, ne of its architectsdescribed the building as 'a sort of medieval nostalgia.'" - ''LIFE'']
in Milan"
2 December 1957, p. 120
The tower, tall, has a peculiar and characteristic
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
-like shape. It stands out in the city
skyline
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skylines ...
, made of domes, buildings and other towers. Its structure recalls the Lombard tradition, made of medieval fortresses and towers, each having a massive profile. In such fortresses, the lower parts were always narrower, while the higher parts propped up by wood or stone beams.
As a consequence, the shape of this building is the result of a modern interpretation of the typical Italian
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
.
At the same time,
BBPR
BBPR was an architectural partnership founded in Milan, Italy in 1932.
Partnership
The BBPR studio was formed in Milan in 1932 in a climate described by Giorgio Ciucci as “oscillating between differing and contrasting positions.” The name ...
in this building satisfied the functional needs of space: narrower surfaces on the ground, wider and more spacious ones on the top floors. The town planning laws, then, imposed specific volumes (depending on the buildings' purpose); in this tower, the latter being the mixed functions of residential and commercial use.
The tower is located in the city centre of Milan, Italy, near the Duomo (
Milan Cathedral
Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...
) and the headquarters of the
University of Milan
The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...
, between the streets "corso di Porta Romana" and "via Larga". One of the exits of the
Missori metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
station is located right in front of it.
In 2011, the tower was placed under protection as a historic building.
Gallery
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Milano, 1956) - BEIC 6365505.jpg, Details of the scaffold
Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
s and armor of the concrete during construction in 1956
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6365460.jpg, The tower during construction, seen from the Duomo of Milan
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338773.jpg, The tower during construction, seen from the Duomo of Milan
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338771.jpg, The tower seen from below
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338812.jpg, Upper floors
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338828.jpg
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338756.jpg, The Torre Velasca photographed by Paolo Monti
Paolo Monti (11 August 1908 – 29 November 1982) was an Italian photographer, known for his architectural photography.
In his early period, Monti experimented with abstractionism as well as with effects such as blurring and diffraction. In 1 ...
in 1973
See also
*
List of buildings in Milan
This is a list of buildings in Milan.
Churches
Paleochristian, Romanesque
* Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
* Basilica of San Calimero
* Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio
* Basilica of San Lorenzo
* Basilica of San Nazaro in Brolo
* Basilica ...
References
{{authority control
Office buildings completed in 1958
Residential buildings completed in 1958
Skyscrapers in Milan
Brutalist architecture in Italy
Modernist architecture in Italy
Residential buildings in Italy
Skyscraper office buildings in Italy