Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32- storey, skyscraper 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 ...

. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approximately of concrete. The building weighs close to with a volume of . Characterized by a structural skeleton, curtain wall façades and tapered sides, it was among the first skyscrapers to abandon the customary block form. After its completion it was the tallest building in Italy but in 1961

Mole Antonelliana The Mole Antonelliana () is a major landmark building in Turin, Italy, named after its architect, Alessandro Antonelli. A '' mole'' in Italian is a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unificati ...

recovered priority after rebuilding of its pinnacle. The architectural historian Hasan-Uddin Khan praised it as "one of the most elegant tall buildings in the world" and as one of the "few tall European buildings

hat made A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

statements that added to the vocabulary of the skyscraper". The building inspired the Pan Am Building (now

MetLife Building The MetLife Building (also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building) is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street, north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed in the Internation ...

) in New York and the National Mutual West Plaza in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

History

In 1950, Alberto Pirelli, president and owner of the giant Pirelli tyre company, ordered that a skyscraper be built in the area where the corporation's first factory was located in the 19th century. The project was developed by architect

Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti ( ͡ʒo18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a ...

, with the assistance of

Pier Luigi Nervi Pier Luigi Nervi (21 June 1891 – 9 January 1979) was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the University of Bologna graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and is known wor ...

and Arturo Danusso. Construction of the tower began in 1956 when Italy was experiencing an economic boom. The tower was to be surrounded by low lying buildings on a pentagonal plot of land. Upon its completion in 1958, it became a symbol not only of Milan, but also of the economic recovery of Italy after the devastation of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. At , it was the tallest building in Italy after

until 1995. The company sold the building to the Lombardy regional government in 1978. It's also the seat of the Regional Council. Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Milano, 1958) - BEIC 6338547.jpg, Under construction in 1958 Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338552.jpg, 1960, during construction Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338549.jpg, Looking northeast in 1965 Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338551.jpg, Façade detail in 1965 Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica - BEIC 6340792.jpg, 1965

Incidents

2002 plane crash

On the afternoon of 18 April 2002, a Rockwell Commander 112 single-engine airplane registered in Switzerland hit the building. The aircraft was apparently scheduled to fly from

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

. The plane was low on fuel and

Linate Airport Milan Linate Airport is the third international airport of Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy, behind Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. It served 9,233,475 passengers in 2018, being the fifth busiest air ...

was preparing an emergency landing prior to the crash, but the pilot suddenly strayed and crashed into the building. The pilot and two people inside the tower were killed in the accident. Two goals of the restoration work were to maintain the structural and artistic integrity of the building and to upgrade its status as an executive headquarters by introducing new support services and technological systems.

References

External links

Regione Lombardia – official website
{{authority control Skyscrapers in Milan Modernist architecture in Italy Office buildings completed in 1958 Pirelli Skyscraper office buildings in Italy Pier Luigi Nervi buildings

History

Incidents

2002 plane crash

See also

References

Further reading

External links