The new face of the Torre Velasca, finally with its own square

A couple of years ago, when architect Paolo Asti was already working on the project for the restoration and redevelopment of the Velasca Tower, he said with regard to the square in front of it that his hope would be to return a collective space to the city, given that that square had always presented itself as a ‘non-place’, a car park and an anonymous transit space. ‘I would like the Tower to have its own churchyard: a secular churchyard for this cathedral of the Modern,’ he said. Today we can say that the promise has been kept: the construction site will be completed by December and the square will be fully accessible by the new year.



Built of reinforced concrete and distributed over 29 floors, two of which are underground, including commercial spaces, offices and flats, an icon (loved or hated) of the Milanese skyline, the Torre Velasca - designed by BBPR and completed in 1958 - has always lacked an adequate space at its feet. Asti Architetti's renovation and redevelopment project - developed by Hines with ARS Aedificandi, studio CEAS, ESA Engineering and in constant dialogue with the Soprintendenza Archeologica, Belle Arti e Paesaggio - has restored the Velasca to its original image.
To achieve this, material analyses and historical documentary studies were conducted thanks to access to the original archives. The plasters were also replaced to give the tower the iridescent pink colour of the time. Once the work on the façades has been completed, and with the restoration of the interiors still partially underway, the work on the square completes the project, which aims to give back to the city a place of exchange with new spaces open to the public: from the two restaurants, one of which on the 18th floor with a 360° view of the city, to the pedestrian square enriched with benches, olive trees, magnolias and green areas. The project also includes a membership club on the 17th floor and bars on the ground floor, as well as a spa in the basement.



The pedestrian access to the building, the recovery of adjacent spaces that were previously unused, and the street furniture have returned an open area to the city. The new square is configured as an urban reconnection between the city and the Tower: ‘we would like the square to become a point of ‘suspension’ with respect to the acceleration of the city, where one can stop, look at the Tower, benefit from the services and the presence of greenery,’ says Paolo Asti, and continues, ’in designing Piazza Velasca, my hand was guided by the precise desire to give back to the city the ground attachment of the Tower, reinterpreting its relationship with the immediate surroundings, because over the years, in daily life, the Milanese have rarely had a direct, close relationship with the Tower. The paving will reveal the charm of some of the designs and stone materials that characterise many squares in the historic centre of Milan; it will be made of large trachyte slabs, as an ideal extension of the ribbed pillars of the Velasca Tower in the four sectors surrounding the building, with total removal of the asphalt present in the entire area. In particular, the red porphyry cubes known as ‘sanpietrini’ that are still present in the portions connecting the square behind the tower, between Via Pantano and Corso di Porta Romana, will be re-paved. The pavements around the perimeter of the square will instead be covered and bordered by medium-sized granite slabs and kerbs.



As was the case for the facades, the interior regeneration project is also aimed at maintaining a delicate balance between the preservation of iconic elements designed by the BBPR studio and the integration of state-of-the-art finishes, installations and technology. In particular, for the interiors, the language of the 1950s was recovered with a great effort of restoration and conservative renovation, using both the same techniques and materials original materials, such as: floorings, handcrafted ceramic materials in various sizes and colours, wood.



In the lobby, which is also being restored, historical elements, including the characteristic boiserie on the lift walls in mahogany slats, the historic floor signs, as well as the spectacular chandeliers made of burnished brass and glass, while in the offices the synthetic flooring, as a typical expression of those years, Finally, the two lampposts on the
Finally, the two street lamps on the square designed by BBPR were also restored.