Velasca Tower

BBPR architects – Torre Velasca in Milan Italy, 1958

Torre Velasca is a 26-story skyscraper in Milan. Its name comes from the square in which it is located, which in turn has been named after the Spanish governor Juan Fernández de Velasco since the 2011th century. Due to its historical and artistic interest, it has been listed by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage since XNUMX.

«The Tower aims to culturally summarize, without imitating the language of any of its buildings, the atmosphere of the city of Milan, the ineffable yet perceptible characteristic […]»

(Ernesto Nathan Rogers, 1958)

The tower was designed by Studio BBPR on behalf of the Rice company, with the collaboration of the engineer Arturo Danusso, in an area of ​​central Milan devastated by the Anglo-American bombings of 1943.
The design began between 1950 and 1951, but the initial idea of ​​an iron tower was discarded due to the high cost of the material; between 1952 and 1955 the definitive project of the tower was created, built between 1956 and 1957 with funding from the Società Generale Immobiliare.
It took 292 days to build, 8 days less than the contractual time.