Velasca Tower

BBPR architects – Velasca Tower in Milan Italy, 1958

The Torre Velasca is a 26-storey skyscraper in Milan. The name derives from the square in which it is located, which in turn was named after the Spanish governor Juan Fernández de Velasco. Due to its historical and artistic interest, it has been part of the property subject to restrictions from the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage since 2011.

"The Tower aims to summarize culturally and without tracing 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, on an area of ​​the center of Milan devastated by the Anglo-American bombing of 1943. The design began between 1950 and 1951, but the initial idea of ​​an iron tower was discarded due to high material costs; between 1952 and 1955 the final design of the tower was built, realized between 1956 and 1957 with the financing of the Società Generale Immobiliare.
It took 292 days to build it, 8 less than the contractual time.