{"id":11666,"date":"2025-09-10T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.archieinteriors.com\/torre-velasca-anatomy-of-a-milanese-icon-between-structure-memory-and-future\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T04:00:00","slug":"torre-velasca-anatomy-of-a-milanese-icon-between-structure-memory-and-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archieinteriors.com\/en\/torre-velasca-anatomy-of-a-milanese-icon-between-structure-memory-and-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Torre Velasca: anatomy of a Milanese icon between structure, memory and future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Velasca Tower <\/strong> (BBPR, 1956\u00961958) is a 106 m <\/strong> skyscraper in the heart of Milan, famous for its projecting “cape” which recalls the medieval towers of Lombardy and for its structure of external struts and braces <\/strong>. Declared a protected property in 2011 <\/strong> , it was the subject of a integral restoration 2021\u00962025 <\/strong> led by Asti Architetti <\/strong> with Hines <\/strong> , which regenerated facades, systems and the pedestrian square, introducing new uses mixed-use <\/strong> (hospitality, catering, offices). Today Velasca returns to dialogue with the city, without giving up its identity. <\/p>\n

Why talk (again) about Torre Velasca <\/h2>\n

\"Torre <\/p>\n

For those who design in Milan today, the Torre Velasca <\/strong> is not just a landmark: it is a method. It demonstrates that it is possible to graft <\/strong> high architecture into a historical context without camouflage, working on continuity, typologies and structure as urban language <\/strong>. The recent cycle of works – from mineral skin <\/strong> to refounded square <\/strong> – is not a makeover: it reactivates a piece of the city, updates performance (up to LEED Gold <\/strong>), restores quality of use and public space. <\/p>\n

Origins: BBPR and reconstruction <\/h2>\n

\"studio <\/p>\n

Designed by the studio BBPR <\/strong> (Banfi, Belgiojoso, Peressutti, Rogers) between 1956 and 1958 <\/strong>, the Velasca was born in the Milan of reconstruction <\/strong> . The idea: a mixed tower (shops\/offices at the bottom, accommodation at the top) that cites <\/strong> the profile of the Lombard fortifications, without denying modernity. Not an imported International Style, but a Milanese <\/strong> way to contemporaneity. <\/p>\n

Protection. <\/strong> In 2011 <\/strong> the Superintendency affixed the monumental restriction <\/strong>: the Velasca entered the list of assets of historical-artistic interest. Since then, every intervention must measure itself against the authenticity of the artefact. <\/p>\n

The section that makes the shape: how the \u0093head\u0094 works <\/h2>\n

The \u0093mushroom\u0094 shape is not a plastic whim: it is structure <\/strong> that becomes expression. BBPR \u0093sew together\u0094 <\/strong> two volumes: a slimmer body and a wider top body (the houses). A crown <\/strong> of diagonal struts <\/strong> of three floors starts approximately from the 15th <\/strong> level and unloads onto the framework of the stem; V-braces <\/strong> embrace the struts at the height of 18\u00b0 <\/strong>. Inside the “head” there are 72 original apartments <\/strong> under a copper attic crowning . It is a mixed typological-structural device that translates the theme of continuity with the historical landscape <\/strong> into statics. <\/p>\n

Measurements, typologies, cities <\/h2>\n