Torre Velasca

The Torre Velasca ("Velasca Tower") is a skyscraper built in the 1950s by the BBPR architectural partnership, in Milan, Italy. The tower has 26 stories.^[3]

Torre Velasca
Torre Velasca seen from the roof of Duomo
General information
Status	Completed
Location	Milan, Italy
Coordinates	45°27′36″N 9°11′26″E
Construction started	1956[1]
Completed	1958[1]
Height
Antenna spire	98 m (322 ft)
Top floor	75 m (246 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	26[2]
Design and construction
Architect(s)	BBPR
Main contractor	Società Generale Immobiliare

The tower, measuring 75 metres (246 ft) in height to the roof with an additional 23-metre-tall (75 ft) antenna spire (total 98 m or 322 ft), has a peculiar and characteristic mushroom-like shape. It stands out in the city skyline, made of domes, buildings and other towers. Its structure recalls the Lombard tradition, made of medieval fortresses and towers, each having a massive profile. In such fortresses, the lower parts were always narrower, while the higher parts were propped up by wood or stone beams. As a consequence, the shape of this building is the result of a modern interpretation of the typical medieval Italian castle.^[4] At the same time, BBPR in this building satisfied the functional needs of space: narrower surfaces on the ground, wider and more spacious ones on the top floors. The town planning laws, then, imposed specific volumes (depending on the buildings' purpose); in this tower, the latter were the mixed functions of residential and commercial use.

The tower is located in the city centre of Milan, near the Duomo (Milan Cathedral) and the headquarters of the University of Milan, between the streets corso di Porta Romana and via Larga. One of the exits of the Missori metro station, on line 3, is located right in front of it.

In 2011, the tower was placed under protection as a historic building.^[1]

Gallery

• 
  Details of the scaffolds and armor of the concrete during construction in 1956
• 
  The tower during construction, seen from the Duomo of Milan
• 
  The tower during construction, seen from the Duomo of Milan
• 
  The tower seen from below
• 
  Upper floors
• 
• 
  The Torre Velasca photographed by Paolo Monti in 1973

See also

• List of buildings in Milan