Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32-
storey
A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US).
T ...
,
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
in
Milan,
Italy. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approximately of concrete. The building weighs close to with a volume of .
Characterized by a structural skeleton,
curtain wall façades and tapered sides, it was among the first skyscrapers to abandon the customary block form. After its completion it was the tallest building in Italy but in 1961
Mole Antonelliana recovered priority after rebuilding of its pinnacle. The architectural historian Hasan-Uddin Khan praised it as "one of the most elegant tall buildings in the world" and as one of the "few tall European buildings
hat madestatements that added to the vocabulary of the skyscraper".
The building inspired the Pan Am Building (now
MetLife Building) in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and the National Mutual West Plaza in
Auckland.
History
In 1950, Alberto Pirelli, president and owner of the giant
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
tyre company, ordered that a skyscraper be built in the area where the corporation's first factory was located in the 19th century. The project was developed by architect
Gio Ponti, with the assistance of
Pier Luigi Nervi and Arturo Danusso.
Construction of the tower began in 1956 when Italy was experiencing an economic boom. The tower was to be surrounded by low lying buildings on a pentagonal plot of land. Upon its completion in 1958, it became a symbol not only of Milan, but also of the
economic recovery of Italy after the devastation of
World War II. At , it was the tallest building in Italy after
Mole Antonelliana until 1995. The company sold the building to the
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
regional government in 1978. It's also the seat of the Regional Council.
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Milano, 1958) - BEIC 6338547.jpg, Under construction in 1958
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338552.jpg, 1960, during construction
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338549.jpg, Looking northeast in 1965
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6338551.jpg, Façade detail in 1965
Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica - BEIC 6340792.jpg, 1965
Incidents
2002 plane crash
On the afternoon of 18 April 2002, a
Rockwell Commander 112
The Rockwell Commander 112 is an American four-seat single-engined general aviation aircraft designed and built by North American Rockwell (later Rockwell International) starting in 1972. In 1976, they introduced the turbocharged version 112TC an ...
single-engine airplane registered in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
hit the building. The aircraft was apparently scheduled to fly from
Locarno to
Milan. The plane was low on fuel and
Linate Airport was preparing an emergency landing prior to the crash, but the pilot suddenly strayed and crashed into the building. The pilot and two people inside the tower were killed in the accident. Two goals of the restoration work were to maintain the structural and artistic integrity of the building and to upgrade its status as an executive headquarters by introducing new support services and technological systems.
See also
*
Architecture of Italy
Italy has a very broad and diverse architectural style, which cannot be simply classified by period or region, due to Italy's division into various small states until 1861. This has created a highly diverse and eclectic range in architectural des ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Italy
References
Further reading
*
External links
Regione Lombardia – official website
{{authority control
Skyscrapers in Milan
Modernist architecture in Italy
Office buildings completed in 1958
Pirelli
Skyscraper office buildings in Italy
Pier Luigi Nervi buildings