NEWS & EVENTS > THE VELASCA TOWER IN MILANESE CULTURE

The Velasca Tower in Milanese culture

Today at 5:30 pm in the Spazio Museo of Velasca Tower an important conference on the role of the Tower.

A renovation project for the building is being developed, seeking to combine the need for modernization of the spaces with the desire to preserve a symbol of modern architecture.

The Velasca Tower returns to being a place of debate and cultural exchange thanks to the new impetus given by the Unipol Group, which took over ownership of the building in 2012. What was the role of the Velasca in Milanese culture in the past and what is it today? This question will be discussed today in the prestigious museum space inside the Tower by Alberico Barbiano of Belgiojoso, architect, formerly a professor at Milan Polytechnic; Silvano Tintori, architect, former professor at Milan Polytechnic, Antonella Ranaldi, architect, Superintendent of Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Milan, Bergamo, Como, Lecco, Lodi, Monza, Pavia, Sondrio and Varese Angelo Lucchini, engineer, Professor in the ABC department at Milan Polytechnic, Gianni Verga, engineer, College of Engineers and Architects of Milan; coordinating is Carlo Berizzi, professor at the University of Pavia, president of AIM. The architecture of the Velasca Tower, designed in the fifties by Studio Architetti BBPR, Lodovico Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti, Ernesto Rogers. (the project of the structure is by the engineer Professor Arturo Danusso) and built in 1958 immediately ignited an important cultural debate in the city, the country, and the rest of the world. The first "tall" building in the center of Milan, the Velasca Tower was a work of the Modern Movement with a precise relationship between form and function, but also with an attention to pre-existing environmental conditions, i.e., the creation of a relationship between the new architecture and the characteristics of the urban system in which it is placed. A topic that had been raised by Ernesto Rogers in international circles precisely in those years.

The Conference aims to illustrate the main aspects of this work, in relation to the architectural debate and the Milanese culture of the years in which it was built, and its insertion in the urban environment. The project's criteria will be underscored, the attention to the technological aspects, the adoption of an industrialized system for the different parts of its construction, and the structural system (the building was made of reinforced concrete after having studied the possibility of using steel, with a structure having a central core of stairs, elevators and services, supported with outer pillars to leave as much free space as possible within). Some references will be made to the origin of the skyscraper and to the problems of conservation as part of a discussion of the restoration of twentieth century architecture, and finally to the relationship with the Milanese culture and its transformation over the years up until today.

Owned by the Unipol Group since 2012, the Tower once again returns to its role as a protagonist of the city of Milan and its future. Velasca Tower is part of Urban Up, the Unipol Group's real estate redevelopment project aimed at restoring some of the Group's most important buildings in Milan.

To participate it is necessary to reserve a seat by writing to: torrevelasca@advactiva.it

Reservations will be accepted subject to availability.

Unipol Gruppo Finanziario S.p.a.
Unipol is one of the leading insurance groups in Europe with total deposits of approximately € 17.8 billion, of which € 8.9 billion in the Non-Life business and € 8.9 billion in the Life business (2014 data). Unipol has adopted an integrated offer strategy and covers the entire range of insurance and financial products, operating mainly through the subsidiary UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A., founded at the beginning of 2014 and leader in Italy in the Non-Life business, in particular car insurance. The Group is also active in direct car insurance (Linear Assicurazioni), health protection (UniSalute), supplementary pensions, and oversees the bancassurance channel (Arca Vita Group and Popolare Vita Group). Finally, it operates in the banking sector through the Unipol Banca branch network and manages significant diversified activities in the real estate, hotel (Atahotels), and agricultural sectors (Tenute del Cerro). Unipol Gruppo S.p.A. is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange.

Contact
Press Office Gruppo Unipol
Fernando Vacarini
pressoffice@unipol.it
Tel. +39 051-5077705
Claudia Galassi
claudia.galassi@unipol.it
Tel.+39 02-51815268

Milan
February 25, 2016