MILAN
MILAN tour 1
Milan, capital of fashion and design shows us
new bright face
Milan has always been famous because of its Duomo, the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, and Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper among other things, but in recent years, it’s becoming in an interesting capital for contemporary architecture along with the renovation of some urban areas, that’s why I want to propose you to give us a tour around the new face of the capital of fashion.
I think that’s great, and what better than heading to the Porta Nuova district to watch the new and emblematic constructions of Milan: We begin then, from Lino Bo Bardi Square, where Torre di Diamanti is located, built by the architect Kohn Pendersen Fox between 2010 and 2012. It is 140m high; the facets of a gemstone inspire its shape, and it is flanked by two shorter buildings called Diamantini, which altogether create a beautiful conjunction to gaze upon.
I understand that Porta Nuova is an area where not only offices, apartments, and green areas come together but also places dedicated to art, I am very curious about the beautiful UniCredit Pavillion building, talk to me about it…
​
Well, going back to our trip through the left side of Mike Bongiorno street and enjoying some blooming, almost minimalist gardens that lead us to a staircase all the way to the Alvar Aalto street, we take a pedestrian bridge from where we glimpse at the UniCredit Pavillion, designed by the architect Michele de Lucchi and symbolizing a big seed surrounded by nature representing life, urban regeneration and the growth of culture that takes place in this area of the city. UniCredit Pavillion is a multifunctional space that offers a wide array of entertaining activities such as concerts, art exhibitions and even fashion shows.
Undoubtedly, with wood as the main material used in its construction, it is a beautiful building, but Porta Nouva also has the tallest building in Italy, right?
​
That is correct, after walking by the Pavillion, we go around the Gae Aulenti Square, where the 231m tall UniCredit Tower is located, which was built between 2009 and 2011 and designed by Cesar Pelli. The tower’s exterior is completely covered in glass and modulated by horizontal panels for an accurate sunlight managing and as a distinctive element, the building has a spiraling, LED-covered pinnacle that gradually tapers in an upwards manner and creates beautiful colored light shapes at night.
But Andrea, I think that we’ll agree on the fact that the most novel piece of architecture is a little bit ahead on this tour, isn’t that right?
​
Definitely, and it is the best way of ending our tour, so we head straight to Luigi Veronelli Park where we’ll be able to see residential buildings of 111 and 78 meters respectively called Bosco Verticale, these towers were designed by Boeri Studio and opened in 2014. The buildings have more than 2000 species of bushes and trees distributed along the terraces, becoming a very original and ambitious reforestation project through a vertical distribution. This project has won important international awards, it won first place as the world’s most beautiful building in 2015, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. In an era in which high light and heat reflecting glass and metal buildings are prominently being built, it is refreshing to see Boeri Studio counter-intuitively deciding to make some towers gushing with vegetation, going for something not only aesthetically original but also functional, since plants stop sunlight that otherwise would go directly into the apartments, creating a microclimate where humidity filters fine particles in the air, where trees generate a sound trajectory deviation, and moreover, a micro habitat that shelters insects and birds.
​
Andrea, throughout this conversation we are able to know a little more about Europe’s most beautiful cities, and raising, personally speaking, the curiosity and desire to keep on discovering the new wonders that the old continent has.
