Building for apartments and shops (1955-1956), piazza della Repubblica 12, Milano
Project in collaboration with ing. arch. Gino Brunelli
Project in collaboration with ing. arch. Gino Brunelli
The building, designed and built in 1955, is located in a area of outstanding interest for Twentieth century architecture. The vast scale of the widening originally called piazza Fiume - today known as piazza della Repubblica - somehow originated from to the presence of the former Milan Central Rail Station (1857-1864), designed by the Architect Louis-Jules Bouchot. The building was demolished following the decision to build a new Rail Station (1912-1931), designed by Ulisse Stacchini and located nearby, at the end of the cone of vision of via Vittor Pisani. The vast urban emptiness originated by these events, by virtue of its own morphology facilitated the replacement of the pre-existing, traditional buildings with new, high-rise buildings. This resulted in the reconfiguration of this part of the city in a laboratory of modern experimentation from the 1930s to the 1960s, when the continuous facade perimeter around the wide square took its current shape. Gigi Gho'’s Piazza della Repubblica 12 project takes place during the last period of these events.
The building is a thirteen-storey tower with a square footprint and is located at the corner along the old Spanish walls. The shops are located at the ground level with the shop-windows facing viale Vittorio Veneto; the first floor consists of office space whereas the residential units are on the upper floors with access from piazza della Repubblica 12 through a small garden located at the front of the building. Each floor accommodates one single residential unit with the only exception of the penthouse which is designed on two levels: all service rooms face the internal courtyard whereas the master rooms boast scenographic and spectacular views on the city and on the nearby nineteenth-century park ‘Giardini Pubblici’. This inspired Gho' to create the distinctive trapezoidal balconies, which were defined a ‘270 degree observatory’ on the city and whose peculiar form allows to maximise the floor area in relation to the load distribution on the structure. The architectural style of the building is soberly modern, and is defined by the alternate succession of the full height windows and the balconies, whose verticality is accented by the presence of elegant metal posts.
An early option for this project included the construction of another building section along via Vittorio Veneto, which was designed to be placed against the tower and lower in height, and would have hosted the ‘Terminus’ hotel.
The building is a thirteen-storey tower with a square footprint and is located at the corner along the old Spanish walls. The shops are located at the ground level with the shop-windows facing viale Vittorio Veneto; the first floor consists of office space whereas the residential units are on the upper floors with access from piazza della Repubblica 12 through a small garden located at the front of the building. Each floor accommodates one single residential unit with the only exception of the penthouse which is designed on two levels: all service rooms face the internal courtyard whereas the master rooms boast scenographic and spectacular views on the city and on the nearby nineteenth-century park ‘Giardini Pubblici’. This inspired Gho' to create the distinctive trapezoidal balconies, which were defined a ‘270 degree observatory’ on the city and whose peculiar form allows to maximise the floor area in relation to the load distribution on the structure. The architectural style of the building is soberly modern, and is defined by the alternate succession of the full height windows and the balconies, whose verticality is accented by the presence of elegant metal posts.
An early option for this project included the construction of another building section along via Vittorio Veneto, which was designed to be placed against the tower and lower in height, and would have hosted the ‘Terminus’ hotel.
Bibliography about this work:
“Costruzioni”, n.29, 1956
AA.VV., Milano oggi / Milan today, Edizioni Milano Moderna, Milano 1957, p.92
Fulvio Irace, Milano Moderna. Architettura e città nell'epoca della ricostruzione, Federico Motta, Milano 1996, pp. 64, 94-97
Jolanda Ventura (a cura di), Gigi Gho': progetti e architetture 1950-1995, [s.e.], 1997, pp.34-37
Giuliana Gramigna, Sergio Mazza, Milano. Un secolo di architettura milanese dal Cordusio alla Bicocca, Hoepli, Milano 2001, p.282
Maria Vittoria Capitanucci, Il professionismo colto nel dopoguerra, Abitare, Milano 2012, pp.54-57
Karl Kolbitz (a cura di), Entryways of Milan / Ingressi di Milano, Taschen, Berlin 2017, pp.148-149
Pietro Ricca, Alessandra Testa, Eleonora Zorzi, Milano. Architettura e paesaggio 1920-2016, Supernova 2017, p.181
“Costruzioni”, n.29, 1956
AA.VV., Milano oggi / Milan today, Edizioni Milano Moderna, Milano 1957, p.92
Fulvio Irace, Milano Moderna. Architettura e città nell'epoca della ricostruzione, Federico Motta, Milano 1996, pp. 64, 94-97
Jolanda Ventura (a cura di), Gigi Gho': progetti e architetture 1950-1995, [s.e.], 1997, pp.34-37
Giuliana Gramigna, Sergio Mazza, Milano. Un secolo di architettura milanese dal Cordusio alla Bicocca, Hoepli, Milano 2001, p.282
Maria Vittoria Capitanucci, Il professionismo colto nel dopoguerra, Abitare, Milano 2012, pp.54-57
Karl Kolbitz (a cura di), Entryways of Milan / Ingressi di Milano, Taschen, Berlin 2017, pp.148-149
Pietro Ricca, Alessandra Testa, Eleonora Zorzi, Milano. Architettura e paesaggio 1920-2016, Supernova 2017, p.181
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