Residential building and Torcitura Borgomanero Headquarters (1949-1952), via Solferino 40, via San Marco 33, Milano
Reinforced concrete calculations: Eng. G. Marzoli
Contractor: nipoti G. Marzoli
Reinforced concrete calculations: Eng. G. Marzoli
Contractor: nipoti G. Marzoli
""An office building with correct architectural expression [...]. In it there is an original and [...] right proportion between the base and the upper body and the well-kept detail of the materials well used for destination and color""
(Piero Bottoni)
(Piero Bottoni)
In 1946, now in his thirties, Gigi Gho' begins his independent career after the experience in Gio Ponti’s practice. The development built for the Torcitura di Borgomanero - a renowned company in the textile industry, founded in 1902 - represents one of the first and most important results in his independent professional career. The development, located near the city centre of Milan, is composed of a commercial building facing via Solferino, which accommodates the company offices, and a residential block that faces via San Marco.
Despite recalling some traditional features of the “edificio in cortina” (continuous front elevation), the remarkable modernity of the architectural style designed by Gho' for the office building facade stands as a demonstration of the upsurge of the Italian architectural culture at the end of the 1940s - a period during which the outlook was that of a new and rational architecture, able to understand the renewed aspirations of an entrepreneurial class that was coming out of the dramatic events of the war. At street level the facade is outlined by a sequence of pillars - coated with green ‘Ausolo’ granite - which frame both the cladding in bush-hammered Botticino marble and the wide, triple, anticorodal aluminium windows. At the three upper floors, the structure disappears behind the large cladding slabs which alternates with the regular series of windows flush with the facade, clearly inspired by the well-known Montecatini Headquarter in the nearby via Turati (1936-1938) and designed by Ponti, Fornaroli, and Soncini. The recessed top floor hosts the penthouse for the company executives. It is characterized by the extreme overhanging canopy which completes the vertical development of the elevation and aligns it to the nearby building gutter level. A single staircase core, composed of a helicoidal mixtilineal ramp, lays out the offices vertically along the various levels.
The second block, facing via San Marco and intended for residential use, stands taller thanks to the wider street section before it. The apartment complex contains two vertical circulation cores with a staircase and a lift, and accommodates up to three flats on each floor. It is characterised by a sober modern style with the front elevation cladded with gres mosaic tiles with the succession of vertical windows and small balconies. The ground floor, similarly to the block in via Solferino, is articulated by a sequence of reinforced concrete pillars which are incorporated in the slightly overhanging volume of the upper floors. This solution had been previously employed for the apartment block in via Sacchi (1947-1949) realized by Pietro Lingeri. The adoption of this compositional theme proves Gho'’s alignment with the most recent Milanese architectural experiences. The two blocks of the complex are connected in the North via a narrow volume, and in the South by a low section which hosts the meeting room. This overlooks the vehicle access that leads to the employee entrance and allows to catch sight of the plot.
Despite recalling some traditional features of the “edificio in cortina” (continuous front elevation), the remarkable modernity of the architectural style designed by Gho' for the office building facade stands as a demonstration of the upsurge of the Italian architectural culture at the end of the 1940s - a period during which the outlook was that of a new and rational architecture, able to understand the renewed aspirations of an entrepreneurial class that was coming out of the dramatic events of the war. At street level the facade is outlined by a sequence of pillars - coated with green ‘Ausolo’ granite - which frame both the cladding in bush-hammered Botticino marble and the wide, triple, anticorodal aluminium windows. At the three upper floors, the structure disappears behind the large cladding slabs which alternates with the regular series of windows flush with the facade, clearly inspired by the well-known Montecatini Headquarter in the nearby via Turati (1936-1938) and designed by Ponti, Fornaroli, and Soncini. The recessed top floor hosts the penthouse for the company executives. It is characterized by the extreme overhanging canopy which completes the vertical development of the elevation and aligns it to the nearby building gutter level. A single staircase core, composed of a helicoidal mixtilineal ramp, lays out the offices vertically along the various levels.
The second block, facing via San Marco and intended for residential use, stands taller thanks to the wider street section before it. The apartment complex contains two vertical circulation cores with a staircase and a lift, and accommodates up to three flats on each floor. It is characterised by a sober modern style with the front elevation cladded with gres mosaic tiles with the succession of vertical windows and small balconies. The ground floor, similarly to the block in via Solferino, is articulated by a sequence of reinforced concrete pillars which are incorporated in the slightly overhanging volume of the upper floors. This solution had been previously employed for the apartment block in via Sacchi (1947-1949) realized by Pietro Lingeri. The adoption of this compositional theme proves Gho'’s alignment with the most recent Milanese architectural experiences. The two blocks of the complex are connected in the North via a narrow volume, and in the South by a low section which hosts the meeting room. This overlooks the vehicle access that leads to the employee entrance and allows to catch sight of the plot.
Bibliography about this work:
Il marmo, materiale moderno, in “Domus” n.282, 1953, pp.67-71
Gigi Gho', Considerazioni da un intimo dialogo in “Edilizia moderna”, n.51, 1953
Blocco uffici - abitazioni, in “Vitrum”, n.48, 1953
Piero Bottoni, Antologia di edifici moderni in Milano, Editoriale Domus, Milano 1954, pp. 74-77
Paolo von Nestler, Neues Bauen in Italien, Edizioni Callwey, Monaco di Baviera 1954
C. Bassi, F. Berlando, G. Boschetti (a cura di), Documenti di architettura, composizione e tecnica moderna: scale, Vallardi, Milano 1954
Carlo Perogalli, Atrii di case, Gorlich, Milano 1959
Agnoldomenico Pica (a cura di), Architettura moderna in Milano, Ariminum, Milano 1964
Angelo Bugatti, Luciano Crespi (a cura di), Sapienza, tecnica e architettura. Milano-Pavia 1950-1980, Alinea, Firenze 1997
Jolanda Ventura (a cura di), Gigi Gho': progetti e architetture 1950-1995, [s.e.], 1997, pp.8-21
Karl Kolbitz (a cura di), Entryways of Milan / Ingressi di Milano, Taschen, Berlin 2017, pp.188-189
Pietro Ricca, Alessandra Testa, Eleonora Zorzi, Milano. Architettura e paesaggio 1920-2016, Supernova 2017, p.145
Il marmo, materiale moderno, in “Domus” n.282, 1953, pp.67-71
Gigi Gho', Considerazioni da un intimo dialogo in “Edilizia moderna”, n.51, 1953
Blocco uffici - abitazioni, in “Vitrum”, n.48, 1953
Piero Bottoni, Antologia di edifici moderni in Milano, Editoriale Domus, Milano 1954, pp. 74-77
Paolo von Nestler, Neues Bauen in Italien, Edizioni Callwey, Monaco di Baviera 1954
C. Bassi, F. Berlando, G. Boschetti (a cura di), Documenti di architettura, composizione e tecnica moderna: scale, Vallardi, Milano 1954
Carlo Perogalli, Atrii di case, Gorlich, Milano 1959
Agnoldomenico Pica (a cura di), Architettura moderna in Milano, Ariminum, Milano 1964
Angelo Bugatti, Luciano Crespi (a cura di), Sapienza, tecnica e architettura. Milano-Pavia 1950-1980, Alinea, Firenze 1997
Jolanda Ventura (a cura di), Gigi Gho': progetti e architetture 1950-1995, [s.e.], 1997, pp.8-21
Karl Kolbitz (a cura di), Entryways of Milan / Ingressi di Milano, Taschen, Berlin 2017, pp.188-189
Pietro Ricca, Alessandra Testa, Eleonora Zorzi, Milano. Architettura e paesaggio 1920-2016, Supernova 2017, p.145
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