The forms of reinforced concrete construction: the Velasca Tower, Milan, 1950-1958

The Velasca Tower (Milano 1950-1958) experiments the use of reinforced concrete in one of the very first tower buildings ever erected in Italy. The issue the designers had to address was the relationship between technical and structural innovation concerning the use of this quite flexible and relatively recent material, as well as its expressive potential. The tower’s design was developed by the BBPR firm (Banfi, Belgiojoso, Peressutti, Rogers), which advocated a rational and modern approach that relied on the continuity with history and the relationship with the context as architecture’s key values, and by Arturo Danusso, the father of Italian structural engineering. Their partnership and affinity of intent would achieve a particularly advantageous relationship between structural research and architectural expression. As a result of such association, the new tower would become an icon as the most recognizable symbol of the city of Milan.