Torre, the 60-metre high tower of Fondazione Prada’s arts compound in Milan, has been completed and opened to the press today.
Torre is the third new structure OMA added to the former gin distillery on the southern edge of Milan, transforming the 19,000 m² industrial campus into a venue for art display and cultural events.
The design of Torre is devoted to the development of a new typology for the exhibition of art. The white concrete tower has nine levels, each with different spatial parameters, due to variations in plan dimensions, height and orientation, and with a facade that alternates between glass and concrete surfaces.
The height of the ceiling cumulatively increases with each floor from the bottom to the top of the tower.
Six of the nine levels are exhibition spaces, while the remaining three floors host a restaurant and other visitors’ facilities. A 160m² panoramic terrace completes the structure offering a spectacular view of the city.
Chris van Duijn: “With the completion of ‘Torre’, the only vertical gallery on the compound, Fondazione Prada can finally reveal its presence to the center of Milan, emphasizing the strong relation between Prada and the city of Milan.”
Rem Koolhaas: “To extend the typologies offered by the Fondazione, a series of systematic variations is applied: each next floor is taller than the previous one, rectangular plans alternate with wedge shapes, the orientation of the rooms alternates between panoramic city views to the North, or narrower views in opposite directions, East and West.”
Earlier additions to the industrial complex were Podium, an exhibition pavilion at the center of the compound, consisting of a translucent gallery space on the ground floor and a second gallery space clad in aluminum foam on top
And the other Cinema, a multimedia auditorium with large bi-fold doors, which can be used in multiple spatial configurations in combination with the outdoor courtyard.
Together, the renovated structures and the new buildings create a rich and spatially diverse setting for the visual and performing arts in Milan. Source by OMA.
- Location: Milan, Italy
- Architect: OMA
- Partner in Charge: Rem Koolhaas, Chris van Duijn
- Project leader: Federico Pompignoli
- Schematic Design: Alexander Reichert, Sam Aitkenhead, Doug Allard, Andrea Bertassi, Aleksandr Bierig, Eva Dietrich, Paul-Emmanuel Lambert, Jonah Gamblin, Joshua Beck, Takuya Hosokai, Stephen Hodgson, Jan Kroman, Jedidiah Lau, Francesco Marullo, Vincent McIlduff, Alexander Menke, Aoibheann Ni Mhearain, Sophie van Noten, Jan Pawlik, Rocio Paz Chavez, Christopher Parlato, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Dirk Peters, Andrea Sollazzo, Michaela Tonus, Jussi Vuori, Luca Vigliero, Mei-Lun Xue
- Design Development: Anna Dzierzon, Jonah Gamblin, Ross Harrison, Hans Hammink, Matthew Jull, Taiga Koponen, Vincent Konate, Andres Mendoza, Susanan Mondejar, Vincent McIlduff, Federico Pompignoli, Sasha Smolin, Michaela Tonus
- Construction documentation: Katarina Barunica, Marco Cimenti, Cecilia Del Pozo Rios, Anita Ernodi, Felix Fassbinder, Peter Feldmann, Siliang Fu, Romina Grillo, Jonah Gamblin, Clive Hennessey, Taiga Koponen, Roy Lin, Debora Mateo, Vincent Mc Ilduff, Andres Mendoza, Federico Pompignoli, Arminas Sadzevicius, Magdalena Stanescu, Lingxiao Zhang
- Construction Administration: Mariacristina Agnello, Katarina Barunica, Emilio Boiardi, Matteo Budel, Marco Cimenti, Chris van Duijn, Anita Ernődi, Felix Fassbinder, Peter Feldmann, Siliang Fu, Jonah Gamblin, Andrea Giovenzana, Romina Grillo, Clive Hennessey, Marianna Katenko,Taiga Koponen, Nicolas Lee, Roy Lin, Débora Mateo, Vincent McIlduff, Andres Mendoza, Enzo Nercolini, Pawel Panfiluk, Caterina Pedò, Marton Pinter, Cecilia del Pozo, Victor Pricop, Arminas Sadzevicius, Magdalena Stanescu, Davide Troiani, Michele Zambetti, Lingxiao Zhang
- Local Architects: Atelier Verticale
- Structural Engineer: Favero&Milan
- MEP Engineer: Favero & Milan, Prisma Engineering
- Fire Engineer: GAE Engineering
- Client: Fondazione Prada
- Program: Total public area: 12,300 m2; total private area: 6,600 m2; total built area: 18,900 m2
- Year: 2018
- Photographs: Jacopo Milanesi, Bas Princen, Courtesy Fondazione Prada and OMA
