GeneraliTower, City-LifeMilan
ARCHITECT: Zaha Hadid Architects
YEAR: 2002-2018
LOCATION: MILANO, ITALY name: Lujain Ibrahim Atry
ID: 022171245
City-LifeMilan
Introduction
CityLife Milano is a mixed-use development at the Fiera Milano trade fair grounds that includes residential and commercial spaces. Over half of the project will be covered by 168,000 square meters of landscaped parks for pedestrians and cyclists. The development's centerpiece will be Piazza delle Tre Torri, which will feature three towers, including one designed by architect Zaha Hadid. Hadid's tower will be 170 meters tall and twisting in design.
City-LifeMilan
Concept
The CityLife Milano project features a combination of urban functions, both public and private, making it a bustling destination for work, leisure, and access to services. The project aims to propose new models and ways to live in the city. One of its notable features is its adherence to the principles of natural urban living in the area, with streets, plazas, and paths, while parking is completely buried.
Spaces
The CityLife Milano development consists of a large city park surrounded by five residential areas. At the center of the park are three towers, designed primarily for commercial and tertiary functions, but also featuring cultural and leisure centers such as the Palace of Science, Museum of Design, and service center.
City-LifeMilan
Public Park
The CityLife Milano project centers around a large public park that serves as the third dimension in the city after Sempione Park and the Public Gardens. The park includes areas for walking, cycling, and children's play, and comprises 50% green space and 50% of the intervention area. The park is designed to integrate smoothly with pedestrian and bicycle paths and the surrounding neighborhoods.
The green spaces are planned to prioritize environmental sustainability while maintaining balance with the context of the landscape ecology. The urban green system improves the city's environment and provides an opportunity to establish an effective ecological network.
City-LifeMilan
Towers
The three towers located in the center of the CityLife Milano project serve as commercial spaces, contributing to the redesign of the city's skyline. These buildings are characterized by their use of high technology and innovative materials. Their facades feature high-tech systems for energy optimization, including cable channels for data transmission, facilities, and energy-saving lighting solutions to minimize maintenance requirements.
Tower A
The "Endless Tower," a 210meter-high skyscraper designed by Arata Isozaki, will be the tallest building in Milan. The tower's name is a reference to a predecessor of conceptual art created by Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi over 30 years. Brancusi's tower featured a repeating module that extended vertically, creating a seamless and infinite continuity, expressing a desire for absolute verticality.
City-LifeMilan
Tower B
The Generali Tower, designed by Zaha Hadid as part of the CityLife Milano project, is a twisted and irregular parallelepiped structure that gradually turns from one level to another as it rises up to 170 meters. The tower's plant type varies in orientation to provide a sensation of movement within the building's structure.
Tower C
The "Emerald Green" building in the CityLife Milano project was designed by Daniel Libeskind. The building features a complex structure that distinguishes between glass and light, emphasizing the interplay between form and function. The building's design emphasizes the content and the container, allowing the structure to stand out as a unique and visually striking element within the project.
GeneraliTower, City-LifeMilan
Introduction: Generali Tower is a striking skyscraper located in the City Life district of Milan, Italy. Completed in 2017, the tower rises to a height of 170 meters and features a distinctive curved shape, with a façade made of glass and steel. The building provides office space for a variety of companies and features sustainable design elements such as a green roof, rainwater harvesting, and a photovoltaic system. The tower is part of the larger City Life development, which includes residential, retail, and cultural spaces. With its innovative design and prominent location, the Generali Tower has become a notable landmark in Milan
Location: Generali Tower is located within the CityLife master plan, a redevelopment project of the disused trade fair grounds in Milan, Italy.
Architect: The Generali Tower was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, which implemented a parametric approach and advanced tools to simulate, analyze, and detail the tower's complex structural design.
GeneraliTower, City-LifeMilan
Concept: The tower's design is characterized by its twisting shape, which is achieved by realigning successive diamond-shaped floor slabs to twist the tower around its vertical axis. The tower's shape is inspired by the perceived gravitational forces generated by the stepped intersection of three city axes at the base of the tower.
Twisting tower with a futuristic mood that communicates with surrounding plazas and park and aligns with three of the city's major axes. The tower's height provides wider views across Milan, and its dual façade of sun blocking louvers surrounded by glass ensures excellent energy performance, contributing to Generali Tower's LEED "Platinum" certification by the US Green Building Council The tower also maximizes usable office space within its cohesive formal envelope.
GeneraliTower, City-LifeMilan
Architecture features
• The tower is 170 meters tall and has 44 stores.
• The tower's twisted shape is achieved by realigning successive diamond-shaped floor slabs around its vertical axis.
• The tower's curved geometries at the base are defined by the perceived gravitational forces generated by the stepped intersection of three city axes.
• The tower's dual façade of sun blocking louvers surrounded by glass provides highly effective environmental control to each floor and ensures excellent energy performance.
• The tower's inclined perimeter columns follow its sinuous geometry and maximize usable office space within the building's cohesive formal envelope.
• The tower is aligned at ground level with three of the city's major axes converging within CityLife, communicating with its surrounding plazas and park.
• The tower provides wider views across Milan, directing the upper floors of the tower to the primary southeast axis leading to the 15th-century pulpit of Santa Maria della Grazie and beyond to the city center.
• The tower's structural design is based on a reinforced concrete structure, chosen for its increased benefit/cost ratio.
• The tower's final stage of design was implemented in BIM, in full coordination with other design disciplines.
• Parametric tools were used to create the whole structural design from concept to final construction documentation.
• The structural system was imagined and implemented based on the premise that "simplicity is complexity resolved "
GeneraliTower, City-LifeMilan
Relation with contemporary architecture:
The Generali Tower is an example of contemporary architecture that uses advanced tools and a parametric approach to achieve a complex, efficient, and sustainable design. Its twisted shape and use of a reinforced concrete structure demonstrate the integration of aesthetics and functionality, as well as a response to the challenges of urban redevelopment and sustainability.
IT is a contemporary architectural landmark with a futuristic mood that excels in international standards of efficiency while respecting local building codes. The tower's design, which utilizes advanced structural simulations and parametric tools, reflects a growing trend in contemporary architecture towards more complex and innovative forms.
References
Websites:
• Generali Tower – Zaha Hadid Architects (zahahadid.com)
• Generali Tower / Zaha Hadid Architects | ArchDaily
• Zaha Hadid Architects - Generali Tower+CityLife Residences, Milan | Inexhibit
• CityLife (Milan) – Wikipedia
• BIG reveals visuals of gateway building for Milan's CityLife district (dezeen.com)
• Generali Tower – ARQA
• Project CityLife - Data, Photos & PlansWikiArquitectura
