The Generali skyscraper was commissioned by Zaha Hadid's bureau back in 2004, when a large-scale competition was held for a project for a new development of the territory of the former Milan fair. The new CityLife district, which is scheduled for completion in 2020, includes 1,000 new apartments, offices for more than 11,000 workplaces, a variety of public spaces, including a 17-hectare park.
There are three towers in the center (the metro station named after them has already opened nearby): in addition to Hadids, their authors were Arata Isozaki (
his skyscraper Allianz is ready) and Daniel Libeskind. Zaha Hadid Architects' projects in CityLife also include a residential complex and a shopping center that forms the podium for the Generali Tower.
The 170-meter tower itself (44 floors) is located at the convergence point of three key Milanese axes, so both its trading base and the tiers above are "formed" by the action of centripetal forces. At the same time, the skyscraper with its reinforced concrete frame (it turned out to be more profitable than the steel one) gradually "turns" as the height increases, and the upper floors are ultimately oriented towards the city center and the church of the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery, more precisely, its eastern part built by Bramante.
The interiors will be ready this summer, and 3,900 employees of the Generali Group insurance company will move into the tower. The rooms will be flooded with sunlight, but they will be protected from excessive heat by blinds on a double high-efficiency façade with openings for natural ventilation. Active chilled beams with low energy consumption will also maintain the optimum temperature. The skyscraper claims to be LEED Platinum.
