UniCredit Tower, Postmodern skyscraper in Porta Nuova district, Milan, Italy.
UniCredit Tower is a glass-and-steel skyscraper in Milan's Porta Nuova district, the tallest building in Italy at 231 m to the tip of its spire. Its blue-green curtain wall carries the "UniCredit" inscription and a small red square logo high on the left facade. The tower is the first of three buildings by architect César Pelli arranged in a semicircle around Piazza Gae Aulenti: 31 floors, 129.2 m to the last occupied floor, 35,300 m². The 80.5 m perforated-steel spire rises eccentrically from the right-hand top corner.
Designed by César Pelli, the tower reached its full height on 15 October 2011, when the 80.5-metre spire was lifted into place by helicopter before onlookers. It was inaugurated on 11 February 2014 by UniCredit executives, with then Prime Minister Enrico Letta present. In 2015 the Qatar sovereign fund acquired the property; COIMA had taken over Hines's shares in the managing company that year.
The tower defines modern Milan's character, showing how the city transformed an old industrial area into a thriving business district. The spaces around it have become a gathering point where people meet, work, and shop throughout the day.
The tower stands beside Milano Porta Garibaldi station, served by metro line M5 stops Isola and Porta Garibaldi FS, and overlooks the pedestrian Piazza Gae Aulenti, raised about six metres above street level. The complex's commercial space occupies the two lower levels. The spire's LED colours are best seen after dark from the square.
The 80.5-metre spire was assembled piece by piece by a powerful helicopter and specialist workers on 15 October 2011, watched by crowds gathered across Milan. Its perforated steel construction was chosen to prevent ice forming, and its off-centre position required extensive studies of wind load.
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