Known today as Pirellino or Torre Pirelli 39the ex Torre of municipal technical services It is a 90 -meter and 26 floors skyscraper located in the Centro Direzionale di Milano in via Giovanni Battista Pirelli 39, built in the 1960s. Over time, the building has received several design proposals that have traced its path to an architectural and functional redevelopment and modernization, also due to some urban variations that have followed each other over the years. In the 2019society Coima Buy the building via public auction for 194 million eurosstarting an ambitious redevelopment project, the Pirelli P39. In recent weeks, as reported by The postthe Prosecutor of Milan He opened an investigation on this plan. The investigators’ hypothesis is that this project, never started, is part of an alleged illegal system that would have involved manufacturers, officials and the mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala himself to obtain illegitimate building permits In order to create real estate speculations.
History and development of the building
The tower was carried out within the project for the New Directional Center of Milanpromoted by the Municipality from the 1940s, and was completed in 1963. The project was born from a Architecture competition banned in 1955open to all Italian architects. The complex consists of two distinct bodies:
- The main tower90 meters high, with 26 floors above groundintended for offices with a reduced influx of users.
- A bridge buildingwith 4 floors resting on a portico structure that climbs the road. This was designed to host offices open to the public, with a greater flow of people.
From the planimetric point of view, the tower presents itself with a form of elongated hexagonwhile the low building is rectangular It is very developed in length. The entire complex has a load -bearing skeleton consisting of a reinforced concrete structure. Over the decades, the building has undergone numerous interventions, including internal distribution changes, or simple interventions of mordinary/extraordinary anchoraimed at regulatory adaptation on safety and accessibility. Currently, Many of the plans of the tower are unused and emptywaiting for a refunctionalization.
The redevelopment project
In the 2019society Coima Buy the building via public auction for 194 million eurosstarting an ambitious redevelopment project, the Pirelli P39: the goal is to transform the complex following the current criteria of Innovation, sustainability and enhancement of urban spacewith an architectural concept in line with the growing tendency to verticalization of skyline Milanese. The project included three main interventions:
- Renovation of the existing tower, with the adaptation of interior spaces to modern offices, with a focus on Energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
- Transformation of the building in Ponte on via Melchiorre Gioia in a Cultural pole and urban greenhousewith an immersive and educational area dedicated to biodiversity, in continuity with the nearby Park of the Library of Trees.
- Construction of a new vertical residential tower, characterized by 1,700 m² of vegetation distributed along the facades. This building, capable of absorb 14 tons of Co₂ And produce 9 tons of oxygen per year, he would have reached a share of 65% of energy self -sufficiency.
The reviews of the project
With the entry into force of the New local government plan in 2020the starting urban conditions change, making it necessary to adapt the project through a variant. Following a dispute and negotiations with the authorities, in 2025 Coima announces one Review of the P39 project To streamline the bureaucracy and accelerate the redevelopment process. The main changes concern:
- The elimination of the urban greenhouse and of the New residential tower.
- The maintenance of the renovation of the existing building alonewho will retain his destination to offices.
This revision, while reducing the initial ambition, allows you to simplify the authorization process and to unlock the start of the redevelopment works.
