3910
Global
Height rank

Palazzo Lombardia

Milan
Height 161.3 m / 529 ft
Floors 40
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Palazzo Lombardia

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

Regione Lombardia Headquarters

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed, 2011

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Italy

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Milan

Postal Code

20124

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

government

Structural Material
Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered a “steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Reinforced Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars.

Precast Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning system are constructed from steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. steel, concrete, timber), one on top of the other. For example, a steel/concrete indicates a steel structural system located on top of a concrete structural system, with the opposite true of concrete/steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used in a composite building’s core, columns, and floor spanning separately.

concrete

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

161.3 m / 529 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
163.5 m / 536 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
145.9 m / 479 ft
Observatory
145.9 m / 479 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

40

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

3

# of Parking Spaces
Number of Parking Spaces refers to the total number of car parking spaces contained within a particular building.

980

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

36

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

8 m/s

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

195,000 m² / 2,098,963 ft²

Rankings
#
3910
Tallest in the World
#
145
Tallest in Europe
#
4
Tallest in Milan
#
7
Tallest Government Building in the World
#
1
Tallest Government Building in Europe
#
1
Tallest Government Building in Italy
#
1
Tallest Government Building in Milan
#
2127
Tallest Concrete Building in the World
#
106
Tallest Concrete Building in Europe
#
4
Tallest Concrete Building in Italy
#
4
Tallest Concrete Building in Milan
Construction Schedule
2004

Proposed

2006

Construction Start

2011

Completed

Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Sealants
Owner
Regione Lombardia
Developer
Infrastrutture Lombarde
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Project Manager

The CTBUH lists a project manager when a specific firm has been commissioned to oversee this aspect of a tall building’s design/construction. When the project management efforts are handled by the developer, main contract, or architect, this field will be omitted.

Infrastrutture Lombarde
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.

Consorzio Torre
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Elevator
Sematic S.r.l.
Paint/Coating
AkzoNobel
Sealants

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building Europe 2012 Winner

2012 CTBUH Awards

CTBUH Initiatives

Palazzo Lombardia Chosen as Featured Building

15 December 2012 - Featured Building

Doha Tower Named Best Tall Building Worldwide

19 October 2012 - Awards

Videos

07 November 2013 | Milan

Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award: A Lifetime's Work

Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Awardee Henry Cobb's career is remarkable because of his ethical and forward-thinking approach to the design of tall buildings and...

Research

26 October 2015

Recent Developments in Tall Buildings in Italy

Franco Mola, Laura Maria Pellegrini, Giuseppe Galassi & Elena Mola, ECSDSconocchia

Major designs by internationally renowned architects, are currently under construction in Italy in the cities of Milan and Turin. In the decade 2005-2015, a dramatic...

About Palazzo Lombardia

According to Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Palazzo Lombardia’s distinctive form is composed of sinuous interweaving strands of linear office space, seven to nine stories in height; recalling the mountains, valleys, and rivers of Lombardy. This assemblage of gently curved glass-walled workplaces, readily adaptable to changing functional requirements, allows the building to integrate with its urban context while creating unique landscaped public spaces that are open and inviting to all.

In 2004, the Lombardy Regional Government launched an international competition to design what would be the first government building constructed in Milan in half a millennium. The new building had to not only house administrative and support functions but also fulfill several ancillary goals: create efficient and flexible office space easily accessible to the public; provide outdoor public gathering spaces to connect with cultural amenities and enliven the neighborhood; and incorporate sustainable building practices as a modern precedent for new development in Milan.

The curving, glazed forms of the new building podium integrate effortlessly with the existing buildings and spaces surrounding it. The 14-meter width of these strands of flexible office space allows for maximum daylight penetration, and alternately allows the formation of leaf-shaped voids between them. At the core of the complex in one such void is a large, open-air plaza, the Piazza Città di Lombardia, which is covered with a transparent ETFE canopy (a lightweight plastic alternative to glass) and is completely open to the public. This expansive space, whose curved roof recalls Milan’s Galleria, connects directly to two adjacent outdoor green spaces. At ground level, the podium strands are occupied by shops, restaurants, cafés, and cultural facilities to further draw users in and promote a sense of community within the complex.

Owing to their modest scale, the interweaving strands relate well to adjoining residential neighborhoods while still allowing a slender tower, shaped by the intersection of two curved fragments, to celebrate the new seat of government on the skyline of Milan. Reaching 161 meters, the tower contributes an emblematic presence on the skyline complementary to the neighboring Pirelli Tower (1958), which had been the tallest building in Milan until the completion of the Palazzo.

Whereas the form of Gio Ponti’s great work is closed, singular, and convex, the Palazzo Lombardia tower engages it in conversation with a form that is open, dual, and concave. While the former meets the ground as a solid shaft, the latter virtually dissolves into curving strands of building and the plazas they enclose. The lively formal dialogue between the two structures both evokes and enriches their intimate functional relationship: the Pirelli Tower houses the existing headquarters of the Lombardy Regional Government and will continue to serve as its institutional base, while Palazzo Lombardia will serve as its administrative seat.

At the top of the new tower, a roofed belvedere is adjoined by an open terrace at the level below. This amenity has an important symbolic meaning: just as the piazza at ground level, created for the benefit of the citizens of the Lombardy Region, provides the setting for the Regional Government’s offices, so the public space above places the people whom the complex serves at its peak.

The façade is composed of two complementary systems. Local stone, applied to the end walls facing the streets, links the complex to the historic urban fabric of Milan, while the curvilinear glass curtain wall symbolizes the transparency of the institution housed within.

Palazzo Lombardia makes use of several sustainable strategies. One of the main features of the building is the integration of an active climate wall assembly. The one-meter-deep wall at the perimeter of the building creates a thermal buffer zone to minimize heating and cooling loads. Return air is pulled through the cavity of the wall to temper the climate zone and further improve its performance. Within the wall are vertical louvers of perforated aluminum that automatically rotate in response to sun angles. This system minimizes direct solar gain while promoting daylighting to reduce artificial lighting needs. The perforation of the louvers ensures the entry of daylight at all times, regardless of the configuration.

The heating and cooling energy supplied to the building is through a geothermal heat pump system connected to an underground river. Also contributing to the energy supply are photovoltaic panels laminated into the south façade of the tower. The integration of the building’s environmental systems in tandem with passive systems and its architectural expression creates an efficient yet elegant high-rise building.

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building Europe 2012 Winner

2012 CTBUH Awards

07 November 2013 | Milan

Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award: A Lifetime's Work

Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Awardee Henry Cobb's career is remarkable because of his ethical and forward-thinking approach to the design of tall buildings and...

18 October 2012 | Milan

Best Tall Building Europe: Palazzo Lombardia: Urban Integration

Palazzo Lombardia, turns a government office complex into a new public space for Milan. The project, anchored by a 160-meter-tall tower, offers a variety of...

18 October 2012 | Milan

CTBUH 11th Annual Awards Dinner

The 11th Annual Awards Ceremony & Dinner was held in Mies van der Rohe's iconic Crown Hall, on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Chicago....

18 October 2012 | Milan

Fazlur Kahn Lifetime Achievement Medal: A Lifetime’s Engineering Collaboration

The partnership between Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti has provided the backbone for many of the most dramatic and innovative tall buildings around the world....

18 October 2012 | Milan

Interview: Palazzo Lombardia

In his interview from the 2012 Awards Symposium, Henry Cobb discusses the future of tall buildings and how they will impact our cities and our...

26 October 2015

Recent Developments in Tall Buildings in Italy

Franco Mola, Laura Maria Pellegrini, Giuseppe Galassi & Elena Mola, ECSDSconocchia

Major designs by internationally renowned architects, are currently under construction in Italy in the cities of Milan and Turin. In the decade 2005-2015, a dramatic...

19 September 2012

Life Cycle Energy Analysis of Tall Buildings: Design Principles

Dario Trabucco, IUAV University of Venice

The goal of the paper is the identification of the most suitable strategies to reduce the energy consumption of a tall building from a life-cycle...

15 December 2012

Palazzo Lombardia Chosen as Featured Building

The Palazzo Lombardia is a confident and controlled execution of what is actually an exuberant plan, and it does so while quietly integrating sustainable strategies.

19 October 2012

Doha Tower Named Best Tall Building Worldwide

Doha Tower was recognized as the overall "Best Tall Building Worldwide" and "Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa" in the 2012 CTBUH Awards Program.