Milan’s Newest Skyscraper Rises

MILAN’S newest skyscraper, the 175 metre tall Libeskind Tower - also known as Il Curvo (which means "the Curved One") - is slowly rising on the city’s skyline.

The tower is one of the three skyscrapers, two of which are already complete, at the centre of a new district called CityLife.

The 36.6 hectare site was formerly occupied by the Milan's extensive fairgrounds and became available for redevelopment when a new exhibition and convention area was built on the city's outskirts.

Above: Libeskind Tower is one of the last components of the new CityLife neighbourhood in Milan (image courtesy of CityLife).

CityLife has been master-planned by Japanese studio Arata Isozaki and Associates, Zaha Hadid Architects and Studio Daniel Libeskind and includes 1,300 luxury apartments designed by Hadid and Libeskind, a shopping mall, and three skyscrapers, each designed by one of the three firms. 

Above and Below: Milan's 36.6 hectare fairgrounds and the new masterplan which aims to regenerate the area, with the three towers and a new metro station in the middle (images courtesy of CityLife).

These include the 209 metre (686 feet) tall Allianz Tower, designed by Isozaki and completed in 2015, which now houses the Italian headquarters of German insurer Allianz and the Generali Tower, a 185 metre (607 feet) tall headquarters for the Generali insurance group designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and completed in 2017.

Above: A render showing CityLife's three skyscrapers with a plaza and a shopping mall in between (image courtesy of CityLife).

The Libeskind-designed skyscraper began construction in 2016 and will complete in 2019. It will be connected to the shopping mall on ground level as well as Milan’s new metro line, which opened in 2015.

The practice is no stranger to urban planning: Studio Libeskind has previously lead the reconstruction of New York's Ground Zero.