Torre – Fondazione Prada

Milan, Italy

Photo © OMA, photo by Jacopo Milanesi

Photo © Bas Princen, courtesy of Fondazione Prada

Photo © OMA, photo by Jacopo Milanesi

Photo © Bas Princen, courtesy of Fondazione Prada

Photo © OMA, photo by Jacopo Milanesi

Photo © Bas Princen, courtesy of Fondazione Prada

Architects: OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

Location: Milan, Italy
Year: 2018
Client: Fondazione Prada
Team: Alexander Reichert, Sam Aitkenhead, Doug Allard, Andrea Bertassi, Aleksandr Bierig, Eva Dietrich, Paul-Emmanuel Lambert, Jonah Gamblin, Joshua Beck, Takuya Hosokai, Stephen Hodgson, Jan Kroman, Jedidiah Lau, Francesco Marullo, Vincent McIlduff, Alexander Menke, Aoibheann Ni Mhearain, Sophie van Noten, Jan Pawlik, Rocio Paz Chavez, Christopher Parlato, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Dirk Peters, Andrea Sollazzo, Michaela Tonus, Jussi Vuori, Luca Vigliero, Mei-Lun Xue, Anna Dzierzon, Ross Harrison, Hans Hammink, Matthew Jull, Taiga Koponen, Vincent Konate, Andres Mendoza, Susanan Mondejar, Federico Pompignoli, Sasha Smolin, Michaela Tonus, Katarina Barunica, Marco Cimenti, Cecilia Del Pozo Rios, Anita Ernodi, Felix Fassbinder, Peter Feldmann, Siliang Fu, Romina Grillo, Clive Hennessey, Roy Lin, Debora Mateo, Vincent Mc Ilduff, Arminas Sadzevicius, Magdalena Stanescu, Lingxiao Zhang, Mariacristina Agnello, Emilio Boiardi, Matteo Budel, Chris van Duijn, Anita Ernődi, Andrea Giovenzana, Marianna Katenko, Nicolas Lee, Débora Mateo, Enzo Nercolini, Pawel Panfiluk, Caterina Pedò, Marton Pinter, Cecilia del Pozo, Victor Pricop, Davide Troiani, Michele Zambetti, Lingxiao Zhang
Partner in Charge: Rem Koolhaas, Chris van Duijn
Project leader: Federico Pompignoli
Local Architects: Atelier Verticale
Structural Engineer: Favero&Milan
MEP Engineer: Favero & Milan, Prisma Engineering
Fire Engineer: GAE Engineering

Statement by Rem Koolhaas:

Torre is the final section of a collection of different exhibition conditions that together define Fondazione Prada.

Its rectangular plan is constructed on a wedge-shaped site, on the North-West corner of the Fondazione; the tower consists of alternating blocks of wedge-shaped-plans and rectangular floors that are cantilevered over Milan’s public space.

At the rear, a diagonal structure emerging from the vastness of the Deposito pulls the tower back. To extend the typologies offered by the Fondazione, a series of systematic variations is applied: each next floor is taller than the previous one, rectangular plans alternate with wedge shapes, the orientation of the rooms alternates between panoramic city views to the North, or narrower views in opposite directions, East and West.

Together these variations produce a radical diversity within a simple volume – so that the interaction between the spaces and specific events or works of art offer an endless variety of conditions...

At the base of the tower, a second entrance offers direct access to the tower, its restaurant and roof terrace, the experimental performance space of the Deposito, and to the other parts of the Fondazione.

The staircase is the one element unifying all irregularities – its complexity lifts it beyond the typical pragmatic element, the staircase has become a highly charged architectural element.