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Office Building Montecatini II, Milano
Via Filippo Turati / Largo Guido Donegati
1947 - 1951
Fifteen years after the first office building for the Montecatini company, Gio Ponti had the opportunity, to design a second office building for the same client,
within a distance of only a few meters. This second office building rises on a trapezoid plot and is flanked by roads on two sides. These circumstances prompted Gio Ponti,
to comment on the relationship between architecture and the city. In "Amate l'architettura" he noted that the form and mass of new buildings would always be determined
by two coincidental circumstances: Shape of parcel and the building codes. In the light of such far-reaching conditions an architect in Italien cities could do nothing more than
to design the facade. He has no influence on the orientation of the building nor could he create an architectural work of art in a stricter sense.
Despite such limitations Gio Ponti succeeded with the second office building for Montecatini to realize a modern and extremely multifaceted building.
It offers different views on all sides and thus always provides new experiences. The view of the concave facade gives changing impressions. From the front,
the façade seems to be made entirely of glass, while viewed from the side with an angle, it appears as a surface of pure aluminum.
within a distance of only a few meters. This second office building rises on a trapezoid plot and is flanked by roads on two sides. These circumstances prompted Gio Ponti,
to comment on the relationship between architecture and the city. In "Amate l'architettura" he noted that the form and mass of new buildings would always be determined
by two coincidental circumstances: Shape of parcel and the building codes. In the light of such far-reaching conditions an architect in Italien cities could do nothing more than
to design the facade. He has no influence on the orientation of the building nor could he create an architectural work of art in a stricter sense.
Despite such limitations Gio Ponti succeeded with the second office building for Montecatini to realize a modern and extremely multifaceted building.
It offers different views on all sides and thus always provides new experiences. The view of the concave facade gives changing impressions. From the front,
the façade seems to be made entirely of glass, while viewed from the side with an angle, it appears as a surface of pure aluminum.