‘Lighthouse’ office tower will be new headquarters for A2A in Milan

A 470-foot-tall “lighthouse” office tower will be the new Milan headquarters of Italian multi-utility company A2A. Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel (ACPV) designed the project.

The tower, dubbed Torre Faro (which means lighthouse tower in Italian), reimagines the company’s office spaces to adapt to people’s ever-changing needs at work while reviving the local urban fabric with 68,000 sf of green spaces. The project will connect Milan’s historic center and periphery by reactivating a north-south axis that runs from the city center through Via Crema and Piazza Trento all the way to ACPV’s Symbiosis business district.

“The A2A Headquarters project creates a new vertical village for the firm’s operations. It is designed for people to enjoy working in the company of their colleagues and to encourage spontaneous professional and personal interactions,” said Antonio Citterio, Architect and Co-Founder of ACPV, in a release.

The new tower will be able to accommodate 1,500 people across flexible spaces and a green courtyard that will be shared with the Museum of Energy, which is located inside the existing buildings that will be revitalized with the project.

Sky Garden 200 feet up will highlight the Torre Faro tower

Torre Faro will be divided in the middle into two sets of office floors framed by the spacious entrance hall on the ground floor, the Sky Garden in the middle, and the Belvedere on top. The Sky Garden will exist 200 feet up the tower while the Belvedere sits 410 feet high. Both will provide panoramic views of Milan.

Belvedere_Credits ACPV Antonio CItterio Patricia Viel — Renderings courtesy ACPV

A large atrium and a suspended mezzanine creates a welcoming environment that is enhanced by the multifunctional office spaces located not he floors above. Co-working lounges and informal meeting rooms can be reconfigured for multiple uses.

Beyond the A2A Headquarters, the urban regeneration project extends from the neighboring Piazza Trento to the closest metro station through Via Crema. Also included are enlarged pedestrian areas, two new squares, additional green areas, and bicycle paths.

The project is slated for completion in 2024.

Boyd R. Zoccola is Chair and Chief Elected Officer of BOMA International. A BOMA member since 1994, he has served on the Executive, Finance, Investment, and Medical/Healthcare Facilities Committees. An Indiana Real Estate Principal Broker and a board member of the Real Estate Round Table, he is Executive Vice President of Hokanson Companies, Inc., of Indianapolis, and has been involved in the development of $600 million worth of real estate. On a volunteer basis, Zoccola was president of Horizon House and a board member of Girls, Inc. He holds a BA in biology from Indiana University.