Restored colorful beacon towers above Milan

by Erik Missio | February 5, 2016 3:54 pm

[1]

The Torre Arcobaleno is once again a colorful beacon in Milan’s cityscape.

A public works water reservoir when it was built in 1964, the tower was first renovated in 1990 ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament, which was held in Italy that year. When completed, the project had turned a downtrodden structure into a highly recognizable landmark, a symbol of the Lombardy capital’s color and creativity.

However, since then, fine dust, smog, and iron have degraded the glazed tiles, while graffiti has defaced them at the tower’s base. To prepare the city to welcome the world at Expo 2015, plans were introduced to help the tower regain its original brightness.

Restoration of the Torre Arcobaleno—known in English as Rainbow Tower—required removing the tiles that had become detached. Next came a thorough cleaning of its 1000-m² (10,764-sf) surface with a concentrated acid de-scaler ideal for vertical walls due to its viscous consistency.

Areas of the tower that appeared to be crumbling were removed, as was graffiti at its base. To protect the new tile surface, workers applied anti-graffiti paint. To better weatherproof the structure, they covered the tower’s roof with a double waterproofing sheathing. The final step in the restoration was to paint its 24 concrete ribs, which are 35 m (115 ft) high.

[2]

All told, more than 100,000 colored ceramic tiles were restored on the tower over the course of 71 days.

Located at Milan’s Porta Garibaldi railway station, the tower is part of the Wonderline project by Original Designers 6R5 Network—an initiative that brings together the world of art and architecture with the theme of colour. According to the design team, the tower’s hues express the desire to inhabit the planet intelligently, creating a harmony between technology, nature, innovation, and tradition.

The Garibaldi zone of the nearby Piazza Gae Aulenti is the centre of the city’s business, fashion, and modern architecture scenes. Now featuring futuristic skyscrapers, the zone has adopted the Torre Arcobaleno as its ‘Colorful Ceramic Totem,’ a reminder of Italy’s master potters.

As it was in 1990, the project was organized by the architecture division of the Milan firm Original Designers 6R5 Network, represented by Francesco Roggero, Albino Pozzi, Rita Alfano Roggero, and Kiyoto Ishimoto.

Source URL: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/restored-colorful-beacon-towers-above-milan/

---