The Unicredit Tower, otherwise known as the Hines-Cesar Pelli Tower or the Garibaldi Tower (which may be easier to remember) has just been officially opened in Milan. The new Headquarters of the banking Group, at 231 meters high, is the tallest building in Italy.
The building is part of a three-tower complex in the 'Porta Nuova Project', near Corso Como and the Garibaldi station. It was designed by Argentinian architect Cesar Pelli and constructed by the Hines Group who, after purchasing a brownfield area of more than 290,000 sq m in 2006, had promoted a maxi-operation of urban transformation.
The new building, made entirely of glass and iron, which, in March 2013, will host 4,000 Unicredit employees, overlooks the circular plaza opened a week ago and dedicated to the architect Gae Aulenti, who died recently.
Cesar Pelli's three buildings in Porta Nuova Garibaldi hold another record: they are the first Italian pilot project to have obtained Leed Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council thanks to:
- 22.5 % energy savings
- 37.3 % reduction in the use of potable water in buildings
- 100% reuse of rainwater
- 51% reduction of water for irrigation
- 93% recycling of construction waste
- 20.5% of material from recycling used in constructions
- 41% of building materials sourced locally.
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