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Generali Tower and 520 West 28th named winners of THE PLAN Awards 2019

Generali Tower in Milan and 520 West 28th in New York named winners of THE PLAN Awards 2019, established to promote discourse and debate on global architecture and urbanism.

Generali Tower is within CityLife, the largest new civic space and public park in Milan since Parco Sempione opened 130 years ago.

Aligned at ground level with three of the city’s primary axes that converge within CityLife, the 170m Generali Tower connects with its surrounding public piazzas and park; the curvilinear geometries of its podium defined by the perceived centripetal forces generated from the staggered intersection of these three city axes.

This vortex of centripetal forces at ground level is transferred vertically through the tower by realigning successive rhomboid-shaped floor plates to twist the tower about its vertical axis. This helical twist reduces incrementally with the height of each floor above street level, giving all floors a fractionally different relationship to the floors above and below.

As the tower rises offering broader views across Milan, the twist orientates the tower's higher floors to the primary southeast axis leading to Bramante’s 15th Century tribune of Santa Maria della Grazie. 
The tower houses up to 3,900 employees to meet Generali’s continued growth as one of the world’s largest financial institutions.

With a double façade system, Generali Tower’s high standards of energy efficiency have received LEED Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council.

There is a powerful urban dynamic between the streets of New York and the High Line, a layered civic realm that has developed over generations and in many iterations. 520 W 28th conveys this contextual relationship, applying new ideas and concepts to create the latest evolution of the site’s rich history.

The split levels of the design define varied living spaces and echo the multiple layers of civic space on 28th Street and the High Line.

These split levels are expressed within the interlocking chevrons of 520 West 28th’s hand-crafted steel façade which carries the spirit of Chelsea’s industrial past; its detailed workmanship continues the venerable tradition within New York’s historic architecture of enhancing the public realm.

Designed and constructed with a practiced understanding of material qualities and manufacturing techniques, the steel façade conveys the attention to detail evident throughout 520 West 28th—brushed and tinted by hand to resonate with the adjacent structures of the High Line and its New York City neighbourhood.

Within an established community of over 350 art galleries that has seen the High Line’s transformation from abandoned freight rail line to public park, 520 West 28th embodies a commitment to uphold the distinctive character of its neighbourhood; creating a building with its own architectural presence, yet very much of its surroundings.
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The Plan Award 2019 results ‘Housing’ category

The Plan Award 2019 results ‘Mixed Use’ category

Photo of the Generali Tower by Hufton + Crow