“Architecture makes global changes visible”

Pirelli, a century and a half of industrial architecture Learn about the partnerships between Pirelli and the great names in international architecture, discover the places where the company took shape over the course of its 150-year history, and find out how the design of workplaces has changed over the past hundred years. Sections of the course 1. The Pirelli Tower: the still extraordinarily modern masterpiece of the architect Gio Ponti opened a new chapter in the history of architecture, in Italy and around the world. 62 years and still going strong. Suggestions will be given at the end of the meeting on how to organise the practical activities that the students will be able to carry out on their own, in groups. 2. Pirelli and the city of Milan: the company headquarters in the Bicocca district, with the fifteenth-century residence of the Arcimboldi family, the Pirelli Foundation building and the cooling tower at the centre of the transformation of the area to a design by the architect Vittorio Gregotti. And the new factory in Bollate, an advanced centre just outside Milan for the production of top-of-the-range bicycle tyres. 3. The Industrial and Technological Centre in Settimo Torinese: the involvement of the architect Renzo Piano in the design of the “Spina” section for services and offices makes this factory one of the company’s most technologically advanced, and a perfect expression of the concept of the “beautiful factory”. 4. The students will show their works, before final considerations and the end of the course. Description of the practical activity The students will be divided into groups and asked to design a new headquarters for Pirelli, bearing in mind both the needs of the workers and modern sustainability criteria, thus creating an ideal workplace for the future. The course will consist of three or four encounters and may be carried out entirely online or it may include a visit to the Pirelli Foundation, to be agreed upon subject to availability.