From Diagnostics to Design Culture. Twenty Years After the Restoration of the Pirelli Skyscraper in Milan

The restoration of the Pirelli Skyscraper—necessitated after a notorious plane crash in 2002—became a key example of architectural intervention in modern architecture with heritage status. Even two decades after its completion, the process stands out for extraordinary research and analysis efforts—involving studying existing documentation, observing and measuring spaces, materials, and construction techniques. This ongoing investigation reaffirms that essentiality, as thought by Gio Ponti, remains a fundamental principle of architectural design until today. The intervention strategies of Corvino+Multari, accompanied by a technical and scientific team, have breathed life into Ponti’s masterpiece while stimulating a broader reflection on approaches to complex architectural monuments. Engaging critically with its architecture, the project positions itself between restoration and intervention, both philological in its approach and contemporary in spirit. The meticulous restoration of the curtain wall, fixtures, and mosaic tesserae exemplifies this.