The Intesa San Paolo banking group has inaugurated and commenced relocation of its offices in the skyscraper headquarters recently completed in Turin by Rizzani de Eccher to a design by architect Renzo Piano.
The building has 38 aboveground floors and is 166 m high, only slightly lower than the Mole Antonelliana, and boasts a considerable number of state-of-the-art elements in terms of both technology and space utilisation.
The 1,600 m2 of photovoltaic panels installed on the south facade, the use of thermal energy from the groundwater by means of a heat pump and the automated management of the “double skin” on the east and west facades (a system which can both capture and dissipate solar heat) allow the building’s energy management to be optimised.
As regards utilisation of the space, the 27 central floors will accommodate the administrative offices of the Intesa Sanpaolo banking group, where 2,000 people will work, in addition to large public spaces at the base and summit.
The huge open space at the base, resulting from the - unprecedented - decision to support the 37 upper storeys on 6 steel perimeter “mega-columns”, houses a multipurpose hall (concerts, conferences, …) with 364 seats.
The top of the skyscraper, which can be accessed by lift in 30 seconds, houses a restaurant and a panoramic cafeteria, as well as a bioclimatic greenhouse with tall trees.
The construction project employed around 500 technicians and workmen for 5 years in 3-shift operation and allowed Turin Polytechnic to organise a Master’s degree for 35 university students, focusing on the design and construction of high-rise buildings.