Matteo Thun & Partners has completed the torre velasca interiors, comprising 72 residences inside Milan‘s Torre Velasca, the postwar skyscraper designed by the Italian architecture studio BBPR. The apartments and suites occupy floors 19 through 26. They serve both short-term guests and long-term residents, and include duplex penthouses with views across the city. Occupancy begins in phases in fall 2026.
Torre Velasca was completed in 1958 on a site heavily damaged during World War II. Its silhouette is unusual. A broad residential volume sits above a narrower office tower. BBPR drew on medieval Lombard architecture, especially the Filarete Tower at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco. Angled reinforced-concrete supports carry the upper floors, giving the building a mushroom-like profile. Modernist critics debated the design when it opened. Today it is one of the most recognizable landmarks in milan architecture.
Inside the torre velasca interiors: working within a protected building
This interior work follows a postwar skyscraper renovation of the tower led by Asti Architetti for the developer Hines, completed in 2025. Matteo Thun & Partners had to work inside a protected structure. The studio kept much of the original fabric. Tiles in the kitchens and bathrooms remain, along with historic doors and window frames. Every apartment retains its loggia, the recessed balcony that punctuates the upper volume of the tower.
The existing proportions created constraints. Ceilings are relatively low, and many rooms are compact. The team responded with glossy finishes that reflect daylight and make the rooms feel larger. Floor plans were reconfigured to fit bigger showers and walk-in closets.
The palette here draws heavily on Italian materials, much like a nineteenth-century palazzo renovated with onyx fireplaces and Venetian terrazzo. Historic Italian Palazzo Gets Onyx Fireplaces and Terrazzo shows how old Italian interiors can be updated with luxurious stone.
Working with Italy‘s Ministry of Culture, the architects partially removed a kitchen wall. In its place sits a cocktail counter that links the cooking and living areas. The opening lets daylight reach deeper into the kitchen and gives the space a more social layout.
Palette drawn from the exterior
The apartments take their cue from the building’s plaster. Matteo Thun & Partners worked with the Italian textile house Dedar to develop custom velvet wall coverings in a dusty pink. The shade echoes the tower’s exterior. Mustard-yellow sofas, designed for Molteni, sit alongside coffee tables with stone finishes. Warm wood and deep green accents complete the palette.
The furnishings span several decades of Italian design. Pieces by Gio Ponti appear alongside work by Afra and Tobia Scarpa. Cassina’s Utrecht armchair is upholstered in blue felt with contrasting green stitching. Oluce produced lighting in colors selected for these apartments. The studio also designed custom wardrobes and bedside units, made by Italian manufacturers.
Photographs by Alberto Strada show the contrast clearly.
A residential layer in a mixed-use tower
Matteo Thun & Partners also designed the reception, the lobby, and the rear corridors on the ground floor. Offices continue to occupy the lower floors. Hospitality spaces now run through the building. The residences operate as METT Milan Torre Velasca, offering accommodation for both short visits and extended stays.
Turning a commercial tower into homes is part of a wider trend of reviving existing buildings for new uses. London’s Historic Gasholders Transformed Into Thriving Neighborhoods offers another example of old industrial structures becoming places to live.
From the street, the tower’s concrete brackets seem to hold an entire block of apartments in the air. Inside these rooms, the spaces are modest in scale. Low ceilings and deep window openings recall the original design, even beneath the new furnishings. That tension between the monumental exterior and the domestic interior is the core of the project. It turns one of Milan’s best-known landmarks into a place to live.
Source: designboom.com
Frequently asked questions
How many apartments are in the Torre Velasca interior project?
The project comprises 72 residences, which occupy floors 19 through 26 of the Torre Velasca in Milan. They serve both short-term guests and long-term residents.
When will the Torre Velasca apartments open to residents?
Occupancy of the Torre Velasca residences begins in phases in fall 2026. The apartments and suites will be available for both short stays and extended stays.
Who designed the interiors of the Torre Velasca residences?
Matteo Thun & Partners completed the interiors of the 72 residences inside the Torre Velasca. The studio also designed the reception, the lobby, and the rear corridors on the ground floor.
What original features were kept in the Torre Velasca apartments?
Tiles in the kitchens and bathrooms remain, along with historic doors and window frames. Every apartment also retains its loggia, the recessed balcony that punctuates the upper volume of the tower.
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