It is a reference, or rather a "wink" as the architect Mario Botta defined it, to the Velasca Tower, one of the symbols of Milan, the new tower of the Teatro alla Scala, built to rationalize and expand the spaces, demolishing the building in Via Verdi that was adjacent to the theater. With a height of 38 meters to which are added 19 underground, the new structure is spread over a total of 17 floors, eleven above ground and six below and houses the offices, a new rehearsal room for the dance, a new expanded space for the backstage, two large terraces overlooking the city and what has been called the real jewel of this project, that is, the new rehearsal room for the orchestra that is not yet finished. This is located underground at the height of the aquifer, on the -6 floor, it is isolated and protected like a shell. With a height of 14 meters, ten meters higher than the current one, it can also serve as a recording studio. To complete it, the acoustic coatings are missing, the tender for which is now being awarded and the hall will be ready in spring 2024. The work on the tower lasted two years, from the laying of the first stone in April 2021 in the middle of the Covid period, for an investment of about 23 million including the demolition of the previous building. "It was a job done with a lot of efficiency," commented La Scala superintendent Dominique Meyer, who pointed out that this tower will save the theater almost 400 thousand euros a year due to the repayment of mortgages and the fact that it will no longer pay the rent of the offices in Via Torino. "When we started we had masks, it was perhaps not the best moment but we did it and today we can open the first part." The cladding of the tower is made of slabs of botticino fiorito. The designers did not hide the complexity of the project, which develops in height but also in several floors underground. "We worked at the top until we reached the height of the traditional stage tower that had already been raised at the time of the restoration of La Scala - explained the architect Mario Botta who worked together with the Emilio Pizzi studio - but we also went deep because the big surprise is below, where there is the orchestra rehearsal room, which is the real jewel of this transformation. In two years, starting in April 2021, we managed to build a building that was not easy. There are new spaces and of quality." The reference to the Velasca tower, in particular for that cantilevered shape in the upper part, "seems to me a legitimate and beautiful thing to do". From today, the new rehearsal room for the ball on the ninth floor with a magnificent view of the city, in addition to the three already existing, the rooms for the offices up to the eighth floor (the unions, now controversially absent, have asked for a meeting to discuss distribution) and the space for the unloading and pre-assembly of the sets in the backstage, can be used. In addition to the two large terraces on the fourth and sixth floors, which can also be used for private events of the partners. This new tower "is functional and also beautiful because it will save costs and is sustainable," commented Mayor Giuseppe Sala. It is one step, then there will be another, even if it will take longer, with the Magnifica Fabbrica, which will bring together the laboratories of La Scala". The construction site of the spaces in Via Rubattino "is still in an early phase because to kick off everything I want to be sure that then the funds will be there - he concluded -, I believe that it is a problem of timing and dialogue with the government but we will move forward".
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