S32 Fintech District | L22 Urban & Building

New Sassetti Tower designed by L22 Urban & Building is the hub of the newly constructed S32 Fintech district, an urban area aimed at developing innovative, technological finance, in Milan Created by SELLALAB to represent the Italian fintech community, this new ecosystem is designed to help it grow along international lines, promoting cooperation and business partnerships between the various players in the industry (businesses, financial institutions and fintech bodies). The professional people and start-ups to be accommodated in the building were chosen very carefully by Copernico with technological innovation constantly in mind.

photograph by Luca Petrucci

The tower is located in the Porta Nuova district and can be accessed across a pedestrian square in front of new Palazzo Lombardia along viale Restelli in the downtown area extending from the Isola district east towards a recently developed area culminating in the building accommodating the Regional Council. This area has recently become a sort of “new city centre” for Milan, both a commercial and residential hub.L22’s design approach is based around a very cutting-edge vision in which maximising the efficiency and flexibility of this future office space is combined with an innovative facade design, smoothly flowing spaces, and views from the inside towards the outside and vice-versa. The redevelopment project is focused on emphasising the building’s presence in the square out in front, maximising its height to enhance a sense of verticality. The construction floats above an all-glass double-height entrance. The project was designed along the lines of elegance and timelessness. Sassetti Tower has a powerful identity that is a far cry from fleeting trends. Change keeps on generating change in the dynamic Porta Garibaldi area.

photograph by Luca Petrucci

The facade grid has been extended beyond the terrace to emphasise the vertical nature of the tower, while Santafiore Lavagrigia stone cladding in the form of columns and architraves has been added on at ground-floor level. The office levels have been totally renovated to focus on enhancing the workplace’s efficiency and flexibility. Each of them has been given its own loggia located at the rear, so as not to interfere with the structural unity along the main front.

Procedures are underway for awarding Sassetti Tower platinum-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), certification that the building meets a number of important standards in terms of savings on resources, energy efficiency, choice of materials, low-energy lighting, and the quality of its interiors.