Fondazione Prada Opens Torre Restaurant Designed by OMA Studio

The Torre Restaurant is located at the new building of Fondazione Prada unveiled during Milan design week 2018. The design is so radically different created by Rem Koolhaas with Chris van Duijn and Federico Pompignoli from the OMA studio. Koolhaas defines the space as “a collage of themes and pre-existing elements combining works of art and design furniture”.

The Torre is located on the sixth floor and divided into two areas: the bar and the restaurant. The two rooms are characterized by the contrast between the large floor-to-ceiling windows, which offer an unprecedented view of the city of Milan.

The bar has a central counter, with a bottle suspended with spirits and international liqueurs, where it is possible to have a cocktail and a light dinner. On the left is a fireplace surrounded by Soviet armchairs and Eero Saarinen’s Tulip tables. Here are two remarkable artworks – Cappa per Ccaminetto (1949) and Testa di Medusa (1948-54) – by Lucio Fontana, while the polychrome ceramic Pilastro (1947) by the same artist introduces to the restaurant hall.

The interior design is arranged on three levels slightly offset from each other to recreate an ideal lookout point. The first two are designed with modern furniture, wooden tables and Executive chairs by Eero Saarinen and feature a selection of paintings by William N. Copley, Jeff Koons, Goshka Macuga and John Wesley.

The last level features original furnishings from New York’s “Four Seasons Restaurant” designed by Philip Johnson in 1958 and elements from the art installation by Carsten Höller The Double Club (2008-2009).

Inspired by the tradition of the Italian restaurant, the walls feature artist’s dishes created for the Torre da John Baldessari restaurant, Thomas Demand, Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Elmgreen & Dragset, Joep Van Lieshout, Goshka Macuga, Mariko Mori, Tobias Rebherger, Andreas Slominski, Francesco Vezzoli and John Wesley, part of a series open to new contributions.

The triangular outdoor terrace overlooks the urban space and features porphyry paving and metal grills that are characteristic of the exterior of the Fondazione. The restaurant area with 20 seats on bistro-style folding tables and chairs and in a bar area where sliding tables along the parapet are made up or down according to the needs.