La Scala Theatre - Milan
The Teatro alla Scala (or La Scala, as it is also known), in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's most famous opera houses and was inaugurated in 1778.
Recent restoration of the original centre (the highly visible, scenic tower) and the introduction of a new feature (a stunning elliptical structure that houses offices, dressing rooms and a dance school), were designed by Architect Mario Botta in sympathy with the original spaces designed more than 200 years ago, and are the result of collaboration between Architects, Engineers and Technicians for over 2 years.
For the scenic tower, Botta chose a ventilated façade of 3cm thick Botticino marble, demanding a specific anchorage system, ALI-STONE, which has an aluminium-alloy substructure, easily capable of holding very thick, heavy slabs.
All formal and structural points of the architecture were carefully studied to determine the structural elements needed to accommodate the extremely heavy nature of the chosen cladding material.
The unique and innovative construction system, designed by Aliva reduced contact tensions between the marble tiles and the structure itself and to allow 850 points of fibre-optic light to be inserted throughout the 5000 sq m of surface, creating a charming starlit sky effect.
Aliva overcame the ventilated facade’s design limitations by developing advanced structures and fastening systems that provide for such works of significant architectural prestige.
For the new elliptical structure, materials already used inside the theatre and that are compatible in colour and impact with the surrounding architecture was chosen and Aliva created the external cladding, covered by sunbreak panels. Large modules (3 m x 3 m) each weighing 2 tonnes, were preassembled and carefully inspected on the ground and well away from the Theatre.
Specialist vehicles transported the modules at night to site, where they were erected according to a unique and detailed installation plan.
Aliva designed an innovative system for the ellipsoid involving a hot-dipped galvanised steel structure comprised of calendered tubular elements for each panel; this provides the structural rigidity for the curved shape, which involves considerable torsion.
These challenges were overcome and stunning architectural works were achieved by utilising Aliva’s trademark design and manufacturing capabilities; adding to our international reputation for quality, innovation, reliability and expertise.
Previous Project | Next Project