Towers have always played a key role in connecting the scale of architecture with that of the landscape and territory. While in history they have been symbols of prestige, defense, or climatic stratagems, it was in the late 1800s that the tower typology discovered a new function.
With the invention of telecommunications, first Marconi, and shortly after Tesla, understood the need for a vertical element capable of acting as an antenna for the transmission and reception of radio signals. A prime example is the Wardenclyffe Tower, also known as the Tesla Tower, designed by the Serbian engineer.
From simple metal and concrete pylons, telecommunications towers started becoming landmarks for the cities in which they were built.
From there, the need to infrastructure territories with a widespread radio and telecommunication network produced an endemic proliferation of these new towers. These began to be the object of interest for the architectural world, starting experimentations with materials, technologies, and forms, transforming telecommunication towers into expressive works. Famous examples of this are the Branca Tower in Milan, designed by Gio Ponti in the 1930s, or, leaping in time, Calatrava's Torre de Telecomunicaciones de Montjuïc. In both cases, the author's language is imprinted in the forms of the structures.
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From simple metal and concrete pylons, telecommunications towers started becoming landmarks for the cities in which they were built. Thus, many began to characterize skylines, such as the CN Tower in Toronto or the Berliner Fernsehturm in Berlin, until they became some of the most recognizable elements in cities.
This collection then aims to offer an excursus through history and different world geographies. The selection recounts some of the most famous and iconic architectures, rediscovering great masters of architecture, from Lucio Costa to Norman Foster, and synthesizes one hundred years of experimentation with forms and materials that, in various ways, have given prominence to this typology that has become a symbol of contemporaneity.
Opening image: Torre de Collserola, Norman Foster, Barcelona 1992. Photo by reuerendo via Adobe Stock.