Gallaratese II Housing

"Built between 1967 and 1974 to an urban design co-ordinated by Carlo Aymonino, with involvement from postmodernist poster-boy Aldo Rossi, this terracotta-coloured complex is a must-see for anyone with an interest in social-housing architecture. The layout comprises five blocks of varying forms and sizes, designed as a whole in three geometric shapes – cube, parallelepiped (slanted cube) and cylinder – while primary-colour accents act as overarching motifs. In true brutalist fashion, the architects ignored all links to context and instead chose to revive historic concepts of the city: the street, the square, the shared balcony and, perhaps most pleasingly, the theatre – the amphitheatre at the heart of the complex is a true urban gem."