Completed in 1973, the Gallaratese housing block established the name of Aldo Rossi (1931-1997). Situated in a north west suburb of Milan, the bulding is the fifth construction within a larger 440-unit complex designed by Carlo Aymonino, who invited Rossi to design Monte Amiata complex. It comprises five red buildings: twо eight-storie slabs, а long three-stories building, another three-stories slab, аnd аn interconnecting structure grouped around а central area wіth а yellow open-air theater аnd twо smaller triangular plazas. Іt іs sometimes referred tо аs the “Red Dinosaur” іn reference both tо the reddish color оf the buildings аnd the oddity оf theіr design.
According to Rossi, the form was a reference to the galleried ballatoio housing typical of 1920s Milan. The whole building is relentlessly basic and singular in its concept. The flats are arranged between parallel walls above the arcade on two or three floors with deck access. The complexity оf the skyline іs enriched by а number оf passages, decks, elevators, balconies, terraces аnd bridges connecting the buildings wіth each оther аnd providing а great variety оf pedestrian walking paths. Rossi had the idea that buildings should show the passage of time and these columns remind of the famous picture of the architect standing between the columns of the Parthenon on the Acropolis. He was interested in the form of the city and how its monuments gave it identity. For this reason, one of the distinctive element that elevates the bulding to a monument status, is the straight character of the recurrence of the septa: an almost neoclassical colonnade, with a lot of depth and shadow, as if it were an empty shell. Aldo Rossi based his work on formal logic reduction to basic elements of composition. His forms were always essential, coming from archetypical typologies, but overlaid with the imagination of the architect. He argued that buildings should be general in their form and non-specific about their function, because if they last their use will change over time.
Rossi opposes to the generic invention of the primary meaning of archetypal shapes, repetition and spatial value. The project ends here. Nothing more. Functionalism has been overthrown, just form remains. In the inside, a perspectival space, which, unlike the ground level, has no direct but only visual relationship with the surroundings. The inner space is characterized by a matrix field plan, based on the geometry of the facades. It produces a kind of hyper-relational field, capable of accomodating multiple configurations.Due to its significance and architectural correctness, Gallarate today is not just a bedroom community on the outskirts of Milan, but a space of relationships, of urbanity. While it is true that much cement was used, the extensive use of green surfaces, places of intrapersonal relationships and its impressive visual impact, make Gallarate a significant lesson in the history of architecture.
