Design Week: a tea house on top of Torre Velasca—and a perfect reason to visit

Since last year—when a project dedicated to Bauhaus designer Anni Albers’ textiles brought renewed attention—the Torre Velasca, the iconic BBPR building that helped define postwar Milan, has returned as one of the most sought-after destinations of Design Week. After years on the sidelines, partly due to its long restoration, the tower has gradually re-entered the Fuorisalone circuit with relatively understated interventions. But something is shifting. During this year’s Design Week, the 25th floor hosts a temporary tea house by Cromo, open for just two days—April 21 and 22, from 9 AM to 1 PM—and accessible by registration only.

The project is conceived by Phil America and Jenny D. Pham, the duo behind Objects Are By, and marks the launch of a new tea brand operating at the intersection of design, wellbeing, and contemporary culture. Rather than focusing solely on the product, Cromo builds an experience around the ritual of tea—an explicit invitation to slow down, in contrast to the pace that defines both the city and Design Week itself. At the core of the project is what the founders call high-frequency tea: blends made from whole leaves sourced from small farms across China, Japan, and Kenya, selected not only for their flavor but also for their effect on the body and perception.

The space itself—staged as a minimal lounge suspended above the city—turns the tower into a pause within the intensity of the Fuorisalone. It is an environment designed to step out of the continuous flow and reintroduce the value of waiting. On Domus, we have already explored how pop-up formats are reshaping our idea of the city. Here, however, the concept is pushed even further—literally—transforming an urban landmark into a temporary experiential device. Yet it is above all the location that redefines the project’s meaning. Bringing such an intimate experience to the top of one of Milan’s most debated buildings radically alters its perception.

Long considered a difficult, out-of-scale object—often criticized—the Torre Velasca now becomes something entirely different: a curated cultural platform, desirable and almost pop.

There is another reason to visit: this may be one of the last opportunities to access the terrace before it becomes a private space. With the arrival of Madison House—an exclusive members club blending hospitality, wellbeing, and social life—the upper floors of the tower are set to undergo a new transformation.