The first and second Montecatini buildings stand side by side in the heart of the city. To the dimensional constraints imposed (on both) by the shape of the site and the building regulations, was added the proximity of the two works of architecture, separated by no more than a few meters and fifteen years.

Ponti used the same solution for the wings of the second building as he did for the first. To the front he gave a contrasting design. Since this front was only slightly taller than the wings of the neighbouring building, with their strong motif, only a slender pattern extending over the whole facade could give it a different and acceptable scale. This slender pattern changes spectacularly according to the point of view of the observer, shifting from all glass frontal view to all aluminium side view. Yet in the second Montecatini building, as in the first, it is not the front that grabs your attention: here it is the back or rear facade, with its fine pattern of diamond-shaped surfaces.