Milan New Area Tour

An innovative housing complex is being erected in the district that once hosted the city trade fair north-east of Milan. The new area is characterized by a modern aesthetic and functional style and, as well as residential areas, CityLife will provide commercial, entertainment and service facilities that will make the complex a vibrant area and provide round-the-clock amenities. Thanks to the new Metro line 5 stations it will also be well served by public transport links.

The new district encircles a large public park of 170,000 sq.m. designed to be used by all citizens thanks to the incorporation of bicycle and pedestrian paths and to its wide confines which join up directly with surrounding urban areas. The park will be a green lung that will integrate with the existent parks in the north-west area of the city contributing to the oxygenation of the air and restoring the balance of the urban environment.

At the centre of the district stand the imposing Tre Torri (Three Towers) office blocks, landmarks of the project that significantly contribute to reshaping the city skyline. Designed by Arata Isozaki (Isozaki Tower, 220mts), Zaha Hadid (Hadid Tower, 170mts) and Daniel Libeskind (Libeskind Tower, 150mts, which is still under construction), the buildings stand out for their cutting-edge technology and for the innovative materials employed. The first two towers have already gained the Leed Gold pre-certification rating.

The five residential areas being developed were designed by Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind, architects of international fame; on one side they face the park and on the other Via Spinola, Via Senofonte, Piazzale Giulio Cesare and viale Berengario. The apartments were designed following criteria that enable the optimisation of energy use and respect for the environment, plus, they are all Class A certified.

Anecdotes and curiosities

CityLife is a completely pedestrianised area, the largest car-free zone in Milan and one of the most extensive in Europe; traffic and parking are at basement levels only.

It can also boast being a zero-emission neighborhood without gas-fired boilers or other sources of combustion. At CityLife the primary source of energy is water: both for district heating and the use of heat pumps fed from groundwater sources.

All the CityLife buildings have high energy performance and photovoltaic panels on the roof contribute to the energy needs of systems and communal areas.

Useful details

CityLife can be reached with the red Metro line from the Buonarroti, Amendola-Fiera and Lotto stops and, with the lilac Metro line 5, from the Domodossola, Tre Torri and Portello stops.