The industrial remnants of the Flak steel factories will be transformed into Italy’s largest urban regeneration project scaling up to 1.5 million square metres, giving the area a new lease on life and a new urban identity. MilanoSesto, just north of Milan, combines nature with plazas, 45 hectares of greenery and public spaces, retail, flexible offices and a multitude of residential spaces. The key elements of the masterplan include the Unione and Concordia districts.

Where is the project located?
Viale Italia, 57220099 Sesto San Giovanni, Milan
 
Who is the developer/client of the project?
Milanosesto SpA

Following an international competition in 2019, Foster + Partners was appointed by Milanosesto spa with Hines Italy acting as strategic advisor and development manager and Prelios as asset and project manager for the whole project to design the masterplan to redevelop the empty site once occupied by the Falck steel industry. MilanoSesto is in the municipality of Sesto San Giovanni, just north of Milan. It is the largest mixed use project within Greater Milan, set within 45 hectares of greenery and public spaces. The project combines nature with plazas, innovative retail, flexible offices and a variety of residential spaces to create an inclusive development.The project is Italy’s biggest urban regeneration project and one of the largest in Europe, covering 1.5 million square metres. The industrial remnants of the Falck steel factories will be given a new lease of life and a unique new urban character. The principal areas of the masterplan include the Unione and Concordia districts that stretch back to the new railway station. The neighbourhoods all have different characteristics, including an Urban Quarter, Living Quarter and a Creative Cluster.

There are a number of additional satellite areas spread across the immediate vicinity such as Trai, a cosy residential quarter; Vittoria Trafilerie, featuring offices and commercial buildings set within the historic fabric; Vittoria Bliss, a mixed neighbourhood centred on a new urban park; Transider, with a platform for Last Mile Logistics and commercial units; and Triangolo, a residential neighbourhood which connects to the former workers’ village.

 
Please describe your approach to this future place and its mix of uses. How will it function as a vibrant place? How does it knit into, and serve the needs of the wider area?

The masterplan is anchored along a winding tree-lined boulevard that stretches between the San Giovanni Station in the north and the Lambro River to the south. The boulevard is interspersed by plazas that mark important intersections with other routes and landmark industrial buildings within short walking distances. The masterplan seeks to revive these structures, allowing them to house new functions that will anchor the development. 

Situated within the Unione district, the OMEC building – a long linear warehouse structure – has been designed as a food market Bookended by generous plazas lined with cafes and restaurants at either end, it defines the route towards the T3 building and Treno Laminatoio. The T3 building (one of the largest buildings on the former Falck factory site) has predominantly public uses, while Treno Laminatoio building (a 300 m long industrial steel shed) is focussed on wellness and sport with specialised rehabilitation facilities.

The site is bisected by Viale Italia, an existing road that runs east-west, which is incorporated by creating an ecological corridor that allows the landscape to flow through. The paving at the intersection of the boulevard and Viale Italia also stitches the site together. A water tower alongside the route forms a new focal point with an exciting water feature and sightseeing pavilion, with fantastic views towards the city and the Alps in the backdrop.

The southernmost part of the masterplan is centred on the T5 building – a new exhibition and events venue with spaces for education, start-ups and entertainment.

 
What is the environmental impact of the project? How will the carbon use and material impact of the development be mitigated? What is the sustainability strategy? Please provide any evidence or data.

The site of this major renewal project is the former Falck steel factory, in the town of Sesto San Giovanni, Milan. The area has remained vacant since the factory’s closure in the 1990s. All existing industrial buildings on-site will be repurposed and given new life.The building engineering and energy strategy will allow for significant savings in emissions and water consumption compared with the national average. Phase 1 buildings (known as Unione Zero) employ architectural solutions which reduce CO2 emissions, including the purchasing and auto-production of energy from renewable sources, the disposal of non- recyclable waste and zero-emissions internal mobility.

The entire parkland is connected by a series of reservoirs and streams that form part of an integrated water strategy, while complementing the playscapes and plazas. The project creates 45ha of new green areas and includes the planting of 10,000 new trees. Planting is native and acclimatised, for seasonal growth and low irrigation demand.

Milano Sesto is a pedestrian-oriented masterplan which has been flexibly designed to enhance mobility and includes a new train station. The masterplan enhances and provides direct connections with the existing public transport network.

Massing proportions, building depth, and preliminary plan layout are designed to maximise natural ventilation. Street dimensions and massing have been developed in line with daylight guidelines to allow the best daylight potential to all residential units.

For Phase 1, the masterplan aims to achieve LEED Neighbourhood Development standard and LEED international certification (Gold and Platinum), along with WELL Building Standard.

Describe the social impact of the project: How will this future place contribute to the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of its citizens?  Please provide any evidence or data.

Milano Sesto will have a profound social-economic impact on the town of Sesto San Giovanni, Milan and the wider region. It is destined to transform the fabric of Sesto San Giovanni, by revitalising spaces that have been out of use the last thirty years. The site is 1.5 million square metres, of which approximately one-third (450,000 square metres) will become new green areas.The pedestrian-oriented masterplan creates a low-impact community, with a network of plazas that are within a five-minute walking distance of each other. A range of new parks and public spaces will enhance physical and emotional wellbeing. Block dimensions and street proportions have been designed in line with LEED ND criteria, to maximise walkability and enjoyment of the neighbourhood. Commercial, office, hospitality, and residential buildings have been included in the initial design phases, to guarantee the development of a mixed-use neighbourhood from day one.

Phase 1 has a strong focus on social sustainability and includes the Città della Salute e della Ricerca (the headquarters of two of the most advanced specialist health centres worldwide), the new railway station, student housing, office spaces, a hotel, affordable and subsidised housing and BTR with ancillary services for the residents such as a creche, co-working spaces, and gymnasiums, alongside the development of the first portion of the urban park (130,000 square metres).

The project responds to nine of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.