Feature image photo credit: Alberto Fanelli.
This article was originally posted on July 3, 2024, on USGBC+ as "Europe's first SITES-certified landscape project is a green heartbeat in the center of Milan.” Read the full article.
In downtown Milan, Italy, a sprawling mixed-use district of residential units, offices, shopping, services and public spaces is connected by nearly 70 acres of publicly accessible green space. After the migration of the city's fairground and trade show complex to a new location, its 90-acre former location downtown has become an ambitious urban regeneration project: the SITES Platinum CityLife.
Today, it hosts several buildings designed by well-known architects. Open to all, CityLife offers one of the largest public green spaces in Milan and the largest car-free zone in the city. The district is both the first SITES-certified project in Europe and the first to achieve SITES for Existing Landscapes certification.
Designing a sustainable district
The design process for the CityLife district began in 2008, when sustainability certifications were not yet widely adopted in Italy. Despite this, sustainability was a core focus for the project, as the project team envisioned it as an accessible green space in the highly urbanized downtown of Milan. The project is led by CityLife S.p.a. with sustainability consulting from Manens S.p.a. and landscape architecture from Gustafson Porter + Bowman.
“To achieve [our sustainability goals], we focused on both the energy and environmental performance of the buildings, but also on developing a resilient, inclusive and integrated community with a strong identity that can positively impact people's physical and psychological well-being,” explains Andrea Cottone, sustainability manager at CityLife S.p.a.
Deep into development, the team began considering the use of sustainability certifications to confirm existing project standards and identify new strategies to improve. It began with the massive park that was already open to the public.
“It was from the park that we started to plan how to tell the community about the sustainable plan for the neighborhood. The SITES rating system turned out to be the most suitable to meet our needs, being perfectly aligned with the objectives of the project and our client,” says Michela Tedeshi, sustainability consultant at Manens S.p.a.
Valuing the environment and the human experience in SITES
CityLife began by pursuing and achieving SITES Platinum certification using the SITES for Existing Landscapes pilot. Owned and operated by GBCI, the Sustainable SITES Initiative promotes sustainable and resilient land development and can be used on sites with or without buildings to enhance biodiversity, foster resilience, conserve resources, improve public health and support an overall nature-positive design. The Existing Landscapes pilot program offers a way to recognize built projects through site design, on-site education, and operations and maintenance practices.
The project team carefully designed the park to uphold high sustainability standards that elevate quality of life. This began with a decision to make the district car-free through an underground transportation and parking system, with walking paths, shaded areas and lots of seating aboveground. Today, it is the largest car-free zone in Milan.
Further enhancing biodiversity and the visitor experience, the landscape hosts nearly 100% native plants to enhance habitats, reduce urban heat island effects and reduce water needs.