Re-Building Europe

The third station of our Re-Building Europe journey has taken place in Milan on the 7th and 8th of July regarding the topic of Re-building territorial strategies for future European societies. Along with our host Lendlease, Arexpo s.p.a. and LAND and an exclusive group of 40 guests joined the vibrant discussions and workshops on the various topics.

Within the Re-Building Europe series, we led an inspiring workshop about challenges and collaborative solutions for sustainable urban regeneration at the MIND, Milano innovation District, 20 km northwest of the city center. The participants from consulting firms, investors, private companies and public institutions were guided by Lendlease, Arexpo s.p.a. and LAND in the exploration of MIND, a lighthouse living lab for innovative urban development.

On the 7th of July

On this day, LAND (Andreas Kipar Co-Founder and CEO of LAND) opened his gates and welcomed our group to start the discussion of the challenges and possible solutions for districts in Milano while enjoying a sustainable office and aperitives.

On the 8th of July (Main day):

On this day, Lendlease and Arexpo s.p.a opened its gates and welcomed our group of different partner in the MIND – Milano Innovation District. After a short introduction of the Re-Building Europe initiative to the participants, the day opened with a keynote speech by Haris Piplas Co-lead Integrated Urban Solutions at Drees & Sommer.

Keynote: Alberto Mina

As a public partner, Arexpo wants to leverage the international legacy of EXPO and position Milan as a city that attracts talents, businesses, and capital from all over the world. The district, in collaboration with other innovation districts, acts as a catalyst for local and national economic development through outstanding knowledge and research features, promoting accessibility and mobility, balancing the functional mix and using effective economic and financial strategies. Indeed, the near totality of Italian specialized investors is based in Lombardy due to a rich research ecosystem (4 universities dedicated to Medicine, specialized Technology Transfer Offices, specialized incubators, and public and private investment in R&D in Life Science, as well as many manufacturing companies). The focus is on wellness, quality of life and health of the people and of the planet. It is also based on a quadruple Helix Model of Innovation with Industry, Public Sector, Civil society and Academic education and research.

IMPULSES

Martina La Vista

As a private partner Lendlease can apply their expertise in infrastructure, design, development, investments, and management with international and integrated processes, to develop a sustainable quality of life in the district. They work on the development of a car light district, walkability, innovative mobility, the inclusion of 340’000m2 of green and blue areas, a mix of functions, as well as a Common Ground which is visually permeable between private and public areas.

Demetrio Scopelliti

Demetrio Scopelliti, Director of Urban Planning and Public Space Design at AMAT Agenzia Mobilità, Ambiente e Territorio. In his presentation, he gave an overview of the operations of AMAT in Milan. He underlined the importance of changing current paradigms. The shift in behaviors is crucial as the cities are no longer livable. He stated that instead of just consuming and building new, we should start reusing spaces in order to achieve carbon-negative development. The capital of the Lombardy region currently carries out 100 urban regeneration projects. The urban age shapes cities that are no longer walkable while planners face difficulties in designing spaces that can adapt to the needs of their users. As a solution, AMAT proposes the concept of a “city of neighborhoods,” where the focus is moved from sprawling suburbs to densified neighborhoods.

Andreas Kipas

"ITS NOT A COLOUR. IT’S AN ATTITUDE: GREEN“

The current challenge of ecological and energy transformation requires a radical change in our practices in land management. The future of cities lies in their ability to network with their territory of reference by promoting a productive landscape capable of establishing itself as a platform for future sustainable development. The MIND experience is a permanent laboratory of innovative practices in regenerating regional areas in full respect of the green transition.

Panel Discussion

Andreas Kipar, CEO and Creative Director of Landscape, Architecture, Nature, Development (LAND), Demetrio Scopelliti, Director of Urban Planning and Public Space Desig at AMAT, Martina La Vista, Development Manager (Masterplanning and Townplanning) at Lendlease participated in the panel discussion.

As part of the discussion, the speakers mentioned the possibility of creating a neighborhood based on a new model of social relationship, where people will be able to live and work without the use of a vehicle.

In this traffic-free neighborhood, your home, your office, and all the services you need are in close proximity, the opposite of a business park that consists solely of offices.

Site tour

The panel discussion was followed by a guided tour of the neighborhood, where the group experienced the special atmosphere of MIND new innovation space.

Workshop I: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Stella-Zoë Schmidtler (Landscape Architect at LAND) and Haris Piplas (Co-lead Integrated Urban Solutions at Drees & Sommer) continued the first workshop focusing on the following questions:

How is the concept of the linear parc connected to the Green Rays Idea of Milan? Are there any obstacles for green infrastructure to become a multimodal centrality-based development?
Is it possible to utilize the existing ecologies and ecosystem services as part of the future green urban planning? How to connect green building concepts and landscape design?
What are the challenges to reduce grey energy and achieve a zero carbon district?
Are the public spaces multifunctional and rich in biodiversity? Can ecological structures support social interactions?

Solutions and ideas

Design principles
Small interventions
Moonshots (radical solution)
Collaboration & Participation
Inevitable trade-offs

Workshop II: SOCIAL+ ECONOMIC CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Karolina Skowronek (Innovation center at Drees & Sommer Schweiz) and Andrea Balestrini (Landscape Architect Head of LAND Research Lab) continued the second workshop focusing on the following questions:

How MIND is envisioned in 20-30 years?
What are the challenges in enhancing social inclusivity and integrate innovative district with the creative class in the middle of an industrial neighborhood? How to integrate local companies and social movements?
Is it possible to establish a sense of community and identity of the new district for the future inhabitants?
Which challenges need to be addressed when bringing the human scale to public space? How to achieve a pleasant and vibrant environment for people to live in?

Solutions and ideas

Design principles
Small interventions
Moonshots (radical solution)
Collaboration & Participation
Inevitable trade-offs

According to our one-company approach, our teams from Integrated Urban Solutions (Haris Piplas and Karolina Skowronek), Business Transformation & Network Management (Götz Schönfeld, Ramona Schmid and Mohamad Sido) and our partner LAND (Andreas Kipar, Stella-Zoë Schmidtler and Andrea Balistrini) jointly contributed to the successful implementation.

We are now looking forward to our next workshop in Berlin on 18th of August, supported by EUREF campus Berlin.

We are organizing the final forum on 30th of November in London to present the results of our workshops and discuss the future development of neighborhoods.