Construction has begun on BIG’s CityWave, the building that will complete Milan’s revitalizing CityLife development after previously being announced as a participant in 2019.

The Danish studio’s contribution to the €2.5 billion ($2.95 billion) development comes in the form of an East-West duo of low-rise office buildings connected by a sloping, solar panel-covered canopy that also gives protection to one of Italy's largest outdoor urban parks.

The development already showcases a trio of towers by Studio Libeskind, Zaha Hadid Architects, and Arata Isozaki, respectively. It was originally awarded to the group in 2004 and now has the added bonus of another big name in the form of Ingels, who will bring some variety to the site in the form of an uneven horizontally-oriented mass with greenspace and 11,000 square meters (118,000 square feet) of photovoltaics.

Per the architect: “Like a contemporary interpretation of the massive covered public space of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the solar canopy offers the citizens of Milan a shaded and sheltered urban space for the life and culture of this vibrant new part of the city. The resultant silhouette unites indoor and outdoor space in a form of weightless monumentality.”

Interior views of each office building offer amenities like auditorium seating as well as an auditorium filled with trees and flooded with natural light in addition to terraces that offer views of each building’s interior courtyard. 

Passive house design strategies were incorporated into the building, which can collect rainwater and will produce up to 1,200 megawatt-hours of electric power per year. 

“It will be the symbol of the Milan we want: sustainable, international, beautiful," Mayor Giuseppe Sala said at a September 8th groundbreaking ceremony.

The project is slated for completion in 2025.