The district will be located about 7.5 miles north from the city’s main core and financial district, which has helped it to power the Italian economy for generations. Plans for the new district include offices and housing accommodation for up to 60,000 people run entirely on renewable energy and made from recycled materials. The former industrial site was also famously home to Milan Expo 2015, which drew some 22 million visitors during its six-month run and has since been partially dismantled. 

Drugmaker AstraZeneca has already moved all of its Italian operations into space on the massive 16.1 million-square-foot site. Other tenants such as the University of Milan are soon to follow. An estimated value of $3.6 billion has been placed on the planned 2025 project, which is still in the process of being molded according to the CEO for Lendlease, the Australian development group spearheading the public-private partnership behind the project. 

“Its initial design was quite conventional,” Tony Lombardo explained to Bloomberg. “But I am sure Milan is already updating the conceptual and institutional design of MIND, moving away from what has been already done.”