Milan, 23 May 2023: the urban planning agreement has been signed between the Municipality of Milan and Axa Im Alts, which officially give the green light to the project signed by Studio Marco Piva of the masterplan of Via dei Rospigliosi and the SYRE residential complex, thanks to which the Milanese district of San Siro will be redevelop.

A landscaping and architectural intervention that gives a soul back to an uneven area of the city: a new pole of efficient and sustainable living.

The agreement signed last February 28 (with the supervision of Studio Belvedere Inzaghi & Partners), provides that the building interventions will be completed for the Milan - Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, and the marketing operation for the new real estate units is already underway, managed by AbitareCo.

The urban context

The territorial context of the project is characterized by a diversified architectural panorama, even if it is inserted in an "urban design" which still appears evident today. This vast area, known in Milan as the San Siro zone, includes two symbolic areas of Milanese sport: the football stadium and the horse's racecourse.

The triangular-shaped project area extends on the north side from Piazza Axum along the large green axis of Via dei Rospigliosi to a small square between Via dei Rospigliosi and Via Pessano, near the San Siro Ippodromo subway M5; the South West side is bordered by Via Capecelatro instead the South East side overlooks a large area of a public parking.

The project is based on a Masterplan that solves an urban void abandoned for years, it contributes to the redevelopment of this important quadrant of the city of Milan that was originally a "garden city", full of vast green areas and equipment intended for sports activities. The Masterplan involves the construction of three residential complexes, two for free building and one for social housing, for a total of about 22,500 square meters of SL.

The pre-existing buildings on the plot, mainly stables and shelters for the horses once used in the races organised at the nearby Trotter, were dilapidated and covered with roofs made of asbestos sheets.

The Architecture

The architectural structures of the free housing, where the Syre residential complex is located, will house approximately 123 flats and have been articulated both planimetrically and altimetrically with the aim of restoring an orderly landscape, with a non-invasive, measured and valuable structure in terms of shapes, materials and finishes.

The fluid and harmonic architectural language wants to define new, more organic forms of living, rich in views and loggias, establishing an intense and effective dialogue between inside and outside.

The predominant part of the residential building will be built along Via dei Rospigliosi: a building consisting of 8 floors, set back and protected to the boulevard facing it, by a row of new generation trees. It will be a building characterized by an important system of balconies and terraces of different shapes and sizes. This volume will create an architectural continuity with the existing building front on Via dei Rospigliosi. At the head of this building, on Largo Pessano, a tower section will rise up to reach 22 floors in height.

The tower was conceived in its original form as a “plant organism” elegantly extending in height in a rotational motion. This slim structure with soft shapes will characterize the entire intervention, proposing itself as an iconic element, the reference point of the entire complex and will overlook an up-to-date built, equipped and scenographic square.

The central residential complex will rest on a transparent loggia intended for common activities and with relaxation equipment surrounded by large green areas.

Three material solutions were configured for the free housing flats: Classic and Modern style, each with three declinations (Silver, Gold, Platinum) and a Limited Edition style designed entirely by Studio Marco Piva.

The building intended for social housing (ERS), consists of a body extending from 6 to 9 floors and will house approximately 142 flats, with more linear forms that dialogue with the context, reconstructing the curtain wall on Via Capecelatro. The project is of great value from an architectural point of view, as the style and colours reflect the free housing buildings, creating uniformity and continuity in the urban plan. There are also two solutions of flats, with specifications that raise the quality of the buildings intended for term rental housing.

Landscaping

In the project, landscaping will play a dominant role, extending from the large park, the heart of the project, to the vast terraces and balconies, to the loggias and canopies with a strong appeal to a new lifestyle in which the "home" will not be conceived as a simple environment to return to after a day of work or study, but as a chosen place for a "new sociality" of the urban family and neighborhood.

The Master Plan and Architecture project draws strategic inspiration from the objective of protecting, conserving and caring for the valuable tree formations present in the Lot.

In particular, three plane trees are preserved - the most valuable tree specimens of the area – with imposing dimensions (about 30 meters high) and it is proposed to create a new row of trees arranged parallel to Via dei Rospigliosi, which will configure a wide avenue shaded and will be the connecting element of the entire area, with a strong landscape value, connecting Piazza Axum and Largo Pessano and will define, moreover, the external facing edge of the Residenza Libera on Via Dei Rospigliosi. The project is carried out around and in relation to the new Park which also includes, on the basis of a careful study, the insertion of numerous new essences in the green areas, thanks to the planting of 111 new trees (lime trees, oaks, magnolias, liquidambar, ash trees, etc.), flower beds with shrubs and hedges, giving life to a real park: a life in contact with greenery and nature.

Another relevant point at the center of the project is the redesign of the public area located in Largo Pessano for which it’s expected the creation of a new square to acquire new value and identity. This space will be configured as a connecting element between the surrounding green areas.

Sustainability aspects

The project is conceived as a pulsating “green heart” of the city and reflects high standards of energy efficiency and sustainability. Among the ethical aspects of redevelopment is the arrangement of large filtering surfaces, the creation of underground parking spaces for all types of vehicles, especially electric vehicles, thus avoiding the intrusive and voluminous arrangement at street level.

All this to propose an effective balance between the natural and built environment, between building and city, between public and private green spaces to contribute as much as possible to the realisation of a more liveable, sustainable and efficient new city.

This objective is all the more achievable through the carefully designed features to reduce energy consumption thanks to the structures, cladding, materials used in the construction and technologies capable of producing energy in situ through photovoltaic roofing.

The new plan is conceived to guarantee an innovative green system in which the inclusion of new essences exceeds the proportion of built flats to the trees present in the Park, with a significant reduction of CO2, absorbing up to 14 tonnes of CO2 and producing almost 9 tonnes of oxygen per year on a par with a park of about 10 thousand square metres. The large park will also help to eliminate the risk of the frequent “heat bubbles” in the city during the warmer months.

High-tech building systems will be introduced inside the free housing flats, for example, the heating and cooling systems will exploit renewable energy sources from underground groundwater, while the external perimeter walls will be built with blocks and insulating material, so as to guarantee excellent thermal and acoustic insulation and high resistance and durability. The internal partition walls in the residential units will be built using "dry" construction technologies with high acoustic, thermal, and hygrometric performance and with important mechanical properties, resistance to impact and suspended loads.