CityLife: The Gate to Milan’s Future
Discover Milan’s new lifestyle through CityLife. Eating, shopping, and living, made easy in Milan’s new modern district.
Milena Garza, Victoria Avila & Garrett Zach
CityLife is considered to be a residential and workplace complex in the neighborhood of Portello, Milan. With an area of 366,000 square-meters, CityLife is one of the most important urban development projects in Europe with diverse business hubs, a shopping district, residential area, and public parks. This area is also known as Tre Torri (Three Towers) given that there are three main towers that are very distinctive to CityLife, designed by world-famous architects Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki and Daniel Libeskind. Additionally, two new buildings to be completed will be connected by a wave shaped roof designed by Bjake Ingels, completing the skyline. The CityLife residences have also taken a new focus on environmental sustainability, with Class A certifications, use of renewable energy sources and insulating materials in the construction to ensure low energy consumption.
CityLife Made Sustainable
In order to keep environmental impacts low, the Osservatorio Ambientale Permanente was established to monitor the conditions of City Life during its construction. At the start of the reconstruction of City Life in 2007, conditions that affected noise levels, air quality, and other environmental factors were monitored to ensure that subsequent construction phases would not do more harm. Especially at the start of the reconstruction, environmental impacts were forecasted and measured during the demolition phases to limit the impacts. The City of Milan, the Lombardy Region, ARPA Lombardia (Regional Environmental Protection Agency) and ASL (Health Board) were all in agreement to set up the Osservatorio Ambientale Permanente.
Citylife Skyscrapers
The architecture for CityLife’s skyscrapers are a very distinctive part of the area, with its three main towers nicknamed as “the crooked, the straight and the curved”. Respectively, the first is the Generali tower directly connected to the shopping center, the second one being the Allianz tower distinctive for being the second tallest building in Milan and Italy, and the last tower is the PWC tower that is folded in giving a sensation of suspension in the void when being at the very top. Finally, at the entrance of this district will be the City Wave, described as a double wave building with covered central square that is expected to finish by 2025.
CityLife Residences
The residential buildings in CityLife are all built according to energy optimization criteria to respect the environment. There are a total of eight residences designed by Daniel Libeskind and eight designed by Zaha Hadid, in which various well-known Italian celebrities own a property such as Chiara Ferragni and Fedez. Although these buildings are all recently built, the area conserves several traditional items such as the Fountain of the Four Seasons designed by architect Renzo Gerla in 1927.
CityLife Park
To get away from the bustling lifestyle of City Life, one can visit the beautiful botanical gardens of Orti Fioriti, which surround the three skyscrapers. Filippo Pizzoni designed the garden in 2015 with the intention of providing the visitors a place to feel relaxed, and learn about the traditional Italian gardening practices. Through the area, there are several cycle and pedestrian paths to discover different zones of the gardens such as herbs, aromatic plants, fruits and various floral species. Along with this, CityLife offers public sports facilities with tennis and padel courts, Babylife kindergarten, and an artistic gallery walk with 20 installations of contemporary art.
CityLife Shopping District
Immersed in the second public park of Milan, CityLife’s shopping district is designed by Zaha Hadid along with Studio One Works for the central square, and Studio Mario Galantino for the open-air promenade. The district’s design is described as modern with contemporary notes. The entire area was created for pedestrians with underground roads and parking lots to minimize the contamination for the visitors and gardens. Divided into three sectors, the commercial gallery has two levels with more than 100 retail spaces, followed by the central square and the open air promenade. This area also offers one supermarket, convenient for the residences in City Life, 20 restaurants and bars, and 7 cinemas.
Through an article of IPE Real Assets, Aldo Mazzocco chairman of CityLife mentions that new-generation building is the next step for the evolution of properties of offices and managerial activities. This project brings together a positive impact on the environment as well as the quality of life with a completely new way of using spaces. The way that Covid-19 impacted the workplace set new expectations for how offices conduct health and safety protocols. In a post-pandemic world, Aldo Mazzocco believes that CityLife is redefining a new paradigm for the world in regards to buildings and workspaces, in the sense that people are becoming more focused on enjoying their lifestyle, personal and recreational spaces thanks to home office and social distancing.
Additionally, Armando Borghi, former CEO of CityLife, mentions that the creation of “Citywave” began around fifteen years ago, and it has been a long journey to what it has become today, where current CEO Paolo Micucci has taken over as of December 2021. Micucci knows that these types of buildings have a great impact and add a big amount of value to the city of Milan. This project has allowed quality of life, sustainability and innovation to all come together.
Beautiful Architecture, and a New Feel
The people who have visited CityLife, explain a sense of “wonder” that is felt as they walk through this urban area. The scenic characteristics are very hard to miss, as the project is designed to enhance the buildings designs. The visitors can feel as if they are walking through a futuristic, alien-like landscape. The area as well gives a sense of being out of the city chaos, all while still being in the metropolitan area of Milan.
There is more than just astonishing architecture to CityLife, as it also holds 173,000 square meters of greenery and more than two-thousand trees. Anyone who resides or visits CityLife can submerge in a space of green and can enjoy a peaceful walk through the second largest park in Milan. It is a complete experience to be in such a beautiful green space while also admiring the contrast of the unique skyscrapers that surround the area.
How is CityLife a Part of The New Milan?
Italy is known for its traditional architecture that dates back to the renaissance. It is distinguished by its neoclassical style, encompassing the main artistic movement from 1750 to 1850. Most people would argue that one of the most beautiful aspects of Milan, or Italy in general, is its unique and historic architecture; however, CityLife definitely goes more on the modern side, a side that had not been proposed in Milan previous to this.
The unique character and modern design of CityLife sets itself apart from traditional Milan architecture. This project could have been placed in any other modern capital city in the world, but the urbanization plans that were implemented suited the environment. The interesting aspect of CityLife is that the architect’s buildings do not resemble Milan’s people, forms, and energy, but they are more based on the individual architects that designed them. The three towers have distinct choices and symbols, but they all seem to speak the language of modern times.
Some may argue that the whole concept of City Life seems more as a branding for the modernization of Milan, having its own residences, offices, parks, gyms, and a shopping center in the same district so the people don’t have to leave to other parts of the city. In recent years, City Life has gained popularity at a faster rate with new restaurants and attractions opening, as well as influencers and celebrities being around the area.
When beginning a project like this, it is important to consider not only internal factors about the ideas from the architects, but also the outside factors of traditional Milan. What the architects in this project failed to achieve was the pathway to gradual change for the modernization of the city. This project is sure to challenge some of Milan’s traditions, and it also represents the need to change social and cultural modalities, this is The New Milan.
