Digital City Briefs - Milan

Porta Romana – Milan’s Historical Gateway

2012-06-30T11:14:00.001-04:00

Porta Romana was a major gateway leading to the city center. The gate was built in the Spanish city walls in the 16th century. The walls were taken down to accommodate vehicular traffic, however, the gate still remains.

“The old gateway to the city, framed within relentless channels of vehicular movement, not only recalls the city’s past but also evokes the need to restore a pedestrian-friendly dimension to its future.”

Porta Romana fu un importante gateway che conduce al centro della città. La porta fu costruita nel mura spagnole nel XVI secolo. Le pareti sono stati presi per accogliere il traffico veicolare, tuttavia, rimane ancora il cancello. «Il vecchio gateway alla città, inquadrata all'interno di canali implacabile della circolazione veicolare, non solo ricorda il passato della città ma anche evoca la necessità di ripristinare una dimensione pedonale-friendly per il suo futuro».

Reference: Parolotto, Federico, Porta Romana | Piazza Medaglie D’Oro.

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De-Paving of Traffic Junctions as an Urban Strategy

2012-06-30T11:09:00.001-04:00

Piazzale Loreto is significant for Italian history because of the tragic events that occurred there during World war 2. It’s location is very special in Milan, and it has been a subject of numerous urban design and architecture competitions. For example, Sottsass proposed a large traffic intersection with multilevel roadways in a 1985 competition. However, even his colorful sketches did not convince anyone to go with such a scheme.

15 years later, Studi Nizzoli proposed a split level scheme with pedestrians on the upper level and vehicles below. The scheme, however, gave an unfair advantage to the car, and did not help the quality of urban life. The author proposes to redesign the square by reducing the infrastructure and not adding to it, much like the pedestrian plazas in New York City.

“All cities in the western world have being defining strategies for a progressive reduction of urban traffic; this reduction is necessary both for the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels and because of the desire of improve the quality of the public realm.”

Piazzale Loreto è significativo per la storia italiana a causa degli eventi tragici che si sono verificati là durante la seconda guerra mondiale. La sua posizione è molto speciale a Milano, ed è stato oggetto di numerosi concorsi di architettura e progettazione urbane. Ad esempio, Sottsass proposto un incrocio di grande traffico con carreggiate multilivelli in una concorrenza del 1985. Tuttavia, anche i suoi schizzi colorati non convince chiunque di andare con un tale regime. 15 anni più tardi, Studi Nizzoli proposto uno schema di due piani con pedoni sul livello superiore e veicoli qui sotto. Lo schema, tuttavia, ha dato un vantaggio ingiusto per l'auto e non ha aiutato la qualità della vita urbana. L'autore propone di ridisegnare la piazza riducendo l'infrastruttura e non aggiungendo ad esso, tanto come le piazze pedonali in New York City. "Tutte le città del mondo occidentale hanno essere definizione di strategie per una progressiva riduzione del traffico urbano; tale riduzione è necessaria sia per la necessità di ridurre l'uso di combustibili fossili e becau...

Reference: Parolotto, Federico, Sottsass and Piazzale Loreto, and Milan and the invisible space revolution: how to change cities by reconfiguring mobility flows, MIC Research Unit.
Illustration Credit: Courtesy MIC Research Unit

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The Future of Urban Transport

2012-06-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

The cities in America became auto-centric in early twentieth century with the arrival of a car. The same thing happened in Europe as the auto culture spread across the Atlantic Ocean. The decline in auto use has already started in the Western countries as the illustration shows, which is reshaping the road network by freeing up urban space for new activities and thus transforming the city.

“After a century of car movement, the city of 2050 will possibly move back to being more like the urban settlements that characterized the period between 1800 and the arrival of the automobile.”

Il futuro del trasporto urbano della città in America è diventato auto-centrica, inizio del XX secolo con l'arrivo di una vettura. La stessa cosa è accaduto in Europa come l'auto cultura diffusione attraverso l'Oceano Atlantico. Il declino dell'uso di auto ha già iniziato nei paesi occidentali come mostra l'illustrazione, che sta rimodellando la rete stradale di liberare lo spazio urbano per nuove attività e trasformando la città. "Dopo un secolo di movimento dell'automobile, la città del 2050 sarà eventualmente spostare nuovamente ad essere più come gli insediamenti urbani che hanno caratterizzato il periodo tra il 1800 e l'arrivo dell'automobile."

Reference and Illustration: Parolotto, Federico, The future of transport and cities, MIC Mobility in Chain News, February 2012

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MADE Expo on Urban Forestry and Equipped Green

2012-06-30T10:41:00.002-04:00

MADE expo will be held on October 19, 2012 at the Martini Hall in Milan. The exhibition of Urban Forestry and Equipped Green will be dedicated to products and innovative ideas about eco-responsible building. Various experts will share knowledge on interdisciplinary tools and techniques, and explore strong interaction between the green and the built landscape.

“The exploratory, through a selection of works by international landscape architecture, intend to document scenarios, processes and good procedures related to the creation of new landscapes of the twenty-first century.”

MADE Expo sulla selvicoltura urbana e attrezzata Green MADE expo si terrà presso la sala Martini a Milano il 19 ottobre 2012. L'esposizione di selvicoltura urbana e verde attrezzato sarà dedicato ai prodotti e idee innovative su edificio eco-responsabile. Vari esperti saranno condividere la conoscenza su tecniche e strumenti interdisciplinari ed esplorare forte interazione fra il paesaggio verde e costruito. "Esplorativo, attraverso una selezione di opere di architettura del paesaggio internazionale, intende scenari di documento, buone procedure e processi correlati alla creazione di nuovi paesaggi del ventunesimo secolo."

Reference: MADE Expo on URBAN FORESTRY AND EQUIPPED TO GREEN, 2012

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Palazzo Lombardia: The Best Tall Building in Europe

2012-06-25T21:26:00.000-04:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat named Milan’s Palazzo Lombardia as the best tall building in Europe on June 13, 2012. It is the seat of Lombardy regional government. The building was designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the winners of an international design competition in 2004.

“The Chicago based CTBUH, a group of architects and structural engineers that monitors tall building projects around the world, said there has been a "renaissance" in skyscraper development. A record 88 towers taller than 200 meters were completed in 2011 - compared to 32 such projects in 2005.”

Palazzo Lombardia: Best alto edificio in Europa il Consiglio su edifici alti e l'Habitat urbano denominato Palazzo Lombardia di Milano come il miglior alto edificio d'Europa su 13 giugno 2012. È la sede della regione Lombardia. L'edificio fu progettato da Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, i vincitori di un concorso internazionale di progettazione nel 2004. "Il Chicago based CTBUH, un gruppo di architetti e ingegneri strutturali che monitor alto edificio progetti in tutto il mondo, ha detto che c'è stato un"Rinascimento"nello sviluppo del grattacielo. Un record di 88 torri più alti di 200 metri sono stati completati nel 2011 - rispetto ai 32 tali progetti nel 2005."

Photo Credit: Milano 2.0
Reference: Stern, Andrew, Canada's "Marilyn" named best tall buildings, Reuters, June 14, 2012

Galleria Lia Rumma

2012-06-07T06:27:00.003-04:00

Galleria Lia Rumma, a contemporary art gallery in Milan, is setback from the street to create an urban plaza in front of the building. The site for the gallery is wedged between the urban fabric of old and new structures. This five-story structure has a movie theater in the basement and an open roof air terrace. All floors are connected by an exterior stair at the rear.

The building uses self-cleaning concrete which is environmentally sustainable as well as monolithic in appearance. The visual composition of spaces is based upon the golden section. The exterior space in the roof terrace is defined by a skeleton of structural members, which creates voids and transparent enclosures.

Galleria Lia Rumma Galleria Lia Rumma, una galleria d'arte contemporanea di Milano, è battuta d'arresto dalla strada per creare una piazza urbana di fronte all'edificio. Il sito per la galleria è incuneato tra il tessuto urbano di vecchie e nuove strutture. Questa struttura di cinque piani dispone di un cinema nel seminterrato e una terrazza di aria tetto aperto. Tutti i piani sono collegati da una scala esterna nella parte posteriore. L'edificio utilizza autopulente cemento che sono ecologicamente sostenibile, nonché monolitico in apparenza. La composizione visiva degli spazi si basa su della sezione aurea. Lo spazio esterno nella terrazza sul tetto è definito da uno scheletro di elementi strutturali, che crea vuoti e coperture trasparenti.

Reference: Galleria Lia Rumma by CLS Architetti, Dezeen.com, June 17, 2010.

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Vertical Forest

2012-05-24T20:36:00.000-04:00

Two residential towers are under construction in the heart of Milan. The towers will have 900 trees, 5,000 bushes and 11,000 plants on the exterior balconies creating a vertical forest or Bosco Verticale. The architects hope that the vertical forest will humanize the highrise environment, produce oxygen, control humidity, absorb CO2 and dust particles and reduce pollution.

Foresta verticale; Due torri residenziali sono in costruzione nel cuore di Milano. Le torri avrà 900 alberi, 5.000 cespugli e 11.000 piante sui balconi esterni creando un insieme di strutture verticali o Bosco Verticale. Gli architetti sperano che la foresta verticale sarà umanizzare l'ambiente highrise, producono ossigeno, controllo dell'umidità, assorbire CO2 e particelle di polvere e ridurre l'inquinamento. Ecco un video sul Bosco Verticale:

Here is a video on Bosco Verticale:

Reference: World’s First Vertical Forest “Bosco Verticale”, designtaxi.com, May 22, 2012

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Anti-Aging Spa Treatment in a Timeless Hotel

2012-05-16T20:06:00.003-04:00

Milan’s historic Four Season’s Hotel will open its Spa in June, which is located in a 15th century convent. The architecture would preserve historic vaulted ceilings and provide spaces for seven treatment rooms, a swimming pool and a Turkish bath complete with sauna and jacuzzi. Other amenities include a gym and a hair spa by a famous hair dresser.

The spa will feature a range of cosmetic and anti-aging treatments, in an environment that would harmonize space, color, materials and history in order to rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit.

Anti-Aging trattamenti curativi in un Hotel Milano senza tempo storico Four Season Hotel aprirà la sua Spa nel mese di giugno, che si trova in un convento del XV secolo. L'architettura sarebbe conservare storici soffitti a volta e fornire spazi per sette sale per trattamenti, una piscina e un bagno turco completo con sauna e jacuzzi. Altri servizi includono una palestra e un centro termale di capelli da un famoso parrucchiere. La spa sarà caratterizzato da una vasta gamma di trattamenti cosmetici e anti-aging, in un ambiente che avrebbe armonizzare lo spazio, colori, materiali e storia al fine di ringiovanire il corpo, mente e spirito. Ecco un breve video sul Four Seasons Hotel:

Here is a brief video on the Four Seasons Hotel:

Reference: Nearly Ten Years in Development, But Worth the Wait: Spa to Open at the Legendary Four Seasons Hotel Milano, The Four Seasons Hotel, Hotel News, May 9, 2012

Transit

Hotel Boom in the Outer Boroughs

Waiting For The Streetcar

Tour of Milan

2012-05-01T20:47:00.000-04:00

A Brief Tour of Milan:

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Urban Development Taxonomy

2012-04-30T08:27:00.002-04:00

How does a city develop into a global destination? Is a city more than a collection of great buildings? Is a city more than a collection of great people? What makes a city great? What are the forces that drive urban development?

There are many sites that provide tourism related information about cities. While we want to understand what makes a city great, we are also interested in the messy gray area, where decisions are made about the future of a city. What drives such decision-making? Is that purely a speculative gamble or are there hidden forces at work? What roles do design professionals play in such decision-making? What role does leadership play? Where does such leadership come from? What role does local government play?

We will focus on four broad categories of urban interventions:

Tourism development:

Urban interventions intended to spur or support tourism.

Hotels, convention centers, museums, art galleries, public arts festivals, fashion shows, business shows, public expositions, public events. Ecotourism, sustainable tourism, heritage tourism, leisure, recreation, urban tourism, parks, sports stadiums, arenas, public plazas,

Smart infrastructure:

Urban interventions intended to spur or support smart urbanization technologies.

Smart grid, smart design, smart transit, smart buildings, renewable energy, sustainable architecture, green building, smart architecture, smart meters, smart traffic signaling, mass transit, smart city, smart infrastructure, augmented reality, urban data networks, collaborative networks, digital city.

Economic development:

Urban interventions intended to spur or support economic development.

Business incubators, start-ups, universities, research centers, innovation labs, demonstration projects, affordable housing, transit hubs, rezoning, urban renewal, environmental remediation, brown fields, urban design, new construction, renovation, mass transit systems, manufacturing, warehousing, freight delivery, transportation, logistics, urban upgrading, finance, law, regulations, institutions, leadership.

Branding and global identity:

Urban interventions intended to create a unique brand.

Global influence, city image, uniqueness, branding, identity, signature buildings, global events, public expositions, leadership, historic preservation, tourist attractions, urban design, celebrations.

Miscellaneous Key words:

General information, summary, statistics, comparative study, geography, emergency preparedness, disaster mitigation, low income housing, urbanization, slum upgrading, geography, climate, culture, people, demographics, history.

Illustration Credit: Georg Braun; Frans Hogenberg under Wikimedia Commons.