Just in:
Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Emirati Aid Reaches Ukraine as Food Shortages Bite // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Experts come together to support updating the city’s nature conservation masterplan // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers //
HomeMiddle EastBuilding a ‘forest in the sky’

Building a ‘forest in the sky’

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Porta Nuova aims to transform Milan’s skyline
  • Project will feature new skyscrapers and buildings covered with trees
  • Some experts believe construction ventures like these could get Italian economy moving

One Square Meter explores the leading architectural designs, city plans and demand for property investment in emerging markets. Join CNN’s John Defterios as he visits some of the world’s most dynamic cities for an insight into the fast-paced world of real estate development.

(CNN) — Milan might be most famous as the capital of Italian fashion and finance, but it’s an ambitious architectural project that’s generating buzz these days in the home of Armani and Alfa Romeo.

Porta Nuova is a new 290,000 square meter (3.12 million square feet) site that will encompass office, residential and green space on the previously neglected outskirts of the city.

ADVERTISEMENT

Building work on the project started in 2009. When finished, it will feature numerous sleek skyscraper buildings that will juxtapose sharply with Milan’s more traditional low-rise architecture.

As Italy looks to emerge from the Eurozone crisis, there are even some who suggest developments like these could help get the country’s economy moving again.

“The made in Italy brand is not just fashion and design and food,” said Manfredi Catella, CEO of property development and management firm, Hines Italia.

“Now the first (brand) is our land. This is the natural resource of the country. The Middle East have their oil, we have our oil in our land. Now we have to take it back and create value. Porta Nuova is an example,” Catella added.

Valued at more than $2 billion Porta Nuova is 60% financed by European investors with the remaining 40% funded by Qatar holdings.

The jewels in the crown of the project are arguably the Bosco Verticale (roughly translated as vertical forest) buildings.

The taller of these two residential towers will stand 128 meters (419 feet) high while more than 900 trees will adorn exterior walls and balcony space.

A new 231 meter curved tower close by, meanwhile, will house Unicredit Group’s European headquarters and cater for 4,000 of the financial services firm’s staff.

Unicredit’s general manager Paolo Fiorentino said the new building could change the way the company structures its premises in the future.

“The feedback (so far) is so positive that we will replicate this project also in other cities like Vienna. We have in mind also Rome but we change the overall headquarters philosophy in the group,” Fiorentino said.

“In reality what we put under discussion is the way that our people are sharing space.”

Major global firms such as Google have also agreed to set up their Italian headquarters here.

But while some see progress and opportunity, others are reserving judgment.

“We are not used to certain skylines now you have to lift your head up,” said local architect and designer, Massimmo Locatelli.

“That new way of building for Milan is really unusual and I guess people expect to get used to it,” he added.

With just under a year to go until the Porta Nuova project is completed, traditionalists now don’t have long to savor the city’s existing skyline.

See also: Suburbia gone wild

See also: Architects build first 3D printed house

See also: Giving Motown a replay

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.

(via CNN)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Samsung Partners National Heritage Board to Bring a Slice of Singapore’s Cultural Heritage to Samsung The Frame TV // US reiterates concern over Kejriwal arrest, Cong accounts // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // Emirati Aid Reaches Ukraine as Food Shortages Bite //