ARIA is the placemaking project proposed by Redo Sgr for the ex slaughterhouse area in Milan. Beyond Redo, which covered the role of project coordinator, the team put together some important names in both the national and international contexts. Among others Snøhetta, Cino Zucchi Architetti, Stantec, Barreca & La Varra took part in the design team. Stantec, Mpartner, Deloitte and Fondazione Politecnico di Milano supported the engineering and sustainability aspects of the development and Planet Smart City helped with providing innovative digital and technological solutions to really exploit the concept of “smart city”.
GET had the important role of coordinating the LEED for Cities and Communities Certification, the LEED certification of key buildings of the development (IED facilities) and it was in charge of monitoring the compliance with the “C40 – Reinventing Cities” initiative criteria.
A new level of sustainability
The project was conceived as a model for all-round sustainability. It comprises aspects that span from the safeguard of the architectural heritage and the reduction of energy and natural resources consumption, all the way to social sustainability.
The effort towards multiple sustainability aspects is exemplified by the aspiration of the development to become the first Carbon Negative area in Italy. The goal is ambitious: it implies that not only the emissions of the project are to be zeroed, but that the positive effect should extend to the surrounding neighborhoods, reducing their emissions as well. In particular, the first mean to reach this target was to leverage the broad area as an enormous photovoltaic plant, covering more than 36,000 square meters. This system, combined with the new concepts of Energy Community and Smart District will leverage building automation, smart metering, demand-response management of energy consumption, and even gamification practices for the prosumers (producers and consumers) of the area to achieve top-notch performances in terms of energy management. Another important strategy to reduce the environmental impact of the area is to address the embodied carbon footprint of buildings. Finally, the portion of embodied CO2 that cannot be avoided is compensated with photovoltaic plants that will serve the community surrounding the area.
ARIA: an example for the city of tomorrow
ARIA will be a flagship development for the city of Milan as well as for the Italian context. It will showcase new and better ways of approaching urban and architectural development, pursuing a level of sustainability that spans multiple fields and definitions. Hopefully, it will be an example, a pivotal experience for new systems, technologies, and processes.
Corollary: “C40 – Reinventing Cities”
“Reinventing Cities” is an international competition aimed at developing new sustainable urban projects able to regenerate abandoned areas in major cities across the globe. The initiative is led by C40, a network of almost 100 cities that was born to accelerate the sustainable, equitable and resilient transition of the urban environment. Many different leading cities across the globe are part of the program: to name a few, London, Paris, New York, Sydney, Beijing, Singapore, Barcelona, and Milan. The goal of the competition is ambitious: all these cities identify under-utilised sites and invite multi-disciplinary team to propose projects that can regenerate them. These best-practice examples can become catalysts in the fight against climate change, inspiring a virtuous circle that extend to other neighborhoods and cities. In the case of the ex-Macello area, the 15-hectare site was previously used as an important market area for the city of Milan, and it will be converted into a new vibrant neighborhood with multiple functions and innovative aspects, such as the “LEED for Cities and Communities: Plan and Design”, applied for the first time in a major city in the Italian context. The development follows different strategies that aim at setting a new standard for urban regeneration initiatives.
Corollary: “LEED for Cities and Communities: Plan and Design”
Managing the complexity of such a development and providing a truly effective and coordinated effort towards sustainability would have not been possible without such a consolidated support as the “LEED for Cities and Communities: Plan and Design”. Being performance-driven and including a verified certification program, the framework is able to guarantee absolute transparency and accountability of results. “LEED for Cities and Communities: Plan and Design” is built around 7 pillars:
- Integrative Process (to perform early analysis of the multiple city systems and to support the adoption of green building practices for buildings)
- Ecology and Natural Systems (to safeguard the local natural ecosystem, prevent pollution, enhance environmental quality through green spaces and generate awareness of these topics)
- Transportation and Land Use (to discourage urban sprawl and preserve historic structures, inhibit the use of personal vehicle, encourage people to walk or bike and provide infrastructure for electric mobility)
- Water (to reduce water pollution, reduce stress on freshwater resources, reduce rainwater runoff)
- Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (to measure GHG emissions per capita, promote renewable energy usage, improve operational efficiency of the grid, promote equitable access to reliable power supplies)
- Materials and Resources (to foster recovery, reuse and recycling and reduce landfill waste, promote the use of more sustainable materials and products)
- Quality of Life (to provide adequate social infrastructure, economic growth pathways, affordable housing and prepare adequate emergency responses)
By including all these different aspects, the framework was able to bring together all the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and Reinventing Cities instances, while at the same time suggesting established strategies to effectively reduce the impact of the project. Following this line, all the new developments of the area will be rated as GOLD in the LEED for Building Design and Construction framework. This kind of certification serve a twofold purpose: while on one hand it can help developers navigate the complexity of multiple sustainability aspects, it also supports financial institutions, as well as potential tenants, in comparing the true value of these assets.
Get in touch: Talk to Daniele for more information about ARIA and LEED for Communities
Daniele Guglielmino – Head of ESG, Sustainable & Healty Built Environment
daniele.gugliemino@get-consulting.it
+39 347 2645 024
