Bjarke Ingels Group to Design New CityLife Building in Milan

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has been selected to design a new building in Milan's CityLife district, completing the redevelopment of the former Fiera di Milano site. The project was announced to the press on November 28, 2019. BIG was chosen from a shortlist including UNStudio, Dominique Perrault, Antonio Citterio, and Carlo Ratti. The building, which will house offices, is not a tower and will not compete with the existing trio of skyscrapers—the Dritto, Storto, and Curvo—designed by Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, and Daniel Libeskind. Instead, it aims to create a "new northern gateway" to CityLife, featuring two buildings connected by a portico structure with a minimum width of 18 meters. The complex will have a total surface area of 53,500 square meters and a length of over 200 meters, with cascading terraces for multifunctional spaces. Armando Borghi, CEO of CityLife, stated that the project aligns with the district's values and goals, while Aldo Mazzocco, CEO of Generali Real Estate and President of CityLife, described the winning proposal as "balanced, modern, and complementary." Construction is expected to be completed by 2023. This project strengthens BIG's presence in Italy, following the recent groundbreaking of the Sanpellegrino Future Factory in Valle Brembana, expected by 2022. Additionally, a BIG exhibition is scheduled to open at the Triennale di Milano in April 2020.