Milano Expo 2015 area to become Science and Innovation Park by 2021

A consortium led by Australian real estate group Lendlease, design firm Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA), landscape studio Land Italia, and consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers and Systematica has won the competition to redevelop the former Expo 2015 site in Milan. The masterplan, selected by Arexpo, the publicly owned company that controls the one-million-square-meter area in northwest Milan, envisions a 'Science, Knowledge, and Innovation Park' featuring offices, research centers, university faculties, urban agriculture zones, cultural spaces, and residences. The park will incorporate the original Roman-inspired layout of Expo 2015, with a linear green axis over 1,500 meters long along the Decumano. It is billed as the world's first neighborhood designed for autonomous vehicles and will include four kilometers of bike lanes. A key element is the 'Common Ground,' a two-story street-level space weaving through the site with alternating plazas, pedestrian areas, gardens, shops, labs, and courtyard buildings. Completion is targeted for 2021. Project lead Antonio Atripaldi of CRA stated the project aims to create a city that is both a European-scale scientific hub and a neighborhood centered on local community needs, fostering economic growth and social progress in Milan and its metropolitan area.