Hines has been awarded by the Municipality of Milan the public tender for the acquisition of the urban regeneration project of the Nodo Bovisa area, as part of the international “Reinventing Cities” competition. This is one of the most significant areas contributing to the urban transformation of Milan 2030. Thanks to its strategic location near the Milano Nord Bovisa railway station and Politecnico di Milano, the area, covering over 90,000m², promises to be a new district to support and integrate the technological hub of excellence belonging to the adjacent university.
It will become a polycentric urban development that reinforces innovation, sustainability and neighbourhood connection which has historically been divided by the layout of the railway tracks. The public tender comprises the sale of two lots, one owned by the Municipality of Milan and the other owned by FerrovieNord. The project’s completion date is set for 2026. In particular, three areas will be developed with different intended uses. The first will feature over 1,100 beds dedicated to student housing for Italian and international students, researchers and young professionals. The second will be rental accommodation and the third, executive in nature, will potentially host the future FerrovieNord headquarters.
“MoLeCoLa” is the name chosen for the Nodo Bovisa urban regeneration project and reflects the innovative masterplan based on principles of sustainable development and inclusion: Mo like Mobility, Le like Learning, Co like Community and La like Lab, to generate a pilot space to test new technological and behavioural solutions.
The master plan for the area, produced by Park Associati, is the result of an integrated and multidisciplinary design, that has been developed by pursuing the highest international standards of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, being the first LEED for Neighbourhood Built Project in Italy. The project proposes cutting-edge technologies that facilitate energy efficiency, comfort and flexibility through features that connect it to the wider community. The innovation will involve the choice of materials, with a focus on wood where possible, and construction technologies promoting a responsible and virtuous circular economy to create a district with the aim of recording zero emissions 30 years post-development.
“We are very proud to have the opportunity to “reinvent” the Bovisa area,” said Mario Abbadessa, Senior Managing Director & Country Head of Italy at Hines. “This project has great historical value and will strengthen and enhance the area with technology, innovation and sustainability at its core. It will develop into an important green lung for Milan with residential space and a university as critical components of this exciting urban regeneration.”
“The Bovisa area represents a further opportunity to work for the city in close collaboration with the Municipality of Milan and Politecnico di Milano, perfectly fitting Hines’ living strategy,” commented Mario Abbadessa, “a strategy that already includes significant urban regeneration projects under development, such as the former Trotto area and MilanoSesto.”
“The MoLeCoLa masterplan stems first and foremost from the desire to mend the urban fabric of the city, currently divided by the layout of the railway tracks," said the Park Associati architecture studio. “The area to which the tender relates, in fact, together with the development plans for La Goccia and its surroundings, represents the opportunity to relaunch the entire neighbourhood through greater connection with its urban fabric including social relations, mobility and the use of public spaces. MoLeCoLa’s intervention, therefore, aims to be the cornerstone of the urban regeneration of Bovisa by promoting the birth of a new district based on the principles of sustainability and community.”
