carlo ratti to transform milan's world expo site into an innovation hub

carlo ratti associati — together with australian developer lendlease — has won the international competition to give a second life to milan’s former 2015 expo site. the winning proposal envisions a 10-million square foot (1-million square meter) innovation theme park dedicated to science, knowledge and technology.

featuring offices, research centers, university faculties, facilities, residences, cultural spaces, and areas for urban farming, carlo ratti’s winning proposal will be the world’s first neighborhood planned for self-driving cars. aiming to set new standards for urban transformation processes, the project will create a verdant neighborhood rich in public spaces and life. innovation will be implemented according to an open-source approach, allowing buildings to be reconfigured and change their function over time according to people’s needs.

‘since cities emerged ten thousand years ago, they have served as civilization’s most powerful engine of innovation. innovation is also at the core of our master plan, by which the former site of milan world expo will become a place where to experiment new ways of working, doing research, inhabiting spaces, enjoying life, and getting around – a garden city shaped by the evolving needs of its inhabitants,’ comments carlo ratti, founding partner of CRA and professor of the practice of urban technologies at MIT. ‘at CRA, we are thrilled to be involved in the creation of this living lab on tomorrow’s milan.’

the masterplan features a one-mile long linear park that draws on the world expo 2015 landmark. by extending its vision towards mobility, the area’s streets and roads will over time become accessible to self-driving cars exclusively, anticipating the transformation autonomous cars will bring. the result will be an increase in shared transportation with fewer vehicles needed to satisfy the community’s mobility demands.

the project also proposes a common ground with a two-floor high space all across the master plan. this will be animated by a lively mix of plazas, pedestrian areas, shared vegetable gardens, laboratories and retail facilities. the idea is for people to move seamlessly between public and price spaces, or open and secluded areas.