Mind Westgate, Milan Launched
Andrew joined an international group of real estate and investment, development and urban regeneration professionals on 28 June as Lendlease unveiled the West Gate project, the mixed-use development which will be the first area of the MIND - Milano Innovation District, masterplan to be completed.
This £4.5 billion MIND masterplan will repurpose the Expo2015 site providing homes, places to work, study and relax for over 60,000 people when it is completed in 2032. West Gate will be the first area to open in 2024 and is the site on which Lendlease will experiment with digital and technological solutions which will be rolled out over the wider MIND development, creating a district dedicated to innovation, sustainability, circularity, competitiveness, culture and inclusion.
West Gate is an area of 300 thousand square metres and will include a mix of homes, hotels, mobility and logistic hub ‘MOLO’ comprising 3,000 square meters of retail space, laboratories, offices and a multi-storey car park; and twin office buildings, Zenith and Horizon.
In collaboration with local practice, Puiarch, we have designed the two office buildings, Zenith and Horizon, over a total of approximately 100,000 square metres. From a structural point of view, the design is characterised by an innovative and highly digital approach that uses DfMA to standardise and create the individual construction components off-site, reducing production times and costs.
Innovation and sustainability are also borne out through the choice of structural timber which will minimise the environmental impact of construction throughout its life cycle. With its 13 floors above ground and 56 meters high, Zenith will be the tallest wooden building in Italy and one of the tallest in Europe.
