Isola, Porta Nuova & das Bosco Verticale — Mailands Neue Skyline
The Porta Nuova development — the 2000s-2010s urban regeneration project that transformed the former industrial and railway land north of the historic city centre into Milan's most ambitious contemporary architectural district — has fundamentally altered the skyline of the city and established Milan as the most architecturally adventurous major city in Italy.
- 1
Bosco Verticale — 800 Trees on Two Residential Towers
Bosco Verticale ('Vertical Forest', Porta Nuova, 2014, Stefano Boeri Architetti) consists of two residential towers (80m and 112m) supporting 800 trees, 5,000 shrubs, and 15,000 plants on terraced balconies — the trees (species selected for each terrace's sun exposure and altitude) create a self-sustaining forest ecosystem that absorbs 30 tonnes of CO₂ per year and houses 1,600 bird and butterfly species in an urban environment; the towers won the International Highrise Award 2014.
- 2
Isola Neighbourhood — Milan's Counter-Culture Village
Isola ('island') occupies a 19th-century working-class residential area separated from the rest of the city by the Garibaldi railway yards (now pedestrianized) — the neighbourhood's 1950s–1970s apartment blocks, small piazzas, and neighbourhood bars (osterie) have attracted a community of artists, designers, and young professionals who created Milan's most authentic non-touristy neighbourhood; the Sunday morning market (Piazza Lagosta, 9am–2pm) is the most local food market in central Milan.
- 3
Fondazione Prada — Rem Koolhaas's Gold Tower
Fondazione Prada (Largo Isarco, south Milan, 2015, OMA/Rem Koolhaas) occupies a 1910 distillery complex converted and extended with three new buildings — the Tower (9-story, entirely covered in gold leaf, visible from the ring road) contains Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli's contemporary art collection; the adjacent Bar Luce (designed by Wes Anderson in a Milanese 1950s pasticceria style) is the most photographed café interior in Milan; admission €15.
- 4
Porta Nuova Financial District — Dubai on the Naviglio
Porta Nuova (the planned €2 billion regeneration of Milan's railway goods yard, 2009–2019) is Italy's largest urban redevelopment — the district connects Garibaldi and Varesine towers (the UniCredit Tower, 231m, Italy's tallest building) to the Gae Aulenti piazza and the Biblioteca degli Alberi (Library of Trees, a 95,000m² public botanical garden with 100 plant species in a geometric pattern visible from the towers above).
- 5
Corso Como 10 — Milan's Fashion Concept Store Prototype
10 Corso Como (Milan, 1991, Carla Sozzani) invented the concept store format — a gallery, restaurant, bookshop, garden, hotel (3 rooms), and retail store under one roof at 10 Corso Como — the format was copied in New York, Shanghai, Seoul, and Beijing; the bookshop (the best art, fashion, and photography bookshop in Milan) and the garden restaurant are accessible without purchasing anything; international designer brands are displayed as art objects as much as merchandise.
- 6
Design Superincipal — B&B Italia, Cassina & Molteni Showrooms
Milan's design showroom circuit (concentrated on the Via Durini, Via Manzoni, and Via della Spiga streets) is the world's most significant concentration of Italian furniture design — B&B Italia (Piazza del Liberty), Cassina (Via Durini, selling Corbusier LC4 chaises and Prouvé chairs at original design standards), and Molteni & C (Corso Europa) show Milan's position as the world capital of furniture production; visits are free and staff provide design history context on request.