OMA + Laboratorio Permanente​ to regenerate two disused railway yards in Milan

After participating in the Concorso Farini competition, the team led by OMA was chosen to redevelop the sites of the Scalo Farini and San Cristoforo, two disused railway yards located at the north and southern edges of Milan. The other competition finalists were Baukuh, Arup, Grimshaw, Kengo Kuma and Associates Europe.

OMA’s Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli and Reinier de Graaf — along with local architects Laboratorio Permanente — designed the winning masterplan, which is titled “Agenti Climatici” (Climatic Agents). The plan designates the two railway yards as a green and blue zone that will function as ecological filters to regenerate each site.

The Scalo Farini site is designated as a green zone, which contains a vast park that cools hot winds coming from the southwest and helps purifies the air of toxic particles. As the blue zone, the San Cristoforo site has a large basin that cleans groundwater and creates a landscape for humans and animals.

“In this new value system, public space – including water, greenery and bridges – is fixed, and buildings are residual and uncertain. In Farini, the scale of developments is contingent with the city’s future economic developments, therefore creating an adaptable and resilient spatial framework that can respond to the shocks of national politics and the global economy,” OMA describes.

“In a moment of dramatic environmental transformation and permanent economic uncertainty, our priorities have changed. The most valuable currency is no longer ‘brick’ – the built – but rather the climatic conditions that cities will be able to provide and ensure for their citizens [...], ” Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli said in a statement.

A completion date for the masterplan is yet to be announced.

Project details and credits:

Status: Competition
Program: Masterplan
GFA: 468.301 m2 (Scalo Farini) & 140.199 m2 (Scalo San Cristoforo)
Partners: Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Reinier de Graaf
Team: Massimo Tenan, Paolo Caracini 

COLLABORATORS
Local Architect: Laboratorio Permanente
Landscape, Meteorological consultant: Philippe Rahm Architects
Landscape: Vogt Landscape Architects
Sustainability: Arcadis Italia
Social innovation: Temporiuso
Traffic / transportation: Net Engineering
Urban politics & economics: Ezio Micelli

Find more project drawings in the gallery below.