Architecture Watch: CityLife – a Futuristic Marvel in the Historic City of Milan
On Monday morning, we travelled a short distance away from the old city centre of Milan and got to see CityLife – an ambitious and futuristic residential, commercial, and business project designed by eminent architects such as Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, and Daniel Libeskind.
At the centre of the 90-acre site are three commercial towers surrounded by residential buildings and public green spaces.
Generali Tower, known as Lo Storto or "the Twisted One", was designed by Zaha Hadid. The geometry of the building is such that the dimension of the floors and their orientation vary along the tower axis.
Allianz Tower, locally nicknamed Il Dritto or "the Straight One", was designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki and Italian architect Andrea Maffei. At 209 metres, it is the tallest building in Italy. The fully-glazed elevations of the short sides reveal the mechanical series of six panoramic lifts going up and down to the various floors of the building.
The CityLife Residences designed by Zaha Hadid are comprised of seven curved buildings of varying heights. The distinctive architecture is defined by a serpentine movement of the curved balconies and the profile of the roofs, which provide a soft and elegant shape for all of the top-floor penthouses, complete with extensive covered terraces.
In many ways, CityLife embodies the future. The project comes equipped with some alternative energy systems; where the structures mainly use sources such as ground water, district heating, and photovoltaics.
We were quite impressed by how the project takes smart mobility to an all-new level – underground, to be precise. Little did we know that we were in the largest car-free area in Milan and one of the biggest in Europe. Where, through an innovative underground road system, cars can access garages and parking areas.
Holistic in vision, there is a lane for cyclists and pedestrians that crosses the area from east to west. And leading from the residences to the centre of the district – where the shops, bars and restaurants overlook the park – are broad avenues. It’s the CityLife, where innovative architecture meets sustainability and quality of life.
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