aria

THE TEAM

Project leaders

Redo (FIL 1)

Co-investor

Deltaecopolis, CCL, IED, CA Ventures, E.ON

Planners

Snøhetta Oslo, Barreca & La Varra, CZA Cino Zucchi Architetti, Stantec, Chapman Taylor, Fondazione Housing Sociale

Engineering
and sustainability

Stantec, Mpartner, PNAT, Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, prof. Marco Filippi, Deloitte

Strategic
partners

Planet Smart City

Sustainability,
welfare and digital

MIC Mobility-in-Chain,
GaiaGo, LifeGate, Cresme
Ricerche, LAMA development
& cooperation, Fondazione
Don Gino Rigoldi, Amici
di Edoardo, ènostra, Edoardo
Tresoldi, The Fab Lab, Festival
della Scienza, Eatour, Electreon,
Mare Culturale Urbano,
Giacimenti Urbani

Aria is the requalification project of the former Slaughterhouse of Milan, that aims to become the first Carbon Negative Area in the city. The project is the winner of the second edition of Reinventing Cities, the international competition launched by the City of Milan in collaboration with C40 for sustainable urban regeneration.

ARIA: HIGHLIGHTS

Carbon Negative Area

Actions for “climate positivity” The objective is not only to reduce the CO₂eq emissions produced by the intervention to zero, but to remove emissions from the surrounding city. Among the strategies adopted:

36.000 mq of photovoltaic surface area.
Renewable Energy Communities: communities that consume, produce and supply others with their self-produced energy using renewable methods.

Attractiveness of the site

Presence of relevant cultural and training institutions

IED: 30,000 mq intended for the main campus of the European Institute of Design, a prestigious international institution for education and research in the disciplines of Design, Fashion, Visual Arts and Communication.
Pod Science & Art District: 6,500 mq for a new Science District. Exhibitions, events and laboratories for the production and dissemination of science and the enhancement of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Urban Adaptive zone

Dynamic design and inclusive use of spaces and services

Residents and operators in the district will share spaces and services for self-managed activities and develop inclusive social projects.

Redo App

A neighbourhood app for residents, users and community manager

Smart access to neighbourhood information, reservation of spaces and services and monitoring of energy consumption.

Slide

Carbon Negative Area

Actions for "climate positivity"

The objective is not only to reduce the CO₂eq emissions produced by the intervention to zero, but to remove emissions from the surrounding city.

Among the strategies adopted:

36,000 sqm of photovoltaic surface area.

Renewable Energy Communities: communities that consume, produce and supply others with their self-produced energy using renewable methods.

Slide

Attractiveness of the site

Presence of relevant cultural and training institutions

IED: 30,000 sqm intended for the main campus of the European Institute of Design, a prestigious international institution for education and research in the disciplines of Design, Fashion, Visual Arts and Communication.

Pod Science & Art District: 6,500 sqm for a new Science District. Exhibitions, events and laboratories for the production and dissemination of science and the enhancement of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Slide

Urban Adaptive zone

Dynamic design and inclusive use of spaces and services

Residents and operators in the district will share spaces and services for self-managed activities and develop inclusive social projects.

Slide

Redo App

A neighbourhood app for residents, users and community manager

Smart access to neighbourhood information, reservation of spaces and services and monitoring of energy consumption.

INTERVIEW WITH FABIO CARLOZZO

THE PROJECT

SURFACE

150.000 sqm

HOUSING AND NON-HABITABLE UNITS

1.200 flats
Student residence with 600 beds
67,000 sqm residential buildings
93,000 sqm non-residential buildings
23% renovated buildings

STATUS

In progress

THE FIRST CARBON NEGATIVE AREA IN MILAN

ARIA will be Milan’s first Carbon Negative area: it will produce its entire energy needs on-site from renewable sources (zero carbon), and will also transfer a surplus of clean energy to other areas of the city, thus lowering the CO₂ produced in the city (carbon negative).

A complex challenge, if we consider the size of the site and the different uses of the buildings: about 15% recovered pre-existing buildings; 35% new residential areas (most of them affordable housing); more than 40% mixed use (accommodation, offices, laboratories, exhibition and commercial spaces); a student residence; a medical centre; the IED Campus.

Becoming a Carbon Negative Area will be possible thanks to a series of interconnected actions.

- Efficiency requirement
  Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art building technologies, the energy requirements for air conditioning, ventilation, and hot water production in new buildings are at least 40 percent lower than those of standard state-of-the-art buildings.
- Only renewable energy
  100 percent of energy needs are met through a large photovoltaic system with an area of more than 36,000 m² that generates the energy for the site’s heat pumps and cooling machines.
- Efficient networks
  Energy generated by the photovoltaic system is best managed and transmitted through an ultra-low temperature (15°-25°) 5th generation district heating/cooling that reduces consumption: the energy savings of this network compared to more traditional systems is 15%.
- Real-time monitoring
  A monitoring system is planned for energy consumption and indoor environmental conditions that can provide information to occupants and the facility manager. Residents can monitor their consumption through the Redo App
- Results: less consumption
  In light of these measures, Aria’s energy consumption shows significant reductions compared to Business As Usual (BAU).

BAU – Business As Usual	Electric Energy Consumption
	kWh el / m2 year	MWh el / year
Power station (Reversible air-to-air PDC for heating, ACS and cooling)	26,2	4199
Loss of network (distribution)	2,6	420
Controlled mechanical ventilation of the buildings	4,4	703
Common spaces lighting, incandescent sources	4,2	669
TOTAL	37,4	5991

ARIA	Electric Energy Consumption
	kWh el / m2 year	MWh el / year
Power station (Reversible air-to-air PDC for heating, ACS and cooling)	9,8	1576
Loss of network (distribution) and pompaggio fluidi acqua di falda	2,7	438
Spare air handling of all buildings	4,4	703
Common spaces lighting, LED sources	2,5	401
TOTAL	19,4	3118

ELECTRICITY NEEDS	kWh el / m2 year	MWh el / year
Heating	19,4	3114
Cooling	41,6	6676
ACS (for residential and student housing only)	7,6	1225

Energy Surplus and Carbon Negative
The energy produced by the large photovoltaic system, and the savings from the low-temperature grid, create a surplus of renewable energy. This surplus will be used by users (residents, educational institutions, and businesses) off-site. The release to the “energy community” to citizens not residing in the project area is the key to a new paradigm: the Carbon Negative Area. That is, Aria contributes to lower CO₂ emitted elsewhere in the city and is an active factor in “rebalancing” city-scale emissions. This scheme can become a case study as it can be replicated in other development areas of Milan. In fact, it allows the implementation of a proper ecological transition with favorable economic implications for users.

VISIT THE PROJECT’S WEBSITE