(RE)MAKING CITIES

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

These three days, which, in previous years, took place in Riva del Garda, have been moved to Milan, a city where, today, innovation is taking shape with some excellent examples, including some international ones, and where careful attention is paid to social and environmental matters. At the heart of this reflection are our cities and their suburbs.

“(RE)making cities is the title we have chosen this year – says Thomas Miorin, Chairman of REbuild – looking, with great interest, at regeneration initiatives that stand out due to the active roles of the citizens, who contribute from the bottom up in redesigning the spaces in which they live, giving lifeblood and energy to projects that will sit alongside some of the most famous development operations promoted by the big names in the sector. From this perspective, Milan today not only represents a space for renewal and the heart of Italian real estate, but also the workshop where change is capable of bringing together growth with sustainability and social inclusion.”

An example of this is right here in the Ripamonti district, which will host REbuild 2019 inside the Fabbrica Orobia: a lesson in urban regeneration that demonstrates sustainability, public-private synergy, a mix of functions, contemporary architectural excellence and start-up workshops.

“Initiatives such as REbuild – according to the Councillor for Working Policies, Productive Activities and Commerce, Cristina Tajani – make it possible to place the matter of regeneration, be it urbanistic, economic or social, at the heart of the actions and political choices made by the Administration, by comparing public and private experiences. We are convinced that it is only by giving back value to our real estate, productive and artisan heritage – which already exist in Milan - maybe by reinventing it, or rather, adapting it to the modern needs of the city and its inhabitants, that we can generate a sustainable development that is shared and fair, starting right from the most peripheral neighbourhoods and areas of the city.”

In order to enhance and re-use urban suburbs, we need to tighten up the timing and costs of the interventions and creativity will be required to bring together architecture, experimentation and process and product innovation.

Here, in a context where everything becomes connected and information about people and places acquires unprecedented value and power, understanding how this data can create possibilities and opportunities in a shared way through a digital, open platform for the citizen and the city becomes central. One example, which will be discussed at REbuild and which demonstrates how data can be pivotal - even for choices of an urbanistic nature, is that of New York. This American metropolis is using information from an Italian start-up business, Cuebiq, extracting the useful points to be able to perfect their advertising in urban spaces with the aim of understanding how and by whom the places are used in time to achieve a more intelligent management of urban development.

The case of Toronto is also interesting, where Google, by means of the SideWalk Labs initiative, by its innovation company, Alphabet, has developed a project for the waterfront: despite the criteria being amongst the most advanced in the world in terms of sustainability and innovation, a number of citizens are opposed to the initiative because they don’t want to run the risk that data regarding their lives might become available in the digital domain.

REbuild 2019 lights a beacon on the theme of platforms, including the energy platform, that finds new and unexplored spaces of efficiency in the various neighbourhoods superceding what we have achieved so far from the single plant or building. Amongst the case studies on this matter to be welcomed to the June event is the Powerhouse experience, which includes in its supply chain out in the field a study, such as Snøhetta, and a company such as Skanska, capable of creating real estate developments that produce more energy that they consume, even under the pallid, Norwegian sun. A testimony of the kind of results that the real estate operator can achieve when working on an innovative building product, through new platforms and with a collaborative and non-competitive supply chain. Also of interest are the new experiments by Edison, that foresee analyses and energy simulations able to dynamically compensate the energies produced and consumed in a given neighbourhood, simultaneously considering the building-plant system with a high innovation coefficient.

“To be able to exploit these possibilities – Miorin adds – the whole of the construction chain will have to know and work with the platforms, that need to be integrated: that is why we invite representatives from the world of finance, real estate, constructors, designers and exponents from the main component industries.”

Focus on the city, the building and the people. Another guest at REbuild will be the American company, Delos, one of the leading experts in the healthy aspect and comfort of spaces and which has invented the ‘Well’ standard, boasting Leonardo Di Caprio and Deepak Chopra on its advisory board. Focus, therefore, on performance and on people’s well-being, over and above the standards required by certifications.

Architecture – the star of REbuild 2019

Jacobs and Bryden Wood are amongst the architectural and engineering firms that will take part in the Milan meeting, bringing their international experience under the Italian spotlight. There will also be no lack of young Italian architecture with protagonists such as Demogo or Ggloop, who will demonstrate experiments carried out in the field of off-site, whilst keeping the quality of the project at the heart of the building process at all times. Architecture and design will be the drivers of urban regeneration, with their positive impact on the environment, the economy and the overall quality of life of those who live in and use these pieces of the city.

From Riva del Garda to Milan

The Fabbrica Orobia in Milan: REbuild opts to tell its story in a place where transformation is possible. From industrial zone to a mixed-use hub, where start-ups are the stars of the show, the Ripamonti district tells the story of urban regeneration where the Prada Foundation can be found – the design school and Symbiosis operation, just a short walk from the former Porta Romana airport. The meeting will kick off on June 26th, but in the afternoon of June 25th the event will start with a pre-opening aimed at exploring the district.

Take a look at the programme

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