NEW MILAN FAIR COMPLEX

Milan,

Development Team The New Milan Fair Complex (Nuovo Sistema Fiera Milano) has transformed a brownfield site along the Owner/Developer main road from downtown Milan to Malpensa Airport into a 200-hectare (494 ac) exhibition center, re- lieving traffic congestion around the historic fairground in the center and allowing the original fair- Fondazione Fiera Milano Milan, Italy ground to continue to host smaller congresses and trade shows, even after part of the downtown site is www.fondazionefieramilano.com sold and redeveloped. The two separate yet complementary developments—the new complex at Rho- Pero (popularly known as Fieramilano) and the downtown complex (known as Fieramilanocity)—have Architect brought new life and prestige to Milan’s exhibition industry, enabling the Milan Fair Complex to con- architetto tinue competing with other European exhibition centers and to maintain its position as an international , Italy leader. Both projects are being promoted by Fondazione Fiera Milano, the private company that owns www.fuksas.it and operates the Milan Fair Complex, through its subsidiary Sviluppo Sistema Fiera SpA. Associate Architects The site of the new complex at Rho-Pero, two adjoining industrial suburbs northwest of Milan, was Schlaich Bergermann und Partner long occupied by an oil refinery. After Fondazione Fiera Milano purchased the site, the refinery was , dismantled and the and groundwater cleaned up. In an approach considered highly unusual and www.sbp.de innovative in Italy, the foundation issued an international request for proposals (RFP) to select a general Studio Altieri contractor, an approach that continuity and consistency to the and construction stages and (VI), Italy resulted in more accurate cost estimates and quicker completion. Construction of the new complex be- www.studioaltieri.it gan in October 2002 and was completed just 30 months later on March 31, 2005. The complex consists Studio Marzullo of eight multipurpose pavilions built along a 1.3-kilometer-long (4,265 ft) central avenue covered by a Rome, Italy futuristic glass-and-steel structure undulating to a height of 36 meters (118 ft) above the and Con- Parking Structure Architect gress Center. The complex covers more than 2 million square meters (21.5 million sf) and has a footprint of 530,000 square meters (5.7 million sf). Mario Bellini Associati Û Milan, Italy Although the 750 million cost of the new complex was funded entirely by Fondazione Fiera Milano, www.bellini.it the cooperation of all parties involved was essential to the project’s success. Fondazione Fiera Milano col- laborated with a wide range of public authorities and organizations, including the Regional Council of Hotel Architect , the Provincial Council of Milan, the , the suburban councils of Rho and DPA Architecture Pero, and other local groups to ensure that the new and redeveloped complexes would benefit all. “Fon- , dazione Fiera Milano established—right from the outset—a method wholly new for Italy, one based on www.perraultarchitecte.com alliances among everyone involved in the operation: institutions, businesses, and government, as well

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Site Area 200 hectares (494 ac) 9 percent public space

Facilities 590,000 square meters (6,350,707 sf) gross building area 20,000 surface parking spaces

Land Uses convention center, parking

Start/Completion Dates October 2002–March 2005

Jury Statement The New Milan Fair Complex transforms a brownfield site between Malpensa as on shared goals and liabilities,” notes Luigi Roth, chairman and CEO of Fondazione Fiera Milano. Pub- Airport and downtown Milan into a 200- lic authorities invested an additional Û800 million in transportation infrastructure and connections to hectare (494 ac) modern exhibition the complex. The area’s road and highway network is being upgraded to provide better access and con- grounds, relieving Milan’s historic fair- nections between the Rho-Pero area, Milan, Malpensa Airport, and the rest of Italy. Milan’s subway line grounds, located in the center city, from traffic congestion and enabling it once is being extended to the site, and a railroad connection is expected to be completed in December 2006. again to host smaller-scale fairs. In a separate 2004 RFP, Fondazione Fiera Milano selected the CityLife consortium to redevelop Together, the new Milan Fair Complex 255,000 square meters (2.7 million sf) of the 400,000-square-meter (4.3 million sf) historic fairground site and the historic fairgrounds have in the center of Milan. The transformation of the original Milan Fair Complex into a dual-hub exhibi- expanded the city’s exhibition capacity tion system is one of the most important forces driving economic growth in today. The and strengthened Milan’s global com- Û petitiveness for large-scale exhibitions. entire complex is expected to generate 4.3 billion in revenue and to create 42,700 new jobs; it already has made the region a key player in global competition.

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