Agricultural Park as a principle of urban transformation

The implementation of a linear agricultural park in order to redevelop the existing abandoned area into the new attraction point of a public interest merged with the headquarters of the Slow Food organisation and the product on-site consumption.

Starting from the very first analysis of the San Cristoforo area of transformation, which was one of the several areas proposed by the educational initiative Re-formare Milano, it was made clear that the main target of the work would be based on the integration of different natural and infrastructural systems emphasising their existing urban relation. Thus, this specific project offered me the possibility to develop the new masterplan by generating the complex transformation approach followed by the specific division of the analytic issues into the four-scale research regarding the strategic allocation of the major structural systems. Some projects have already been proposed in order to redevelop this area, but the main tendency was to build the new public facilities mixed with the housing units, indeed improving the damaged environment from the point of view of economic and public interest, but still majorly ignoring the significant potential of the natural recourses, such as the vertical green corridor and the strong presence of agricultural surroundings so generously spread around the area. Thus, disregarding the importance of a transversal axis connecting the scattered urban elements together. The main concept of my proposal is inspired by the two-directional development, that would establish the balance not only to the urban quality of the city and blur its margins with the rural surroundings, but would also give the capability to create an important infrastructural visual node, which would help to determine the new attraction point for the local people and visitors.