„Green Life: Costruire citta’ Sostenibili“ – international exhibition at the Milan Triennial

Until 28 March 2010 the exhibition ‚Green Life“ in Milan aims to demonstrate that it is possible to build more sustainable cities, and to "show off" urban areas that have been capable of providing themselves with a vision of the future, adopting bold strategies, and putting in place concrete actions. Visitors will be able to see areas and buildings that have developed more creatively than elsewhere and in a more sustainable way than in the past. Showing examples of what has been done in the world to create urban ecosystems that are sustainable for the planet is a way of demonstrating what can be already be done to make it accessible on a wider scale. The exhibition is aimed at a wide audience of potential "drivers of change" – young people who want to feel like citizens of the world (the "Erasmus generation"), professionals, planners, designers and entrepreneurs with a vision of the future. An exhibition which also talks to ordinary people wishing to find a way to make their lifestyles environmentally sustainable. An exhibition that aims to stimulate today's urban planners and designers, manufacturers of materials and innovative systems, those responsible for procurement in the private and public sphere, political decision-makers, and institutions providing training in know-how.

The exhibition is held in the 1,500 m2 curved area on the ground floor of the Milan Triennial (La Triennale). A selected number of examples of excellence (about twenty cities with cutting-edge policies and districts and innovative architecture). The exhibition area will include information islands providing access to a vast number of cases. The style is informative, and the catalogue gives more technical details. The layout uses "ecological" materials and solutions, with explanations of the choices on dedicated panels The conceptual strength of the individual designs will also be represented by full-size architectural pieces to highlight the relationship between the aims of the design and the practical reality.

The exhibition opens with a conceptual introduction to the reasons for the exhibition, and ist theoretical precedents. The introduction focuses on the challenges facing cities and the role of local policymaking, town planning and architectural design – issue, opportunities, visions, guidelines for change, policies in Europe and around the world, and important players. It then moves on to examine the most innovative approaches, concentrating on the European cities that most stand out, with an eye also on the rest of the world. The relationship between projects, contexts and urban policies is highlighted on three levels (cities, districts and individual buildings), focusing on existing ecological districts and on the cities of the near future, designed to have zero emissions. The main functions are exhibited – districts and buildings for residential use, office, factories, schools, libraries, museums, and so on. Specific aspects and solutions adopted are analysed in greater detail – "major designers", individual towns, specific types of building products or design solutions, etc.

The exhibition comprises three main areas:
● Districts, policies, and buildings in Europe (Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Freiburg, Munster, Oslo, Stockholm and others) and outside Europe (approx.750 m2).
● Components – materials, systems and functions, with descriptions of saving, recycling and reduction (flooring, flooring finishes, tiles, double skin walls, roofs with solar panels, lighting, etc.) (approx. 250 m2)
● Cases, individual projects and cases of excellence from Italy/Lombardy (approx. 350 m2).

Priority is given to completed and ongoing projects able to demonstrate their feasibility and quality of innovation. A lot of attention is also given to project that are part of an integrated urban policy applied throughout the city. Projects that develop green areas inside and around the city and promote local accessibility and mobility services to create increasingly car-free cities are also selected. A final selection criterion is sustainability throughout the life cycle – saving resources during demolition and construction, using local or recycled/recyclable materials, and reducing and reusing site waste. It also look at the environmental rehabilitation of existing districts and buildings, and demolitions or new buildings which take care not to waste land and in any case are not located in environmentally valuable areas. The exhibition will feature projects able to guarantee greater energy efficiency, the production of renewable energy, and "low carbon", possibly "zero emission" districts and buildings able to produce additional energy beyond their own requirements, thanks to the design, materials, construction techniques and systems employed. There will also be a focus on greater water savings, non-toxic interiors, and structure that are easy to maintain and durable over time. Districts and buildings are sustainable when they are built at costs acceptable to the builders and affordable for purchasers and tenants.

„Green Life: Costruire citta’ Sostenibili“
International exhibition until 28 March 2010
Triennale di Milano
Viale Alemagna 6
www.mostragreenlife.org