American architect Populous has unveiled its design for the “Cathedral”, which will be built as a replacement for the the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, also known as the San Siro, the home ground of AC Milan and Inter Milan football teams.
The Cathedral will be carbon neutral and LEED-certified, and its design is inspired by the two of Milan’s most famous buildings, the Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral), construction of which began in 1386, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Italy’s oldest active shopping centre.
The Cathedral will sit within the reconfigured San Siro neighbourhood, a new pedestrian zone with 110,000 sq m of green areas.
The neighbourhood will be dedicated to sport and leisure activities, most of which will be free, with an underground parking lot.
Christopher Lee, Populous’ managing director, said: “The Cathedral will become one of the most iconic stadiums in world football. It will create a world-class, modern and truly bespoke home for the legendary clubs of AC Milan and FC Internazionale Milano and form the beating heart of a new civic district.
“It will be a stadium for all Milanese to enjoy for generations to come that is true to the city and honours its heritage.”
Alessandro Antonello, FC Internazionale’s chief executive, said: “The New Stadium of Milan will be in an extra-contemporary green area that can be lived in all year round.
“The new district for sport and leisure and its 50,000 sq m park will make San Siro the go-to neighbourhood for sport and entertainment.”
Populous is due to present the final designs for the project during 2022.
It was announced in 2015 that UK consulting engineer Arup would work on the stadium and the wider Milanese development.
