GO fit Italia S.p.A. + Municipality of Milan (PPP - Public-Private Partnership)
Typology
Regeneration (with restoration of the existing buildings)
Status
Ongoing
The regeneration of the Lido di Milano is one of the most significant urban regeneration projects dedicated to sport and wellbeing currently under way in the city: it transforms a historic sports complex, abandoned for years, into a new multifunctional hub combining sports activities, wellbeing, services and open spaces. In a strategic setting alongside the San Siro Racecourse and the Meazza stadium, the centrepiece is a new building - on the site of the former tennis courts - with a large fitness area, class studios, three indoor swimming pools and a modern wellness area with spa, while the historic buildings are restored and re-functionalised. It is GO fit's first Milan investment - the international sports centre operator - within a Public-Private Partnership between the Municipality of Milan, owner of the site, and GO fit, concessionaire and operator of the future centre.
Project Site Plan
The Project
Overview
The requalification of the Lido di Milano represents one of the most significant urban-regeneration interventions dedicated to sport and wellbeing currently underway in the city. The project transforms a historic sports complex, abandoned for years, into a new multifunctional hub capable of combining sports activities, wellbeing, services and open spaces, restoring to citizens a place deeply rooted in Milanese collective memory. The intervention is set within a strategic urban context, close to the San Siro Racecourse and the Meazza stadium, in a district in continuous evolution, characterized by residences, offices and large infrastructures dedicated to sport and leisure. The heart of the intervention is the new building dedicated to sports activities, built on the area previously occupied by the tennis courts: a large fitness area, rooms dedicated to classes, three indoor pools for swimming and learning, and a modern wellness area with spa. In parallel, the existing historic buildings will be restored and refunctionalized to host complementary services. The project represents GO fit's first Milanese investment, an international operator specialized in the management of sports centres, and arises within a Public-Private Partnership between the Municipality of Milan, owner of the area, and GO fit, concessionaire and manager of the future centre.
The Challenge
The complexity of the intervention lies in the ability to act on an iconic site of the city, reconciling very different requirements: on the one hand conserving and enhancing the historic heritage subject to protection, in compliance with the Soprintendenza's indications; on the other realizing a contemporary sports centre, meeting the quality, technological and functional standards required by an international operator such as GO fit. To this complexity is added the very nature of the project, which involves public administrations, concessionaire, protection authorities and a broad group of international designers and specialized consultants: coordination is one of the determining elements for the success of the intervention.
Pre-Development & Governance
The preliminary phase represented a fundamental moment in the definition of the project. The set-up of the Public-Private Partnership required the construction of a model shared between public administration and private investor, through the definition of the agreement, the operational responsibilities, the performance objectives and the management arrangements for the entire complex. The governance was built to guarantee a balance between public interest, economic sustainability of the investment and quality of the intervention, creating the conditions for efficient management throughout the life cycle of the work.
Systems & Technical Coordination
The multidisciplinary nature of the project required a strongly integrated approach, capable of coordinating architectural, structural, systems, acoustic and specialist skills within a single decision-making process. We contributed to the technical management of the intervention through continuous coordination between designers, consultants and client, ensuring - within the scope of our commission - the consistency between the different disciplines and the control of design interferences. The objective was not merely to produce technical documents, but to govern a complex process while keeping design quality, development time, cost and performance requirements constantly aligned.
Process Management
The project was developed through a multidisciplinary organizational structure, in which each professional contributed specific skills within a strongly coordinated process. Project Management took on a central role in the management of information flows, in the coordination of activities and in the continuous control of design evolution, guaranteeing dialogue between client, designers and consultants. With the start of the construction phase, coordination extended to site monitoring, the management of variants, the updating of design documentation and the resolution of the issues arising during construction.
Value Added
The value of the project goes beyond the construction of a new sports centre. The intervention returns to the city a symbolic place that had remained unused for many years, transforming it into a contemporary infrastructure capable of generating wellbeing, social life and urban quality. For the Municipality of Milan it represents the recovery and enhancement of public heritage through an innovative model of collaboration with the private sector. After the recent opening of the GO fit centre at the former Flower Market in Turin - another intervention we followed - for GO fit Italia the Lido constitutes a further major step in its expansion across the country. For the district it means reactivating a currently degraded space, improving its safety, accessibility and liveability, with new services intended not only for the users of the sports centre but for the entire community. For us, a significant experience in the management of complex urban-regeneration interventions: the confirmation of our ability to coordinate articulated processes in which design quality, governance and technical control proceed as a single system.
