Construction Completed for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Village

Located at the former Porta Romana rail yard in Milan, the Olympic Village is ready to host athletes during the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The works, which began in January 2023, were completed 30 days ahead of schedule after 900 days of construction. The handover ceremony for the six buildings to the Milano Cortina Foundation is scheduled for the fall.

Covering an area of 50,000 m², the project was commissioned by COIMA – Porta Romana Fundand is owned by the  COIMA Olympic Village Fund. The intervention, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and managed by Progetto CMR, was carried out by a consortium of companies including Impresa CEV, Grassi & Crespi, and Milani. This marks the first case in Italy of applying a partnering contract model — a shared collaboration system between client and contractors that has reshaped how large-scale construction projects are managed, enabling smoother decision-making processes and faster delivery times.

Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Village: a Future beyond the Olympics

Located in the west wing of the former Porta Romana railway yard in Milan, the complex will be returned to the city after the conclusion of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games as a modern student residence with 1,700 beds (300 more than the originally planned 1,400), featuring extensive green areas. The rooms will be handed over to the Milano Cortina Foundation fully furnished, according to their final student housing configuration.

Athlete services — including a gym, coworking spaces, dining facilities, and medical-healthcare structures — will be set up on the ground floor of the buildings that make up the Olympic Village (rather than in temporary structures, as initially planned). After the Olympics, these spaces will be converted into services for the future Scalo Romana neighborhood community.

A Global Model of Integrated Sustainability

The Olympic Village in Scalo Romana is a global model of integrated sustainability and was designed to promote the social well-being of its residents through accessible public spaces and a strong commitment to fostering a sense of neighborhood community. The buildings, LEED Gold certified, were designed to meet high environmental standards, also thanks to a 1 MW photovoltaic system.

The project stood out particularly for its offsite construction strategy: the majority of the load-bearing structures and main components of the six buildings were produced in external factories. This approach reduced the need for onsite labor and sped up the construction phases, allowing project deadlines to be met ahead of schedule.

Marco Ferrario, President of Progetto CMR, expressed great satisfaction with the achievement: "We are proud that this experience has paved the way for a new approach to delivering large-scale projects. All of this took place at one of the most innovative sites in Europe, with design led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which carries high expectations both nationally and internationally".

>>> Discover L'Oréal's new headquarters in The Sign complex, designed by Progetto CMR