International design and innovation leaders, Carlo Ratti Associati, recently won the ‘Reinventing Cities’ competition organised by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

The C40 is a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change, and the competition was a call for urban projects that drive carbon-neutral and resilient urban regeneration across the globe, to transform under-utilised sites into beacons of sustainability and resilience.

CRA’s design, titled VITAE, a new office building and centre for scientific research in Milan, features a 200-meter-long  urban vineyard that covers the entire building, creating a publicly-accessible footpath that ascends from the street level to the rooftop. The project was developed in collaboration with real estate group Covivio, and environmental experts Habitech.

Inspired by the principles of Biophilic design, the project derives its name from ‘vitae’, a word that means ‘life’ in Latin and ‘vine’ in Italian. A green path with a vine-covered pergola gently rises along the walls of the building, creating a long promenade for pedestrians. Strolling along this green path, one can witness a series of terraces and greenhouses for urban farming and hydroponic cultivation.

The building will also host a farm-to-table restaurant on the ground level, high-tech offices above, and a series of facilities for the leading molecular and oncology research centre, ICOM,  (including terraced guest rooms for its international researchers) on the higher floors.

“VITAE tries to address humankind’s innate ‘biophilia,’ as formulated by the great American biologist Edward O. Wilson,” says Saverio Panata, partner at CRA and Project Manager of VITAE. “We are talking about the natural tendency of our species to seek our happiness through immersion in nature. Thanks to new technologies, it is now possible to achieve this goal even in the heart of the city – this is particularly relevant in a building that is devoted to scientific research.”

Carlo Ratti was also a keynote speaker at India Design ID, ID Symposium