SOM unveils Winter Olympics Athletes' Village on former railyard in Milan
Global architecture studio SOM has revealed the 2026 Winter Olympics Athletes' Village in Porta Romana, Milan, which was completed in 30 months and will be turned into student housing after the games.
The Athletes' Village, which was finished 30 days ahead of schedule, comprises six mass-timber residential buildings, as well as two adapted historic buildings.
Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) also designed 40,000 square metres of green areas, community spaces and sports courts for the development, which was overseen by developer COIMA.
"We were compelled by the opportunity to design a project that is purpose-built for one usage, and that then will transform for another permanent purpose – and to do so in the most sustainable and urbanistically responsible way possible," said SOM partner in charge Colin Koop.
"Ultimately, the village will become a vibrant, self-sustaining neighbourhood built around principles of social equity, environmental commitment, wellness, inclusivity, and resilience," Koop added.
The athletes' village is located on a former railyard and the studio drew inspiration from the area's industrial past when designing the new buildings.
SOM said it also took cues from the wider streetscape in Milan to create a "porous urban block" that will feature public pathways.
The studio preserved the structures and ground floors of two historic buildings on site, the Squadra Rialzo locomotive workshop and the Basilico building, which will house cultural and economic organisations.
It also opened up the two buildings to reveal their inner structures of wood, masonry and iron.
"Dramatic yet respectful interventions within the buildings' interiors, like new timber roofs, mechanical systems, infrastructure for restaurant and community space, and art pieces, may also be undertaken," the studio said.
The six new buildings will have flexible podiums, which will house support areas for the athletes during the Olympics and student amenities afterwards.
On either side of the campus, communal terraces will provide shared spaces and give the residential units more privacy from the street.
Once the Winter Olympics are over, the village will be turned into Italy's largest affordable student housing development. It will have 1,700 beds and be ready in time for the 2026/27 academic year.
"The Olympic Village sets a new benchmark for sustainability – not just in terms of its low environmental impact but for its enduring legacy after the Games, when it will provide high-quality, affordable housing for students," said COIMA CEO Manfredi Catella.
The Athletes' Village utilises passive cooling strategies, solar panels and rooftop gardens.
"In addition, the new buildings maximise the use of sustainable materials, from the mass timber structure of the residential buildings to low-embodied carbon facade materials," SOM said.
Previous buildings designed for the Olympic Games athlete villages include a mass-timber office in Paris, created for the 2024 Olympic Games, and a trio of apartment blocks lined with terracotta tiles, also built for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The video is by COIMA and the photography is by Dave Burk unless otherwise stated.
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