The Porta Nuova Project is a huge urban and architectural renewal operation within Milan’s Business District, which was built for tertiary companies and extends from the Milan Porta Garibaldi railway station to Piazza della Repubblica, from the Porta Nuova station to Palazzo Lombardia. The Porta Nuova Project consists of three parts: Garibaldi Repubblica, designed for mixed use by Cesar Pelli; Varesine, another similar project; Isola Lunette, a residential project. The Porta Nuova Project covers a total area of over 290,000 sq m. It is the largest urban renewal project ever taken on in the centre of Milan and represents a unique model for projects of sustainable development in Italy and Europe.

As part of the Porta Nuova Garibaldi Project, Cefla Engineering installed the technological systems in the three towers (buildings A, B, C) and the Podium. Work followed a general strategy of sustainability covering six major themes: location, materials, water, energy, air and environmental quality. Plant solutions included:

• Water storage, pumping and primary distribution for fire protection systems;
• Condensation water pumping and primary distribution for building air-conditioning systems;
• Control rooms in the three towers (buildings A, B, C) and the Podium;
• Installation of one generator in each building for powering the general systems, and 4 additional generators to power the more critical systems;
• Air conditioning and ventilation systems in the garages;
• Water supply systems (based on “variable volume” operation which minimises pumping cost and energy consumption);
• Fire-fighting equipment;
• Automatic control of mechanical and lighting systems;
• Special electrical safety systems.