ACSP/AESOP JOINT CONGRESS BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: CELEBRATING THE CITIES 6 – 11 July 2008 Chicago, USA VISUAL SIMULATION AND LARGE PROJECTS EVALUATION Initial experience of the Urban Simulation Laboratory at the Politecnico di Milano in a case study of the Garibaldi Repubblica area By Andrea Arcidiacono and Barbara Piga Large mixed-use projects are transforming parts of Milano. New employment and administrative centers have been developed in previously underused areas. A new Urban Simulation Laboratory has been set up at the Politecnico di Milano in order to examine the scale and spatial organization of projects like these in Milano. The laboratory is primarily a teaching and research facility where students can analyze changes in the urban environment. So students can experiment with and learn skills in three-dimensional modeling techniques, the combining of representations in virtual and real world environments, as well as the creation of realistic photomontages, dynamic simulation videos, and plastic models. This paper illustrates the initial experiences and results of the Politecnico di Milano Urban Simulation Laboratory in applying innovative methodologies of analysis and representation to the evaluation of the cumulative impact of urban redevelopment projects. The main aim of the research is to use physical scale models and dynamic visual simulations to verify the implications of cumulative change in the Garibaldi Repubblica area of Milano where large-scale projects have been promoted. This research specifically concentrates on the morphological coherence of the proposed design with the existing built environment and in relation to the quality and livability of public spaces. The decisive factor in selecting the case study was the size and stratified complexity of the site: a system of approximately 30 hectares in the center of Milano (fig. 1), unused and partially abandoned since the 1950s, but repeatedly affected by disputed redevelopment policy. These projects and proposals for the area have always had great potential for the strategic recovery of Milano’s urban system, at the same time they stimulate strong economic competition for real estate and simultaneously bring acute social conflict with the local inhabitants. The analysis began with direct observation of the place in question. The team made numerous inspections of the area, true “reconnaissance walks” for the purpose of identifying the recognizable clues of urban form (historical traces, land use mixing, building and population densities, local accessibility, etc). Surveys were oriented to formulating an initial hypothesis interpreting the composite morphology of the site: its evolution, the transport structure, and the social and economical conditions as a whole. The initial experience of the “nature of the place” was followed by thorough analysis of the spatial dimensions of the project and its physical and social relationships with the neighborhood. The aim was to use simple interpretative schemes to emphasize the component elements of the urban structure: the morphological patterns, the shape of the street network, the heights of buildings and silhouettes, the features of the urban fabrics, green connections, etc. The construction of an interpretative framework is also combined with integrated experiments using heterogeneous visual communication techniques: instruments and methods of two and three-dimensional high fidelity representation capable of showing any physical and environmental implications of proposals for change. The aim is then to define a suitable reference scheme that highlights coherence and potential conflicts between design proposals and the urban environment.