One hundred days out from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the Porta Romana Athletes’ Village stands finished and ready for the games. Built from prefabricated modular units, each fabricated from a factory using mass‑timber elements, the village will house up to 1,400 athletes during the Games and convert to long‑term student and affordable housing for the 2026–27 academic year.
The complex, delivered 30 days ahead of schedule, brings together cross‑laminated timber panels, glulam beams, and low‑embodied‑carbon facades across residential and communal buildings. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)—responsible for New York City’s Moynihan Connector—the “self‑sustaining neighbourhood” is fully kitted out with solar panels, roof gardens, and infrastructure designed for rapid conversion after the Olympics.
And like the Paris Athletes Village – occupied by 14,000 athletes during last year’s Summer Olympics – SOM is looking beyond the thousands of athletes occupying the village during the games: “Rather than ceasing to be of use after the Olympics, the Porta Romana Olympic Village will ultimately become a vibrant, self‑sustaining neighbourhood built around the principles of social equity, environmental commitment, wellness, and inclusivity,” said Colin Koop, a partner at SOM. “The village adopts the rhythm of the area’s streetscape, creating a porous urban block with a variety of public spaces and communal anchors that will enhance Milan’s vibrant tapestry of ground‑floor experiences.”
“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,” Koop said, adding that 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.
Olympic organisers are now looking to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo for guidance.
Wood Central understands that SOM’s design included retrofitting two historic structures on site and constructing six timber buildings to accommodate athletes during the games. After the games, these buildings will transition into student and affordable housing. Predominantly built from mass timber in a linear bar format with terraces, the buildings draw inspiration from historic Milanese architecture while utilising contemporary materials, such as low-embodied-carbon facades.
Led by developer COIMA, the village is creating a sustainable urban community with a range of green credentials. According to Manfredi Catella, COIMA founder and CEO,“The 2026 Olympic Village will represent a new urban laboratory for Milan, the first to be designed and built in its future configuration with spaces, functions, and materials already designed for their conversion, meeting NZEB principles.”
And once the games are over, the village will be turned into Italy’s largest affordable student housing complex, comprising 1,700 beds, 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,” Catella said.
Wood Central understands that the village is expected to welcome athletes in the weeks leading up to the games, which run from February 6 to February 22, 2026. Officially, the XXV Olympic Winter Games will be jointly hosted by the city of Milan and the Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort, 255 miles from Italy’s Dolomite mountains.
