The Olympic Village in Milan was built in just 30 months with wood, completed ahead of schedule, and 4 months after the Games it will become housing for 1,700 students with rent 25% below the market rate.

Written by Flavia Marinho

Published on 20/04/2026 at 20:06

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Designed by the same office that designed Google’s headquarters, the village has green terraces that turn into outdoor study rooms and 30% of the apartments will have subsidized prices

Everyone has seen what happens to Olympic villages after the Games are over. Abandoned buildings, empty stadiums, structures that cost billions and are left unused. In Milan, Italy, they decided to do it differently. The Olympic Village for the 2026 Winter Games was designed from the outset to be transformed into student housing right after the closing ceremony.

There are 1,700 beds for university students, with rent 25% below market price.

Built of wood and delivered ahead of schedule

The village is located in the Porta Romana neighborhood, in southern Milan, on an old railway yard that was abandoned.

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Green terraces that turn into study rooms

The most beautiful detail of the project is the green terraces that connect the buildings like suspended bridges.

During the Games, these spaces serve as common areas for athletes.

Afterward, they will be transformed into outdoor study rooms, with plants, benches, and views of the neighborhood gardens.

The gravel used in the Olympic logistics will be replaced by trees and lawns.

Rent of 430 euros — 25% below market

The average rent will be around 430 euros per month, equivalent to approximately R$ 2,600.

This is 25% below the market value in Milan, one of the most expensive cities in Italy for students.

30% of the apartments will have subsidized prices, ensuring access for low-income students.

The conversion of athlete rooms into student rooms will take only 4 months — ready for the fall semester of 2026.

The most sustainable village in Olympic history

The buildings were constructed with cross-laminated timber, a material that emits much less carbon than concrete and steel.

The village has LEED Gold certification and meets the European standard for nearly zero-energy buildings.

Construction in cross-laminated timber — lower carbon emissions
Prefabricated facades and modular design to expedite construction
LEED Gold and WiredScore Platinum certification
NZEB standard — nearly zero-energy building
1,700 beds, exceeding the originally planned 1,400

Not every Olympic village needs to become a ruin after the Games. Milan shows that it is possible to build for sports while also addressing a real problem — the lack of affordable housing for students.

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The Olympic Village in Milan was built in just 30 months with wood, completed ahead of schedule, and 4 months after the Games it will become housing for 1,700 students with rent 25% below the market rate.

Designed by the same office that designed Google’s headquarters, the village has green terraces that turn into outdoor study rooms and 30% of the apartments will have subsidized prices

Built of wood and delivered ahead of schedule

Green terraces that turn into study rooms

Rent of 430 euros — 25% below market

The most sustainable village in Olympic history

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The Olympic Village in Milan was built in just 30 months with wood, completed ahead of schedule, and 4 months after the Games it will become housing for 1,700 students with rent 25% below the market rate.

Designed by the same office that designed Google’s headquarters, the village has green terraces that turn into outdoor study rooms and 30% of the apartments will have subsidized prices

Built of wood and delivered ahead of schedule

Green terraces that turn into study rooms

Rent of 430 euros — 25% below market

The most sustainable village in Olympic history

Mother and daughter build a 70 m² house with more than 8,000 discarded glass bottles and impress with their creativity; known as the Casa de Sal, the property is located on Itamaracá Island, in Pernambuco.

The river that “dies” in the desert never reaches the sea and yet gives life to one of Africa’s largest natural refuges in a truly impressive way.

He transformed an abandoned plastic water tank into an underground house in the “hobbit hole” style, using only repurposed pallet wood, without heavy machinery or expensive labor.

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

China transforms desert-devastated area into the world’s largest artificial forest, planting trees for 60 years, blocking sand that reached Beijing, and creating a “green lung” of 92,000 hectares in a region once considered lost.

Toyota launches “family hybrid van” with 7 or 8 seats, 1.8 hybrid engine, fuel consumption of up to 23.8 km/l, and a price equivalent to about R$ 104,000 without taxes, below the Tiggo 8 Pro Plug-in Hybrid sold in Brazil: meet the Noah Hybrid 2026 in Japan.

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To escape one of the most dangerous seas in Europe, Norway is advancing with a giant tunnel that will allow ships to pass through a mountain, avoiding storms, unpredictable waves, and a route that has frightened sailors for generations.

INSS issues alert to retirees: decisive deadline ends this week and millions of beneficiaries may lose access to amounts that already total R$ 3.2 billion; measure involves deductions made between 2020 and 2025

Forget the dollar: Brazil, China, Russia, and India accelerate testing of the BRICS system to challenge SWIFT, reduce US influence, and expand transactions in national currencies, which already account for 67% of the bloc’s trade.

Forget the slow sweeper: China creates a vacuum truck that cleans highways at up to 80 km/h, sucking up stones, dust, and metals from the asphalt and promises to reduce blockages without stopping traffic.