During the World Government Summit 2024 in Dubai, BAM - Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, a project by Riccardo Catella Foundation, was awarded the Dubai International Best Practices Award for Sustainable Development in the Urban Regeneration and Public Spaces category. Established in 1995 during the Dubai UN International Conference at the behest of Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and now at its 13th edition, the Award aims to highlight initiatives that have had a positive impact on improving the quality of people's lives, guiding the development of the cities of the future.
The award is sponsored by UNHABITAT, a United Nations program for socially and environmentally sustainable urbanization, and the Municipality of Dubai. The Dubai International Award testifies to the global value of the BAM project and the Riccardo Catella Foundation's commitment to spreading best practice in sustainable urban regeneration through projects aimed at improving the quality of urban life and public green spaces.
The Foundation has handled since September 2019 the management, security, maintenance and cleaning of the park, through an innovative public-private partnership between the Municipality of Milan and COIMA.
The public parks is a ''library'' of plant heritage, with more than 100 botanical species, more than 500 trees and 135.000 plants including grasses, hedges, shrubs, bulbs, creepers, aquatic and herbaceous specimens. A unique example of beauty, botanical variety and design innovation conceived for a cross-cultural audience, it requires by its very nature constant and daily care for its conservation and preservation. As a result, the activities implemented from 2019 to date for the park by the Riccardo Catella Foundation have resulted in a total of more than 9.500 interventions, both ordinary and extraordinary, testifying to its care for creating a vibrant public space.
The BAM project was selected by the Dubai International Award jury from more than 2.600 applications from 144 countries as the winner in the Urban Regeneration and Public Spaces category, in particular for its alliance between public, private and third sector actors that has the goal of pursuing community well-being, generating tangible and lasting environmental, cultural, social and economic impact. BAM was recognized as an innovative cultural project of excellence that engages the community through a participatory approach and implements best practices for managing and animating public spaces.
The BAM urban public park, the ''green heart'' of the urban regeneration project in the Portanuova neighborhood, has established itself in recent years as a model of sustainability and care for public green spaces, while demonstrating a strong ability to actively involve citizens thanks to a rich cultural program, conceived and directed by Francesca Colombo, General Cultural Manager of BAM - Riccardo Catella Foundation. Starting from its innovative approach as a cultural player for the benefit of the community, BAM produces and proposes to the citizenship free open events inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals: opportunities to meet, sociability and education designed to improve the quality of life of the urban community, and celebrating the union between Nature and Culture.
Portanuova, developed and now managed by COIMA, was the first neighborhood in the world to receive the dual LEEDŽ & WELLŽ for Community sustainability certification, and the BAM project has contributed to this recognition with the care of its public spaces and the botanical garden, as well as its strong community engagement efforts through the free cultural program for the citizenry. The development of the neighborhood has been supported since 2012 by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, and is the result of a long-term partnership between COIMA and an institutional investor with strategic vision such as QIA, focused on common goals of sustainability and value creation.
The award is sponsored by UNHABITAT, a United Nations program for socially and environmentally sustainable urbanization, and the Municipality of Dubai. The Dubai International Award testifies to the global value of the BAM project and the Riccardo Catella Foundation's commitment to spreading best practice in sustainable urban regeneration through projects aimed at improving the quality of urban life and public green spaces.
The Foundation has handled since September 2019 the management, security, maintenance and cleaning of the park, through an innovative public-private partnership between the Municipality of Milan and COIMA.
The public parks is a ''library'' of plant heritage, with more than 100 botanical species, more than 500 trees and 135.000 plants including grasses, hedges, shrubs, bulbs, creepers, aquatic and herbaceous specimens. A unique example of beauty, botanical variety and design innovation conceived for a cross-cultural audience, it requires by its very nature constant and daily care for its conservation and preservation. As a result, the activities implemented from 2019 to date for the park by the Riccardo Catella Foundation have resulted in a total of more than 9.500 interventions, both ordinary and extraordinary, testifying to its care for creating a vibrant public space.
The BAM project was selected by the Dubai International Award jury from more than 2.600 applications from 144 countries as the winner in the Urban Regeneration and Public Spaces category, in particular for its alliance between public, private and third sector actors that has the goal of pursuing community well-being, generating tangible and lasting environmental, cultural, social and economic impact. BAM was recognized as an innovative cultural project of excellence that engages the community through a participatory approach and implements best practices for managing and animating public spaces.
The BAM urban public park, the ''green heart'' of the urban regeneration project in the Portanuova neighborhood, has established itself in recent years as a model of sustainability and care for public green spaces, while demonstrating a strong ability to actively involve citizens thanks to a rich cultural program, conceived and directed by Francesca Colombo, General Cultural Manager of BAM - Riccardo Catella Foundation. Starting from its innovative approach as a cultural player for the benefit of the community, BAM produces and proposes to the citizenship free open events inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals: opportunities to meet, sociability and education designed to improve the quality of life of the urban community, and celebrating the union between Nature and Culture.
Portanuova, developed and now managed by COIMA, was the first neighborhood in the world to receive the dual LEEDŽ & WELLŽ for Community sustainability certification, and the BAM project has contributed to this recognition with the care of its public spaces and the botanical garden, as well as its strong community engagement efforts through the free cultural program for the citizenry. The development of the neighborhood has been supported since 2012 by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, and is the result of a long-term partnership between COIMA and an institutional investor with strategic vision such as QIA, focused on common goals of sustainability and value creation.
