Le Officine del Gas and the Forest
In 1905 Union de Gaz de Paris built the Grandi Officine del della Bovisa, within an area surrounded by railroad tracks.The workshops produced gas for lighting the city of Milan through the gasification of coal. After half a century of intense industrial activity and following the evolution of gas production technologies, a gradual decommissioning of the facilities began, leading to the final closure in 1994.
Following the phases of abandonment, nature gradually reclaimed its space, thanks to a series of pioneer species, which rapidly developed large amounts of leaves and organic matter that turned into humus. The new soil generated and the arrival of animals and insects in the area allowed the return of rare species and species native to lowland forests, establishing new ecological balances.
The forest to date is a complex and striking ecosystem in transformation that covers 18 hectares and has about 14 thousand trees, with parts of the forest already mature and others newly formed.
L'estensione della foresta della Goccia ad oggi
Preliminary Analysis of Ecosystem Services
In June 2021, we conducted a preliminary analysis of the spontaneous vegetation of La Goccia, with the aim of revealing the ecosystem capabilities of the forest as a whole. We activated a participatory citizen science process: for five days about 40 people participated in the census and cataloging of the tree, shrub and herbaceous species present.
Provided by iTree Eco we used the sample area method, which allowed us in a short time to obtain a report of the biomass consistency of the entire forest and an estimate of the ecosystem services it provides.
This step allowed the group at Terrapreta to establish an interlocution with the City of Milan, which then led to the signing of the September 2022 collaboration pact and the start of the Osservatorio La Goccia project.
The main objective of the project is to study the capacity of the current ecosystem to sustain a natural reclamation process in order to identify the best intervention strategies and outline gradual ways of public use. La Goccia Forest will become a large, partially accessible park by 2026.
Toward the Reclamation Forest
Following the arrival of state funding and with the presentation of the Polytechnic's Master Plan, signed by Renzo Piano, a path has been set in motion that sees the partners of the Osservatorio La Goccia engaged in the study and design of the forest present in the areas of public property to the north of the site. In parallel, on the south side, the new campus of the Polytechnic will be developed.
The Osservatorio La Goccia partnership, coordinated by Terrapreta, is conducting the analysis of the soils and biodiversity of the wild forest, in parallel with the study of the ecosystem's potential to degrade pollutants in the soil. Then interventions will be designed to facilitate bioremediation of contaminated soils and gradual accessibility for the public.
The implementation of bioremediation will take place over several years, proceeding by homogeneous areas and envisaging intermediate phases of intervention, in parallel with the development of activities and innovative ways for the partial use of the forest.