Italian architect Stefano Boeri is designing for spirituality with the Ambrosian Monastery, a new interfaith complex proposed for Milan’s MIND Innovation District. Situated in one of Europe’s most technologically advanced urban districts, the project reimagines the monastery as a civic space for contemplation, dialogue and collective reflection within a rapidly developing science and technology hub.
Commissioned by the Archdiocese of Milan, the 2,700sqm complex will sit on the former Expo 2015 site, in a district where universities, laboratories and AI research centres are reshaping the city’s future. The design of the monastery positions the space as new public infrastructure’ that integrates spiritual inquiry with scientific and social exchange.
The design of the building features a triangular cloister, a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional monastery courtyard, designed as both a sheltered and permeable public space. The monastery will also house a transparent Library of Religions dedicated to interdisciplinary learning between theology, ethics and science. Reading rooms, public discussion spaces and an outdoor amphitheatre aim to encourage dialogue across faiths and cultures. Surrounding the complex, a “Garden of Religions” will feature plant species symbolically linked to monotheistic traditions represented across Milan.
Known globally for projects such as Milan’s Bosco Verticale, Boeri’s practice continues to explore how architecture can reconnect ecological, social and cultural systems. With the Ambrosian Monastery, the studio proposes a slower, reflective counterpoint to the acceleration of contemporary urban life.
