Milan Hostel was built in the 60s: it was a cutting-edge building at the time but now, after more than 40 years, time has taken its toll. This is why we have decided to renovate the entire building!

Milan has always been a world leading city for architecture and design. This legacy inspired us towards designing a building that will serve as a model for setting new standards for youth hostels, starting from the environmental side, since more and more young travelers are interested in sustainability and conservation and are environmentally aware.

The Milan AIG Hostel, will be completely renovated for a sustainable tourism, in cooperation with the Politecnico Universit of Milan, with the goal of achieving the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. This evaluation system certifies the level of eco-compatibility as well as the environmental, social and economical sustainability of buildings, from the design stage to the daily operations.

The new bedrooms, with 2 to 4 beds, will have en-suite bathrooms. For thermal and acoustical insulation exceeding the requirements of current regulations, the building will be equipped with new fixtures and with an exterior insulation and finishing system (EIFS). In addition, preference will be given to environment friendly materials with low embodied energy contents. The access to the premises will be redesigned to make them easily enjoyable by guests – including persons with disabilities - personnel and suppliers.

The refurbishment involves all the plumbing and heating/cooling systems of the building including: a remake of the radiant pipe panels under the floor; installation of geothermal heat-pump generators using underground aquifer water and/or Earth heat for heating in winter and cooling in summer; installation of solar panels on the roof for generating the electrical power required by the heat pump system and other applications; and an installation of vacuum-tube solar collectors on the roof for the production of sanitary hot water.

AIG Milan Hostel shall be a lodging facility for young people, completely renewed for a sustainable tourism, in line with the theme of EXPO 2015: “Feeding the planet, Energy for life”.

Milan hostel will remain open throughout the whole renovation completing each phase one step at a time to minimally affect the travelers enjoying the facility. At the moment, we are working on the third floor of the building, and we have 240 full-operative beds.

Milan Youth Hostel will be a modern, avant-guarde building, aiming to optimize and reduce the amount of energy used daily, and provide awareness to its guests and other hostels on the subject of preserving the environment and on the possibility of creating full eco-compatible buildings. Follow our blog for updates on our renovation!