Foster + Partners unveils replacement for landmark San Siro stadium in Milan
British architecture studio Foster + Partners and US studio Manica have unveiled their design for Generali Stadium, a new football stadium for clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan, set to replace Italy’s iconic San Siro.
Planned to be built alongside the 99-year-old San Siro stadium, which will later be torn down, the 71,500-seat replacement will be defined by a structural facade composed of elongated X-framed concrete supports.
Foster + Partners‘ founder Norman Foster told Dezeen the overarching goal is “to create a new home for two storied football clubs, which captures the unique energy of the city and its distinctive architectural and structural traditions”.
“The Generali Stadium celebrates the enduring connection between the football clubs – FC Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan) and AC Milan – and the city of Milano and will drive this shared heritage into the future,” he explained.
The design reveal follows the sale of the iconic stadium to the two rival football teams, which was approved by Milan’s city council in October 2025. It is being developed by Foster’s firm with the US practice Manica, and the naming rights belong to insurance giant Generali.
AC Milan and Inter Milan will continue to share the existing San Siro venue until the 2032 European Championship, co-hosted by Italy, for which the new stadium is scheduled to be completed. San Siro will then be demolished, according to the BBC.
Generali Stadium’s defining feature is its pre-cast structural facade, which will support the stadium bowl and double-curved roof. This will also frame and naturally ventilate a series of lofty entrances and loggia-like spaces on its upper levels that are intended to feel open and welcoming.
“The structural facade is the defining architectural concept of the stadium: a holistic and monumental piece of infrastructure rising approximately 60 metres in height, composed of interlocking low-carbon precast concrete segments connected through expressed structural joints,” Foster said.
“It is a celebration of Milanese and Italian engineering tradition, where architecture and structure become one,” Foster explained.
Another distinctive element will be “two curvas” – the curved north and south stands, designed to bring spectators near to the pitch, with opposing fans closely facing each other.
“That relationship of two opposing walls of supporters, each tied to one of the city’s great clubs, is unique to Milan and found in no other stadium in the world,” said Manica founder David Manica.
“The whole seating bowl is built around it,” he told Dezeen. “Rather than starting with an image or an icon, we began with the experience of the fans. The architecture is a result of that guiding principle.”
According to Foster, this design also draws on San Siro’s distinctive structure.
“Its seating bowl is inspired by the San Siro itself, with its distinctive ‘curvas’, but with greater proximity to the pitch,” Foster explained.
“The external shape is driven by the curvas behind the goals. Here, the north and south ends rise on a 37-degree pitch to house 11,700 at each end – north for Internazionale and south for AC Milan.”
The stadium is planned to be all-electric and carbon-neutral in operation, targeting LEED Gold Certification. The roof will incorporate 27,500 square metres of photovoltaic panels, while a “low-carbon precast concrete system” will be utilised to minimise waste and construction time.
The bowl’s geometry will be engineered to “amplify the roar of crowds within the stadium, enhancing the atmosphere during events while significantly reducing acoustic spillover and noise pollution”, Foster said.
“San Siro is famous for its noise, and the best way to honour that legacy was to capture that atmosphere – and amplify it,” added David Manica.
“We treated acoustics as a primary design driver from the very first sketches,” he said. “The result is a stadium where the chanting and singing build on themselves, taking the atmosphere Milanese supporters love and making it even more powerful.”
The project forms part of a wider 281,000-square-metre masterplan that will combine public spaces with green areas and leisure and retail zones.
Designed by architect Ulisse Stacchini, San Siro, otherwise known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, was built in 1925. It has been modified several times over its lifetime, but has remained unchanged since the 1990 World Cup.
The possibility of its demolition emerged in 2019, when AC Milan and Inter Milan announced they were exploring plans to build a replacement venue for San Siro.
The clubs later selected a design by architecture studio Populous, called the Cathedral, but the Regional Commission for the Cultural Heritage of Lombardy blocked its development in 2023 because of the existing building’s cultural significance.
Demolition was made possible by the building’s sale, which was approved after an overnight debate that took place for nearly 12 hours.
At the time, mayor Giuseppe Sala suggested the sale would prevent Milan from being left “with the burden of an abandoned arena”, as the two clubs had begun exploring plans to build two separate stadiums on the city’s outskirts.
Elsewhere, Foster + Partners is also developing its design for Manchester United’s new 100,000-seat stadium in the UK.
The stadium, which is designed with a giant tent-like structure, was described by Foster as “one of the most exciting projects in the world”.
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