EDITORIALS

Brake and Accelerator
Emanuele Bompan

According to a study by Allianz Trade, 3.5% of global GDP will need to be invested to close the global infrastructure gap, amounting to a total of over €10.5 trillion by 2035: today, infrastructure development is the key to unlimited capitalist growth and unstoppable human progress.

The Road to Sustainability
Lorenzo Orsenigo
The message of the fourth edition of Infrastructure Academy, hosted by Hilti Italia with AIS, the Sustainable Infrastructure Association, is clear: infrastructure is at the heart of the ecological and digital transition and represents a multiplier of competitiveness and wellbeing. There can be no progress without sustainability.

THINK TANK

Infrastructure Like a Forest

Interview with Deb Chachra
Giorgia Marino
Infrastructure systems are the greatest collective achievement of human civilisation: by meeting basic needs, they have made life as we know it possible. Today, however, they must evolve to meet new environmental and social challenges.

Be the Architects of Tomorrow, Instead of its Victims

Interview with Carlo Ratti
Emanuele Bompan
In increasingly dense and expansive megacities, infrastructure systems risk crushing the human and social factors in favour of data and efficiency. Sensitive, and not just “smart”, cities must therefore be designed to avoid becoming victims of the future.

RFI, Future-proof Railways

Interview with Nicola D’Alessandro
Emanuele Bompan
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), one of Europe's leading transport operators with thousands of kilometres of track under management, is now facing the challenge of climate resilience and decarbonisation.

INSIGHT

Civil Infrastructure: Agents of Change
Maria Chiara Voci
Schools, hospitals, museums, libraries. In this era of environmental and social crises, civil infrastructure is no longer simply a neutral space, but has the opportunity, and the duty, to become a driver of regeneration and a catalyst for positive change.

Military Infrastructure on a Melting Frontline
Giorgio Kaldor
Climate change is no longer just a threat to populations and economies. In this shifting landscape, even NATO, the most powerful military alliance in history, must adapt its infrastructure.

Airports in Transition
Emanuele Bompan
Air transport is embracing various sustainability practices, and airports are also doing their part, between energy efficiency, choice of materials, and management of climate risks and biodiversity in the area.

Bridges: From the Past to the Future

Gavin Francis

Bridges are among the most magnificent human infrastructures and have the power to transform lives and economies. In his book The Bridge Between Worlds: A Brief History of Connection (Canongate, 2025), from which we publish an extract, Gavin Francis brings together twenty-five emblematic stories, from Venice to Kabul, from China to Zambia.

How Green is the New Silk Road?

Giorgia Marino
First launched in 2013, China's Belt and Road Initiative now involves 150 countries worldwide. Yet the extensive infrastructure development of the early years is now being replaced by investments in technology, particularly green technology.

Heading Towards Hydrogen, but with Caution

Sergio Ferraris
The transition from methane to green hydrogen raises several large-scale challenges, starting with the conversion of infrastructure. Between storage technologies and submarine backbone projects, an unexpected greenhouse effect will also need to be taken into account.

Power Lines, the Earth’s New Veins

Lucrezia Lenardon
From the mountains of China to the forests of Brazil, mega-power lines stretch for thousands of kilometres, spanning entire states and carrying energy to places where demand is constantly increasing.

The Mega-dam on the Roof of the World

Marco Ranocchiari
China has inaugurated construction work on the world's largest hydroelectric plant, to be built on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the heart of the Himalayas. The mega-project raises environmental concerns, but also geopolitical disputes.

USA: the Gas Boom Calls for Investment in the Network

Martino Mazzonis

The fracking boom and shifting geopolitical conditions have driven and will continue to push gas extraction in the United States. Investment is needed, however, in more modern, efficient and safer infrastructure.

Ukraine, a Top-Secret Reconstruction

Stefano Vergine
Post-war reconstruction in Ukraine is now worth over €500 billion: a strategic interest for allies and a rich opportunity for businesses, already vying for partnerships and incentives. But no one is keen to talk about it.

The World’s Data System Runs Beneath the Sea
Antonio Piemontese
Hundreds of incredibly long submarine cables carry 90% of global communications. Today, international economics and security depend on the smooth functioning of this underwater network, whose resilience is increasingly crucial.

Predict to Preserve

Antonella Ilaria Totaro

The convergence of artificial intelligence and digital twins is redefining infrastructure maintenance strategies. While the digital passport for materials is drawing nearer, there remain gaps between academic progress and industrial expectations.

CASE STUDIES

Heidelberg Materials in Brenner: How Concrete Supports the European Tunnel
Giorgio Kaldor
Innovative supplies guarantee safety and durability in the Brenner Base Tunnel, the future longest underground railway tunnel in the world, which will run through the Alps between Italy and Austria.

Gruppo CAP: Greener Water Networks Thanks to Solar Power
Giorgio Kaldor
Agrivoltaics, energy communities, district heating: the Gruppo CAP, the green utility of the Metropolitan City of Milan, recounts the transformation of its plants into renewable energy hubs for the local area and community.

The Backbone of the Sea: Terna’s Submarine Cables Strengthen Italy’s Role in the Mediterranean
Francesca Conti
From the Tyrrhenian Link to the Elmed power line with Tunisia, Terna's major electrical interconnections are charting a new map for Italian energy: an underwater network connecting territories, renewable sources and energy independence.

Bioeconomy Infrastructure

Maria Carla Rota
The Bottrighe plant in Veneto, launched by Novamont in 2016, is the first of its kind to produce bio-butanediol from sugars, combining industrial conversion, biotechnological innovation and energy efficiency.

Trentino, a Land in Balance Between Sport and Nature

Lucrezia Lenardon

From cycle paths through the orchards of the Upper Non Valley to bike parks in the woods, from panoramic via ferrata routes to spas powered by renewable energy: Trentino offers a range of facilities for enjoying sport and wellbeing in every season.

Acque Bresciane: Digitalisation and Investments to Fill the Gaps in the Water Service

Maria Carla Rota
The public company Acque Bresciane, which manages around a hundred municipalities in the province of Brescia, is focusing on digital technology and significant investments to modernise a water service that has been lagging behind for decades.

STARTUP
Antonella Ilaria Totaro
Battery swapping and cold chain infrastructure with Kenya’s E-Safiri

Loki, AI to reduce road maintenance costs
Myro Bot, a robot changing the way interior painting is done on construction sites
SurplusMap, making electric charging sustainable in Europe

OUROBOROS
Beauty is Key to Building Infrastructure That Lasts. The Circular Economy Forgets This
Ana Birliga Sutherland
Certain ancient Roman roads built over two thousand years ago are still practicable, and aqueducts still carry part of Rome's water supply. In comparison, modern infrastructure appears ephemeral. So what did the ancient Romans do differently?

CIRCULAR FUTURES: DISPATCHES FROM TOMORROW

2056: When Circular Infrastructure Came to Life
Patrick Schröder
The year is 2056. After a critical time due to the obsolescence of infrastructure and its impact on the climate, engineers and architects have begun to collaborate with biologists to design according to the logic of living systems: adaptation, self-repair and metabolic exchange.

ESG VALUE

ESG Sustainability: the New Key to Accessing Contract Tendering for Virtuous Companies

Renata Diazzi
ESG criteria are now crucial in public procurement and the private sector, transforming competition. Their integration into public tenders is a regulatory necessity and a strategic lever for ecological transition and social inclusion.

READING MATTER
What Makes the World Go Round
Giorgia Marino
From daily routines to global geopolitical balances: our lives now depend entirely on infrastructure systems. Three books explore how they function behind the scenes, their influence on international political decisions, and their role in the development of the Global South.