Italian research and design bureau Carlo Ratti Associati have unveiled the first images of VITAE – their winning concept for C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group's Re-Inventing Cities competition.

Set to take shape on a vacant lot on the via Serio in south Milan, the future mixed-use building will have multiple biophilic aspects, including a 200-metre "urban vineyard" and footpath.

Extending from the ground floor to the roof, the green space will be designed to symbolise both the "embrace between research and biophilia" and the double-helix structure of DNA.

The estimated €40m (US$44.6m, £35.4m) scheme, which is being backed by real estate company Covivio, will also house a farm-to-table restaurant, office units, a cancer research centre, and a select number of guest rooms.

According to the project memo, the new site will also serve as a venue for events on "nutrition and education".

“VITAE proposes an open and complex project, which creates innovative offices, designs new green spaces, and is open to city life," commented Alexei Dal Pastro, CEO of Covivio's Italy division.

"It is also an opportunity to activate – through architecture – a virtuous process of cross-fertilisation of all the expertise of the actors involved."

The project is anticipated to be completed in 2022.