With the Opening Ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026 just weeks away, there is mounting stress on infrastructure. Building massive venues in the unpredictable and rugged Italian Alps is challenging enough. Under a deadline with millions of pairs of eyes? That requires more than an architect’s plans.

Virtual Venues Before Real Venues

For these Games, the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure has turned to something akin to science fiction: “Digital Twins.”

Old-fashioned architects used static 3D models. A Digital Twin is something else entirely. It’s a dynamic, living virtual model of the site continually updated with streams of data from the real world. During the construction process over the last few years, if a sensor on a snowy job site in Cortina detected changing wind conditions or a supply chain issue, the Digital Twin in Milan logged it.

Engineers could “play the video game” of construction before the physical building phase began. They simulated heavy snowfalls to test the roof trusses and the effect of thousands of virtual spectators using a stadium exit before it was even built. They didn’t just hope the design would withstand the harsh alpine conditions; they also ensured it would. They built it, tested it in the digital realm.

From Blueprint to Live Intelligence

Now, on the threshold of the Games, these digital twins have transformed from blueprints for construction to working minds. During the Games, they will assist site managers in monitoring energy usage, crowd flow, and security sensor data. That’s one layer of intelligence over the physical snow. So the surprises of live sport don’t turn into disasters.