Beginning with A10 #46, Eurovision presents an overview guest editor is the first to tackle it. Eurovision can of the current state of architecture in a specific European therefore also take a critical stand against the prevailing The dark side of country. In this issue, the focus is Italy. Each country’s national architectural climate. Parallel to the 2012 LUIGI PRESTINENZA PUGLISI, GUEST EDITOR guest editor will use eight categories – Global, Future, Venice Biennale (see also the Tour Guide on page 60), Urban, and so forth – to formulate a perspective. A special Eurovision reveals the underlying themes in a country feature, ‘The dark side of…’, asks the difficult questions: where good architects are forced to flee their own What is the condition of Italian architecture today? There arrived in Sellinunte from a wide range of countries; what is actually going wrong in a country? Our Italian national borders. are two possible answers to this question. The first is: from France to Spain, from the Netherlands to the United poor, or better yet, terrible. Italy is in the midst of a serious States, from China to Korea. economic crisis. We are one of the PIGS, the four European In this issue of A10 we are obviously unable to speak countries that, at present, are in the worst situation: about all of them. The choice was made to limit the inves­ Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. A poor economy in turn tigation to the work of five offices we believe to be par­ creates a stagnant building industry. And Italian archi­ ticularly interesting. This issue also reveals the existence tects, already too numerous for the few possibilities avail­ of two legacies – those of Renzo Piano and Massimiliano able during the good times, are slipping further and fur­ Fuksas – demonstrated in a selection of architectural ther into a state of depression. The second answer is: good, practices whose partners either trained in one of these or better yet, very good. In the sense that never before two offices, or whose work is clearly influenced by that have there been so many talented architectural offices in of Piano and Fuksas. Italy, producing such high quality work. In my opinion, this is the result of three factors. The first ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTURE AND CRITICISM (AIAC) Italy is a nation in which young people face great difficulties in is that the reactionary culture pedalled in Italian faculties emerging and in which the importance of friendships and family of architecture is now in a state of crisis. No matter how relations is accorded more value than talent. The Associazione Italiana di Architettura e Critica (AIAC) was created in January 2010 hard university professors seek to inculcate within their MORENO MAGGI with the objective of questioning this condition. This objective is students the idea that Vittorio Gregotti, Paolo Portoghesi, pursued through the organization of debates, workshops, courses, competitions, exhibitions, research, publications and events. Giorgio Grassi, Mario Botta and Franco Purini are great Two of these events have met with extraordinary success: the architects, these same students understand that this is Fondazione Renzo Piano Award and the organization of meetings in Venice and Selinunte, Sicily (Architects Meet at the Fuori foolishness, and that good architecture is to be sought else­ Biennale and Architects Meet in Selinunte). where, for example, in the production of those who have The Fondazione Renzo Piano Foundation Award, a biannual award organized by the AIAC in partnership with the Renzo Piano shunned the Italian academic world for so many years: Foundation, is presented to a work of architecture by an Italian Renzo Piano and Massimiliano Fuksas. architect under the age of 40. The past year the prize was awarded to the Domus Technica Immergas Advanced Education Centre by The second positive factor is that a growing number of Iotti + Pavarini. Ex aequo second place awards were presented students, thanks to the Erasmus Programme, have learned to to the Digital Water Pavilion in Saragossa by Carlo Ratti and the Abu Hindi School in East Jerusalem by ARCò. The second edition think European. The third positive factor is that, upon return­ of the prize, to be launched in November 2012, will be extended ing to Italy, many young Erasmus participants understand to Italian offices that have moved their operations abroad. MORENO MAGGI The meetings in Venice, also biannual, bring together the best that there is no longer any space inside national borders. The international under-35 architects, selected via the Backstage phenomenon of emigration has by now reached a dimension Architecture channel (www.backstage-architecture.org). This year’s

meeting will take place on 27 August at the Palazzo Widmann, in Italy that requires an update of the map of Italian architects. concomitance with the 13th International Architectural Exhibition The Associazione Italiana di Architectura e Critica at the Venice Biennale. The event will be used to present the 56 architects under the age of 35, selected from the same number (Italian Association of Architecture and Criticism) docu­ of countries around the globe, and to launch an e-book illustrating mented this condition in an exhibition organized in their work. The meetings in Selinunte take place once a year. Among other MORENO MAGGI Sellinunte between 29 March and 1 April 2012. Curated by themes, the April 2012 event investigated the work of under-40 Diego Barbarelli, it presented approximately 50 suitcases, Sicilian architects, the work of Italian architects residing abroad (including the exhibition of suitcases described above) and all sent in by Italian architectural offices. Each contained works of architecture for international cooperation realized in a portfolio of work and objects that spoke of the motiva ­ developing countries. tions behind the choice to emigrate. In short, 50 suitcases Info www.architetturaecritica.it

4 Below is a list of 70 Italian architectural practices that have moved their offices to other European countries.

barbini arquitectos [PT]. can- natà & fernandes ar qui- tectos [PT]. cor arqui tectos [PT]. correia / ragazzi

MORENO MAGGI arqui tectos [PT]. nbaa [PT]. pa ratelier [PT]. stefano riva architetto [PT]. ter nullo melo architects [PT]. es tu dio barozzi veiga [ES]. clau dia bonollo / atelier meta mo rphic [ES]. cristobal + monaco Guest edited arqui tectos [ES]. eco sistema urbano [ES]. embt [ES]. etb by a leading [ES]. exter nalreference [ES]. fondarius architecture [ES]. fusina6 / enrica national organi­zation mosciaro [ES]. fwg architecture [ES - FR - CH]. gravalosdimonte arquitectos [ES]. in one of the lola [ES]. mab marotta basile arquitectura [ES]. myra arquitectos [ES]. nabito architects and European partners [ES]. pisaa [ES]. teresa sapey estudio de arquitectura [ES]. solinas serra arquitec countries. Within a tos [ES]. trovato moya arquitectos [ES]. 37.2 atelier de microarchitecture [FR]. enzo range of eight amantea architectes [FR]. awp [FR - CH]. b+c architectes [FR]. paolo cascone / codesign pre-selected lab [FR]. atelier cattani architectes [FR]. silvio d'ascia architecte [FR]. atelier filippini [FR]. fresh themes each country architectures [FR]. ga architecture [FR]. lan architecture [FR]. microcities [FR]. ugo nocera strives to architecte [FR]. op.4 architecture [FR]. rev architecture design urbanism [FR]. ste fano give deeper sbarbati architecte [FR]. atelier tarabusi [FR]. dos architects [UK]. ecologicstu dio insight into MORENO MAGGI the current [UK]. guarnieri architects [UK]. mai studio [UK]. noi architects [UK]. state of claudio silvestrin architects [UK]. marco vanucci / open ar­chi­tectural system [UK]. menabò architecture [NL]. francesco affairs:

MORENO MAGGI moncada [NL]. nauta architec ture & research [NL]. xcoop [NL]. Urban bfm architekten [D]. botti zanafredi archi tecture [D]. francesco di gregorio Green & karin matz [D]. kuhen malvezzi [D]. lin architects [D Connecting Social - F]. celoria architects [CH]. alleswirdgut architektur Offbeat [A]. silvia boday [A]. feld72 [A]. Global frediani+gasserarchitettura [A]. nicoletta Future The dark piersantelli [A]. share architects side of... [A]. sofa architekten [A]. stadtlabor [A]. weke nd in a morning [A] MORENO MAGGI DIEGO BARBARELLI

38 A10 # 47 Eurovision: Italy Eurovision: Italy A10 # 47 39 Society should be the product The dark side of Italy becomes evident in these Eurovision pages: old-fashioned professors, hermetic networks, no opportunities for young architects and extremely lengthy construction periods all explain why a ‘young’ architect in Italy is usually around 50. But the Italians can also boast of a long tradition of good taste, beautiful buildings and first-rate patrons. Luca Zevi and Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi further explore this contradiction while talking about the content of the Italian Pavilion for this year’s Biennale in Venice.

ITALY — TEXT: INDIRA VAN ‘T KLOOSTER, PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO MORENO MAGGI / LORENZO GALLITTO

Indira van ‘t Klooster: You both seem to feel anger at every­ IvtK: Are you looking for an new kind of Archigram or Meta­ thing the Italians can’t seem to get right, but concurrently morphosis, with big structures, big changes, large scale? through all these judgemental statements are also indi­ LZ: No, no, no. This is not about megapolisation. I’m thinking of cations of confidence in Italian architecture. Luca Zevi, as a much smaller scale! curator of the Italian Pavilion, how do you feel about the IvtK: What’s a good example now? Italian situation? LZ: Mario Cucinella produced an ecological house of 100 m2 Luca Zevi: We are at the end of a period of almost 30 years in for 100,000 euros. That’s really important. He is one of the few which money dominated Italian life. But now that the money is architects that deals with new ways of organizing housing. gone, and the belief that we will ever get out of this crisis with LPP: Think of Corviale in . It was an experiment from it, we need a renewal of the economy. Architects and clients 1984 on other ways of living. I don’t agree with the outcome, can play a crucial role therein. but it was an attempt to find new building types. This energy IvtK: You have divided the Italian Pavilion into four time pe­ is no longer here. While experimenting during the ‘60s and riods. Of interest in this respect is the link between big busi­ ‘70s, people made a lot of mistakes changing the city. Now we ness and the architecture that it has produced, from Olivetti accept the city so we make fewer mistakes, but we also make

in Ivrea to the headquarters of Dolce & Gabbana in . less progress and fewer new concepts. Italy Why did you do that? IvtK: Is the programme for the Pavilion an appeal to archi­ LZ: Good clientship can result in new architecture. The type- tects to come back to Italy and rebuild their own country? writer manufacturer Adriano Olivetti is a good example of this LPP: No! We have too many architects, it’s better if they don’t during the ‘50s. In Ivrea, near , he designed a residential come back. and living area that not only reflected architectural ideals, but IvtK: But they are your experimenting avant-garde. How, also made statements about how a community should operate then, reach your proclaimed fourth period? Italy in social, political and economic respects. So he is the key figure LPP: They shouldn’t come back, we need to find new ways. in the first period of the exhibition, in which manufacturers had Luigi Pellegrin designed a totally new concept of a house with social ideals and carried them out. Olivetti was a real patron, capsules and mega-structures in the ‘70s. Now we have Cino but also very influential in other fields, being the president of Zucchi. He designs lots of housing, all very well designed, but town planning, a member of parliament, and a mayor. the plans are traditional and there is nothing new, although IvtK: What happened next? they may have solar panels. Italians know how to make things 2 LZ: The second phase was in the 1960s and the ‘70s. In this beautiful with the right materials. And it is good architecture. Luigi Prestinenza period big finance started, during which not a few large com- We have natural taste, we cannot make things ugly. But it’s not Puglisi (left) panies, but many small businesses were created. It was also an new. We need a more missionary approach. founded the Ital- ian Association explosion of primitive individuality, a do-it-yourself mentality. IvtK: Do you also need new commissioners? of Architecture Not incorporated by one person, like Olivetti, but by many firms LPP: Yes! We have three enemies. The first is the people. and Criticism (AIAC) together and families, such as Fendi and Benetton. They don’t want modern architecture. The second enemy with Anna Baldi- IvtK: During the third phase, companies like Armani and is politicians. They don’t have great taste and they don’t ni. He has written several books, Dolce & Gabbana played a leading role. They had their head want quality. The third problem is the academy: education is such as Hyper offices designed by famous architects. Did they bring new very traditional. Architecture, Spaces in the typologies? IvtK: So, who was the last Italian visionary? Electronic Age Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi: No, all their buildings are very LZ: Many of the industrialists were. I have a long list of (1999) and New directions in traditional and glamour-like. With Prada and D&G being a names, for example Iguzzini, Technogym, Diesel, Bracco, Contemporary positive exception. They elevated the rank of architecture by Italcementi… Architecture (2008). He lec- commissioning famous architects, but from the point of view IvtK: But if you have a long list, then what’s the problem? tures at La of innovation or visions it wasn’t much. LPP: Italians are wonderful in putting things together that Sapienza Univer- sity in Rome and LZ: There was no ideology or culture, but within a growing don’t really match. We can combine contradictory things, like is the editor of economy and global workspace, architecture arose. Now, since converging parallels. Things that can never meet, do meet in several maga- zines, including the economic crisis, I’m searching for the next step. What we Italy. This makes wonderful, elegant buildings, but nothing [Compasses], now would like to achieve is to focus on creativity, ecology and outspoken. What Italian architects learn abroad cannot be PressTletter and Le Carré Bleu. solidarity. The fourth state. made in Italy. Take the Auditorium from Renzo Piano in Rome. IvtK: Is this fourth state a moral appeal? A utopia? It looks modern, but in some aspects is traditional. Luca Zevi (right) is an architect in LZ: No, the fourth season is to be an integrated period in which IvtK: The solution to the fourth period: Is it to force choices Rome and cura- we regain the values of Olivetti, who within the reign of culture as to avoid the converging parallel problem, or do you need tor of the Italian Pavilion at the and ecology, founded a social industry that helped less strong a way to make the Italian practice work better? Venice Biennale. people and the reinforcement of the towns. LZ: We have to make choices. We lost the Italian way. That’s He lectures at the University of LPP: It’s basically the international agenda for a better system. what we need to find back. The ability not to compromise, and Rome and in IvtK: How can architects contribute? still make good architecture. I am expecting a renaissance in Reggio Calabra. He is the LZ: They can propose different models for habitats. Or that’s how architecture could contribute or find a way out of this crisis. architect of the what they should do. The solution is, in the end, with architects, I am positive. National Shoah Museum, LPP: Social changes disappeared from the architects’ agenda. LPP: The Italian pavilion is an appeal. We want a new to be built They no longer propose real changes. During the ‘60s and ‘70s, Adriano Olivetti! on the location of Villa Torlonia, architects were more involved in these matters. Nowadays LZ: No, no, no, we want society to be the product of archi­ the former there is a more realistic approach. Architects makes plans, but tecture, like Olivetti did, but in a way that it fits contem­- residence of Benito Mussolini. they don’t challenge society or the way people live. porary needs.

40 A10 # 47 Eurovision: Italy Eurovision: Italy A10 # 47 41 An organic dimension for energy-efficient building Mario Cucinella Architects introduces One Airport Square. TEXT: MARCO MARIA SAMBO

Mario Cucinella is the founder of Mario Cucinella Architects. the north-east to delineate a new public plaza. He was born in 1960, and graduated in Genoa with Giancarlo The space frame structure that defines the external skin, De Carlo in 1987. From 1987 to 1992, he worked in Renzo the design of the circulation, the entire development of the Piano’s studio in Genoa and Paris as project manager. In 1992, building – each is born of a reflection on the environment that he founded Mario Cucinella Architects (MC A) in Paris, and in becomes architecture. Cucinella’s approach is rooted in the 1999 in Bologna. Since the beginning of the office’s activities act of designing. His is an ongoing research that begins with he has received major awards in international competition. an evaluation of context, the characteristics of the site and the Cucinella is ‘Honorary Professor’ at Nottingham University and needs of people. The result is far from the creation of an archi- regularly lectures in Italy and abroad. He also founded ‘Build- tectural sculpture, or a formalist gesture. The white structural ing Green Future’, a non-profit organization, in 2012. elements, the vast glazed surfaces that filter the sun’s rays, the Shading terraces, natural ventilation, a light well, the col- projecting terraces and the walkways in the atrium all validate lection of rainwater; these are the principal ingredients that the aesthetic of this project. give shape to the new project by Mario Cucinella Architects in One Airport Square resembles a living, white organism. The Accra, Ghana: One Airport Square. This dynamic and multifunc- construction breathes, is alive in its approach to energy tional building is characterized by large, projecting terraces efficiency and the composition of its parts, through a balanced Global Italy and an exterior structural frame. design intended for both man and the environment. The ‘Green The building is characterized by a compact form containing Star 4’ energy rating obtained by Cucinella’s construction testi- a futuristic atrium designed to provide light and favour natu- fies to an attention towards the environment and the sustain- ral ventilation of the interior spaces. This dynamic internal ability of his architecture. 3 The Cloud was born as the new symbol of the 2012 London Olympics. fracture is criss-crossed by suspended walkways resembling stitches that allow the entire building to remain compact. The MC A – Mario Cucinella Architects Address Via Barozzi 3/A, 40126 Bologna design concept becomes space through dynamic and function- Info www.mcarchitects.it Biotech solutions for urban living ally efficient interior environments. This space opens toward One Airport Square, 2010 – 2012 Location Accra, Ghana Area 17,000 m2 Carlo Ratti Associati envisions The Cloud. TEXT: DIEGO BARBARELLI

Turin and Boston serve as the bases for the activities of Carlo water, and a device designed to convert the movement of visi- Ratti, who has developed a professional and research partner- tors climbing up the tower’s steps into energy – also by exploit- ship with Walter Nicolino. The office, with projects around the ing the elevators that bring them back down to the ground. This globe, is headquartered in Italy and proposes works of archi- work, projected into the future and a symbol of the information tecture that develop the themes of ‘SENSAble Cities’, the name society and data, will not be realized. Another daring work was of the workshop run by Ratti at MIT, where multidisciplinary preferred, with a form much more rooted in the traditions of groups analyse changes to the contemporary city, highlighting construction. its characteristics, describing phenomena and investigating The office’s experimental approach can also be found at innovative solutions. Based on the analysis of the networks various scales of intervention. If the analyses of networks find that structure the city, these teams gather information on the a privileged terrain in urban projects, including the Ciudad flows and lives that animate them and propose urban develop- Digital in Mexico City and the masterplan for a city in Saudi ments born from the digital and biotech arenas. Arabia, technology and biotech allow for the identification of 3 This image shows the glass walls of the building that separate the interior 3 The building’s dynamic atrium favours natural This approach is emblematically synthesized in ‘The Cloud’, future everyday design scenarios, examples of which include and exterior space, the latter of which develops in a series of projecting terraces lighting and ventilation, and is criss-crossed the most visionary of the finalist projects for the architectural the bus station canopy in Florence and eco-bicycles. It is, how- supported by the exposed structural frame. by walkways resembling stitches.

Global Italy Global symbol of the 2012 London Olympics. It is a series of transpar- ever, at the scale of the building that the office’s research has ent bubbles suspended in the sky and accessible via a light- produced the most interesting results, with a balance between weight and panoramic tower. The bubbles are realized in an technology and architecture: in the Trussardi Dehors biotech is ETFE membrane; some are inhabitable, with an atmosphere at the service of sustainability, while in the Digital Water Pavil- regulated by sensors, while others serve as sources of light ion technology lies at the base of the shifting and poetic nature thanks to the use of LEDs, or as projection screens. This highly of architecture. iconic project was developed to attract and to communicate, Ratti’s is an approach that uses experimentation and inno- first with projections of Olympic sporting events and later, at vation as the foundations for imaging new ways of living. the end of the Games, through the diffusion of data and infor- mation about the city. The project also pursues sustainability, Carlo Ratti Associati Address 26 Corso Sella, 10131 Turin Info www.carloratti.com

producing more energy than it consumes due to photovoltaic The Cloud, 2010 – 2012 Location London, United Kingdom panels on the bubbles, micro-turbines run by collected rain­ Info www.raisethecloud.org

3 Seasonal environmental strategies: shading terraces, natural ventilation, 3 The ground floor plan reveals the relationship light well and rainwater collection. between external spaces and interior layout.

3 The proposal called for the construction of an innovative 3 People can choose to ascend the summit of The Cloud observation platform, designed to connect visitors with on foot or by bicycle; each single step contributes to a great the entire city and, at the same time, with the rest of the world, collective effort to produce energy. 3 The model highlights the general composition of the project, 3 From concept to realization, with a particular immersing them in a euphoric traffic of digital data. with its external structural frame and large, projecting terraces. focus on the environment and energy efficiency

42 A10 # 47 Eurovision: Italy Eurovision: Italy A10 # 47 43 7 BAMBOO SCHOOL – The objective was to adjust an existing structure and render it comfortable and energy efficient, with a primary focus on two aspects: natural ventilation and the insula- Harmonious tion of the building, with a planned second phase including rain- water collection and the installation of photovoltaic panels. Completed in only two months during the summer school break and responsible in order not to interrupt classes, an average of eight labourers, all inhabitants of the village, worked six days a week on the project. The insulation of the exterior walls is a local interpretation and adaptation of the technique of pisé (rammed earth). It allows integration the realization of continuous compact walls using humid earth mixed with straw set between two parallel boards that serve as formwork. B+C is a melange of styles and cultures. TEXT: GIULIA MURA ANDREA & MAGDA B+C is a transnational duo, formed in 2004 in Paris after two respectively lengthy careers in large European offices: that of Massimiliano Fuksas for Giovanni Bellaviti, and that of Dominque Perrault for Dino Constantin Coursaris. The former is Italian, while the latter is a Cypriot born in Congo, now a naturalized British citizen. This interesting melange of styles and cultures has led B+C to realize, in less than ten years, works of architecture of optimum quality, with a particular specialization in multi-purpose projects. ANDREA & MAGDA ANDREA & MAGDA The Palais Omnisports in Lisieux, Normandy, is most note- HERTHA HURNAUS worthy among their recent projects. This competition-winning 3 Interior view of the basement level, which hosts a classroom, areas for psychological activities or rest, nutritional education design called for the insertion of a mixed-use structure inside a classrooms and a multi-purpose room. Italy Social Quick solutions through simple means larger urban rehabilitation plan. A polyfunctional space, com- prised of a geometrically simple structure in shaped steel, with ARCò – Architecture & Cooperation realizes two Bedouin schools. a planted roof – treated as an autonomous fifth facade that de- velops organically based on a fourteen-square-metre module – Site-specific and TEXT: ANNA BALDINI and extruded building volumes finished in the primary colours. The project is interesting from a number of perspectives. energy-efficient ARCò is a group of young Italian architects and engineers experi- made of corrugated metal. Two problems had to be resolved: Firstly because, despite its discrete size (3200 m2), after only a menting with new languages and new spatial conditions real- increased natural ventilation and insulation, in order that the short period of time it is both complete and fully used – some- feld72 responds to the new ized with unusual technologies. Their most representative works spaces could be welcoming for those using the structure, and a thing unthinkable in Italy. Secondly, for its play with colour, have been completed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as condition that the building be energy sustainable. Once again, forms and materials, uniting metal and polycarbonate, stainless needs of society. part of international cooperation projects, together with the a traditional building technology – pisè (rammed earth) – steel and natural elements. And finally, through an attentive ob- TEXT: ILENIA PIZZICO NGO Vento di Terra and in collaboration with the Jahalin Bedouin permitted the realization of strong walls with elevated insu- servation of the landscape it proposes a harmonious insertion community: two public structures, two schools for the village’s lating potential. On the exterior, the original metal walls were within the existing context (a scattering of heterogeneous pub- children, two schools for the entire village. These works of archi- clad with panels of bamboo canes. The raised roof, made from The -based office feld72 comprises five young architects: lic housing estates and single-family dwellings), providing the Michael Obrist and Peter Zoderer (Italy), Anne Catherine Fleith tecture are the fruit of the interaction between the designers and insulating panels, improves ventilation and provides natural neighbourhood with areas of encounter and social interaction. the local population, active participants in the search for materi- lighting. As in the previous project, the close collaboration be- (France), Mario Paintner (Austria) and Richard Scheich (Australia). Positioned on a sloping site, the building exploits the eleva- The international group has been active for approximately ten als and the construction process. tween the designers and the local population made it possible tion changes not only to conceal itself within the hill, camou- The Rubber Tire School is an emergency project realized to complete the building in only two months. years, responding to the new needs of society through the study flaged by its eco-compatible planted roof, but also to realize a and realization of interventions at the urban or local scale, in along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho, in a desert terri- Despite being constructed using poor materials, subject to system of natural terracing. Subdivided on three levels, the inte- tory subject to numerous building restrictions, and in a very short building technologies limited to the local territory and sited in particular in Central Europe, participating in competitions and rior presents precise circulation patterns which allow a differen- art exhibitions, and designing master plans and social housing period of time. The solution to these problems was found in the problematic areas, the buildings by ARCò are neither simple tiation of flows by typology and functional areas. It is an opti- use of an unusual though easy to find and cheap material: rubber nor linked to the stereotypes of poor construction. Instead, projects (see Interview, A10 #43). mum study of details, aesthetic taste and responsibility toward Their project for a kindergarten is situated in Terento, an Ital- tires, preferably truck tires. Filled with earth and laid like bricks, they are the fruit of research that pursues complex spatial con- the environment. they guarantee the stability of the construction, exactly like a tra- ditions, even if realized with the simplest of means. ian village in the autonomous province of Bolzano, and located Bellaviti+Coursaris Address 15 Passage du Désir, FR-75010 Paris in a pedestrian area with numerous services, including a nearby ditional solid masonry wall. Furthermore, they provided an easy Info www.bcarchitectes.com resolution to the absolute restriction against the construction of ARCò – Architecture & Cooperation Address Via Alfonso Lamarmora 2, 20122 Milan elementary school, sports facilities and municipal offices. Its Social Italy non-temporary structures, and thus a ban on the use of concrete Info www.ar-co.org Palais Omnisports, 2011 Location Lisieux, France Client City of Lisieux Area 3200 m2 layout results from adaptation to the sloping site: the eastern and foundations. During two weeks of intense work, marked by Rubber Tire School, 2009 – Design and construction of an elementary school in elevation develops below grade level, creating a plaza between close collaboration between the Bedouin population and the used tires Location Road n°1, between Jerusalem and Jericho, Al Akhmar, Palestine the kindergarten and the nearby elementary school, and the Client Vento di Terra Onlus, Jahalin Bedouins of the Bedouins Cooperative main entrance is positioned at street level, where the building’s Italians, the school was realized and even enlarged, thanks to Committee di Anata (Jerusalem) Area 350 m2 (incl. 2200 used tires) subdivision is clearly legible. the arrival of new funding. The school is composed of four large Bamboo School, 2010 – Renovation of a sheet metal building using bamboo panels classrooms and an office overlooking a shared central courtyard. and internal finish in pisè (rammed earth) Location Jahalin Bedouin village of Externally, each of the building’s three parts has a different The Bamboo School is, on the other hand, the renovation Wadi Abu Hindi, area of Al Azarije, East Jerusalem, Palestine Client Vento di Terra height and roofs with varying pitches, connected by two glazed Onlus, Jahalin Bedouins of the Bedouins Cooperative Committee di Anata (Jerusalem) tunnels that bring in natural light. In functional terms, the cen- of a pre-existing and not particularly comfortable structure Area 320 m2 tral nucleus wraps the public space, while the two side wings contain classrooms, offices, washrooms and an area for parents. Vertical connections lead to the lower level, which contains the third and largest classroom, areas for psychological activi- ties or rest, nutritional education classrooms and another multi-

MICHEL DENANCÉ purpose room. The classrooms each feature different shapes 3 Detail of the rooftop with the chrome-finished edge and planted and dimensions, and a system of bridges and balconies further roof; note the shape and connection with the ground stimulates orientation, learning and adaptation skills. The surrounding landscape and the building are integrated by use of lightweight and colourful materials, with paths lead- ing to outdoor recreational areas and large, glazed surfaces offering views of the mountains while flooding the interiors with natural light. Portions of the concrete structure are clad in larch wood slats, also found on the sloping roofs. The careful selection of materials 6 RUBBER TIRE SCHOOL – Of the various non-traditional build- and technologies lends the building an excellent ‘Klimahaus A’ ing systems analysed, one hypothesis included the use of used car and truck tires. The idea was that of realizing a closed build- rating. Natural ventilation systems ensure clean air circulation, ing to passively mitigate temperature issues. while underfloor radiant heating and devices for controlling The concrete base of the existing building became a sort of plaza round which to construct the new courtyard building. The exterior natural light and temperature guarantee internal comfort.

of the school is finished in mortar and earth with a few of the MICHEL DENANCÉ tires left exposed to reveal how the building was made. feld72 Address Schottenfeldgasse 72, 1070 Vienna Info www.feld72.at Tires were gathered in local dumps. A total of ten Bedouins 3 Corner detail clearly showing the extruded roofs and worked actively on the project, with ARCò staff participating in its the quality of materials employed: sheet metal, stainless steel Kindergarten Terenten, 2010 Location Terento, Italy Client Municipality construction. The walls are also finished in plaster on the interior. and polycarbonate. of Terento Area 1045 m2

44 A10 # 47 Eurovision: Italy Eurovision: Italy A10 # 47 45 STUDIO ZOPPINI ASSOCIATI Strada Settima 38, San Felice, Segrate The legacy of Renzo Piano 3 www.studiozoppini.it The office is run by Pino and Alessandro Zoppini, father and son, both educated Renzo Piano is probably Italy’s most famous architect. Fame at the Faculty of Architecture in Milan. The former founded the office in 1961, while the latter pursued numerous international experiences, which he himself arrived at a very early age with the 1971 competition-winning refers to as fundamental, in top calibre offices such as Arup Associates and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Specialized in urban design and landscaping entry, together with Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, for public buildings, Studio Zoppini demonstrates a significant level of attention towards the development of buildings with an elevated technological and for the design of the Centre Pompidou. Piano had trouble typol­ogical complexity, in which architectural quality is fused with the intelligent use of new materials and the functional and practical requests made by the client. being accepted in Italy, where for many years the academic These aspects undoubtedly call to mind the influences to which Alessandro Zoppini was exposed while working for Renzo Piano. Of particular importance world, led by Manfredo Tafuri, declared war against him (today is the office’s successful participation in the international competition for the design of the Oval for the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006, which received numerous things have changed and Renzo Piano has become somewhat inter­national awards (2007 IOC Gold Medal and the 2007 European Steel Design Award), and the project for the renovation of the Friuli stadium in Udine, which of a national hero, even for academics, who praise him while includes the realization of a new sophisticated tensile roof structure clad with metal panels, and a new entrance volume adjacent to the existing roof. At continuing to look on him with suspicion). However, his influence present the office is working on the design of the Oval sports hall for the Korean on young architects has been formidable. Both directly – many candidature for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. promising architects trained in his offices in Genoa and Paris – Project Renovation of Friuli Stadium, Udine

and indirectly. Piano became a source of inspiration for OBR OPEN BUILDING RESEARCH Main office: Piazza San Matteo 15, 16123 Genoa those who refused to accept the scarce consideration expressed Project offices: Via Canova 34, 20145 Milan, 5 Milner Street, London by Italian academics for technological research. Among the 4 www.openbuildingresearch.com OBR Open Building Research is the fruit of the friendship six offices presented in this section we have included that between Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi, both pupils of Renzo Piano. In 2000, they decided to open their own office,

of Iotti and Pavarini, the winners of the Renzo Piano Award, linking creative synergies in Genoa, Barcelona, Milan and New Italy Future York. From Renzo Piano they developed an ability to confront a biennial competition organized by the Fondazione Renzo international design scenarios, reinvested in OBR by participat- ing in competitions and obtaining numerous successes. Their Piano in collaboration with the Associazione Italiana di work was presented at the 2006 International Architectural Exhibition at the Venice Biennale, in London at the architectural Architettura e Critica. exhibition Where to – Cross Borders: Concept of a Unified Europe/ World in 2007, at the 5th Bienal de Arquitetura de Brasilia and TEXT: ELISABETTA FRAGALÀ, ROSELLA LONGAVITA, FILIPPO PULEO at the XI Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura de . In 2011, they were awarded first prize at the Overall Winner Leaf Awards with their project for a residential complex in Milanofiori. Their approach to design is characterized by a strong link be- tween architecture and landscape, which confers an intimate and suggestive value upon their work. ‘Lines and materials become the vehicle for the perception of nature. The building is the dia- phragm that reacts to what occurs around it; we are not interested in sealed buildings.’

Project Milanofiori residential complex, Milan OBR OPEN BUILDING RESEARCH

FRIGERIO DESIGN GROUP Via Paolo Mantegazza 4, 20156 Milan, Via Goito 6/6, 16122 Genoa 5 www.frigeriodesign.it Frigerio Design Group was created in 1991. Their approach is determined by the relation- ship between nature and the history of a site. Theirs is a slow architecture that lives in time and draws upon the resources provided by the context in which it is inserted. Enrico Frigerio worked with the Renzo Piano Building Work- shop, collaborating on the design of the Genoa Subway and the reuse of the Lingotto Complex in Turin. This experience matured Frigerio’s ALVISI KIRIMOTO + PARTNERS conviction that architecture must become reali- Viale Parioli 40, 00197 Rome ty in social and environmental terms. The result www.alvisikirimoto.it is a constant focus on themes of sustainability 1 and bioclimatic efficiency. His buildings are almost always wrapped in a skin that masks Massimo Alvisi and Junko Kirimoto have col­laborated with Renzo Piano, Massimiliano Fuksas and Oscar Niemeyer. During his time them and filters light, protecting them and re-

Future Italy with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Massimo Alvisi was responsible for the design of the Auditorium Parco della Musica in ducing their environmental impact, while simul- Rome. This collaboration allowed him to absorb the lesson that a good architect must also be a good engineer capable of managing taneously defining their unique appearance. the use of materials and resolving problems using simple and effective technological solutions, seeking the ideal combination for His most important projects include: the ecolog- balancing weight and lightness. In 2002, he founded Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners. The practice’s architecture eliminates the superfluous, ical seating stands at the Motordrome in Imola, stripping the facades of any re­dundancy. This is achieved by minimizing materials and colours, utilizing white and its calculated Bologna from 1992; the RAS Assicurazioni contrast with grey and pursuing a minimalist rigour in detailing, including the extreme linearity in the design of the elevations. The office tower in Milan from 1998; the Sambonet fluidity of the plan reigns over a calm language of construction. Light is the protagonist of their work: during the day it invades interior headquarters building in Orfengo; and the elec- spaces, and by night it becomes the artificial source that illuminates­ them. The office has won many international com­petitions, trical power stations for the Swiss EGL Group. including Meno è più 4 for their design of a kindergarten, a municipal centre and a library in Rome and the competition for the resto­ ration and renovation of the Municipal Theatre in Corato. Project New offices of Tessiture di Nosate e San Giorgio, Milan Project Medlac Pharma, Hanoi, Vietnam IOTTI + PAVARANI ARCHITETTI Via Emilia all’Angelo 3, 42100 Reggio Emilia SERGIO BIANCHI www.iotti-pavarani.com Via Appia Antica 73, Rome 6 2 The work of Iotti + Pavarani, founded by Paolo Iotti and Marco Pavarani in 2001, ranges from Sergio Bianchi is a young architect who grad­ design to landscaping. Both partners trained at uated in Rome in 1995. He began earning rec- the Faculty of Architecture in Ferrara, where ognition through his participation in various they now teach, experimenting together with architectural competitions, including Una casa their students to develop new design themes. a Bellegra – Nuovi modi di abitare la campagna, The office has received numerous awards and organized in September 2000 by IN/ARCH special mentions. In 2004, they were awarded first Lazio. The project he presented earned impor- prize in the two-phase international design com- tant praise, awards and publications. In addition petition for the New Siena Stadium; in 2003, they to the renovation of a home near Recanati, received an Honourable Mention in the Public he has recently completed the construction, Spaces and Infrastructures section of the highly together with Elisabetta Straffi, of the new sought after Gold Medal at the Milan Triennale; in Rainbow headquarters in Loreto, where geo- 2006, they participated at the 10th International thermal rods, solar thermal and photovoltaic Architectural Exhibition at the Venice Biennale, systems guarantee the independence of the and in 2011, Renzo Piano himself presented them complex without ignoring the relationship with with the first Fondazione Renzo Piano Award for context, highlighted through large glazed open- Italian architects under the age of 40. The com- ings that frame the surrounding landscape. petition is promoted by the Fondazione Renzo The work of this Rome-based office pursues Piano and the Associazione Italiana di Architet- buildings integrated with the environment. tura e Critica_ presS/Tfactory. Iotti and Paravani This research is put into practice through the were awarded for their design of the Domus intention to free up the ground plane, valuing Technica Immergas Advanced Training Facility, planted roofs and the activation of multiple which fully reflects their design method based ties with a project’s surroundings, as well on the fusion between new technological and as through the integration of plant systems building systems and the quality of space. powered by renewable energies.

LUIGI FILETICI Project Rainbow headquarters and production studios, Loreto Project Domus Technica Immergas Training Facility, Brescello ARCHITETTI + PAVARANI IOTTI

46 A10 # 47 Eurovision: Italy Eurovision: Italy A10 # 47 47 Inspired by Massimiliano Fuksas Massimiliano Fuksas has always claimed that he owes his professional success to the decision to emigrate to France, a nation where the system of architectural competitions functioned, and where it continues to do so much better than in Italy. Hundreds of young Italian architects have passed through Fuksas’ offices in Rome and Paris. Perhaps many more than in the office of Renzo Piano, due to an intense turnover that, for many, is ascribed to the architect’s difficult personality. Furthermore, KING ROSELLI ARCHITETTI KING ROSELLI ARCHITETTI unlike Piano, whose main office is located in Paris, Fuksas Largo dei Ginnasi 2, 00186 Rome maintains his operational base in Rome. This has made it easier 3 www.kingroselli.com Jeremy King and Riccardo Roselli met in Rome while working for Massimiliano Fuksas. King studied in London and worked for for Italian architects to work in his office. However, it must be Alessandro Mendini and Alchimia, Fitch & Co. and Feddersen & von Herder; Roselli came from the office of Manfredi Nicoletti in Rome. Of Fuksas’ pupils, King and Roselli are those who most absorbed the ability to work on large projects, beginning with a convincing added that the French activities of both Piano and Fuksas have concept that is carried through to the details without losing the strength of the original idea. This is made possible by experimentation with innovative materials and new technologies and a control over the processes of artisanal and industrial production. It is evident led to the creation of numerous Italian offices in the city of Paris. in their latest built work, The Sheraton Malpensa Hotel, where the use of pultruded fibreglass panels allowed for the realization of a single, continuous skin wrapping the building. After the famous Es Hotel and the renovation of the auditorium of the Pontificia This is the case with Bellaviti Coursaris and Amantea, both Università Lateranense in Rome, the office is continuing its growth with the renovation of the Palazzo Montemartini, which will become presented in this section. a new luxury hotel. Project Sheraton Malpensa Hotel

TEXT: NICOLÒ LEWANSKI, LUCA MARINELLI, FEDERICA RUSSO Italy Future

RUN/DOM_BARILLARI ARCHITETTI Via di Pietralata 157, 00158 Rome ENZO AMANTEA ARCHITECTE www.barilariarchitetti.com 61/63 rue Réaumur, 75002 Paris 4 www.amanteaarchitectes.com 1 Founded in 1996 by Fabio and Alessio Barillari, RUN/dom_Barillari Architetti is involved in ar- Though Enzo Amantea may be a well-known architect, perhaps chitecture, design and illustration. The ties with not everyone is familiar with the fact that he came into contact Massimiliano Fuksas date back to 1999 – 2000 with the figure of Massimiliano Fuksas early in his career. Initially when one of the office’s two partners, Fabio, with the studio Zagari, where he collaborated on the design collaborated on the development of the project of the Grottos of Niaux and later, from 1992 to 1998, in Fuksas’ for the International Competition for the New Paris office, where he became an associate. Even after founding Congress Centre in Rome, known as ‘La Nuvola’ Amantea Dupuis Architectes, he continued to accompany (The Cloud). More than a formal influence, his own work with collaborations in various competitions with the starchitect’s importance to the office has the French arm of this Roman architect’s office. Of particular to do with the concept and capacity to begin interest for its formal outcome is the project for the luxury with a sketch and arrive at the realization of Confluence apartments in Lyon. Inspired by the containers sug­gestive works of architecture. In the work located near the canals, Amantea overlapped four boxy ele- of RUN/dom design is transformed into an ments in cobalt blue whose metallic skin exalts the sculptural abstract framework from which to extract the component of the volumes, pushing the facades into the functional needs of each project as part of background. In correspondence with the openings, brise soleil a second phase. This is a difficult skill that the perforate the volumes, restoring the human scale of the entire office manages to interpret through an ambiv­ composition. In this project, as in others, Amantea supports alent approach, proposing a formal complexity a certain poetic inspiration with an excellent use of building freed of any rules of composition, which also technologies, clearly revealing the influence of years of working includes an attention towards the context in with Massimiliano Fuksas. which the building is to be inserted. Project Confluence, Lyon FABIO BARILARI Project New classrooms addition to the Liceo Farnesina, Rome

MODOSTUDIO PARTNERS Via Amerigo Vespucci 24, Rome IAN+ Viale Marco Polo 121, 00154 Rome www.modostudio.eu 2 5 www.ianplus.it Working together in a large office can be a source of good luck. IaN+ is a young office that intertwines the multidisciplinary per- This is something that modostudio know all about. After gradu­ sonalities of Stefania Manna, an engineering consultant, Luca ating from the La Sapienza Faculty of Architecture in Rome, and Galofaro, a theoretician and designer who boasts a significant in the wake of various international experiences, Fabio Cibinel, number of publications and a stint with Eisenman Architects Roberto Laurenti and Giorgio Martocchia found themselves

Future Italy in New York, and Carmelo Baglivo who, after working with working together in the office of Massimiliano and Doriana Max Dudler in Berlin, arrived in Fuksas’ office, initially in Paris Fuksas. The experience gained supervising competition entries and later in Rome. The latter brought a vast experience in and national and international construction sites led the three international competitions and working drawings, a distinctive to form their own office in 2006.Their architectural projects reveal hallmark of Fuksas’ pupils, later pursuing his own personal a heightened sense of space, above all internal space, and re- theories as part of this Roman group. The school in Herat is the search into technological facade systems, resolved through the last building by IaN+ from 2011, realized in collaboration with use of geometric textures that characterize building elevations 2A+P/A and ma0. It fully expresses the office’s philosophy, which and exalt their figurative aspects. These characteristics, un- sees architecture as a tool for interpreting the contemporary doubtedly to the legacy of Fuksas, are further developed through urban condition, and as a point of encounter between man and formal and technological research, contributing to defining the territory. This small fortress of peace in the midst of the arid office’s own strong identity. landscape of Afghanistan was developed at the behest of

AGENCE E. AMANTEA Project Office building and logistic centre, Nola the Fondazione Maria Grazia Cutuli, an Italian journalist killed by an armed convoy in 2011: a simple intervention realized with the active participation of the local population and using typical building techniques.

Project School, Herat, Afghanistan IAN+

GA ARCHITECTURE 27 rue du Repos, 75020 Paris 6 http://ga-architecture.fr Giuseppe Grisafi and Patrizia Anania met while working in the Roman office of Massimiliano Fuksas in 1991, continuing four years later in the Paris office. In 2003, they founded GA Architec- ture in Paris, an office that stands out for its participation in countless competitions and for its projects for scholastic buildings, some of which have been built in recent years. In these interventions, colour and the articulation of form constitute the backbone of the office’s work, manifesting influences in many ways akin to the work of Fuksas from a few years back. The project for the school and municipal library in Bourgogne presented here is a good example of the office’s use of the aforementioned ele- ments, which determine an architectural and formal characterization that is to be found in the interiors and in the relationship between the building and its context. MICHEL DENANCÉ JULIEN LANOO Project School and municipal library, Bourgogne

48 A10 # 47 Eurovision: Italy Eurovision: Italy A10 # 47 49