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July 15 2023

Triennale - Winners of the Italian Architecture Prize - Fourth Edition Announced

New innovative voices emerge in the fourth edition of the Italian Architecture Prize

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Triennale Milano has announced the winners of the fourth edition of the prestigious Italian Architecture Prize, an annual event that celebrates excellence and innovation in the field of Italian architecture. The award ceremony took place today, Thursday, July 13th, at Triennale Milano and was attended by important figures in the industry.

The Best Building Award was awarded to two extraordinary projects. The first winner is the team composed of architects Carlo Atzeni, Maurizio Manias, Silvia Mocci, and Franceschino Serra for their exceptional work on the Parish Complex and Church of Santa Chiara, located in Sini, Oristano. This complex stands out for its formal rigor and contextual awareness, bringing together spatial, expressive, and relational elements to mend the central fabric of the settlement of Sini. The project interprets typical elements of local and Mediterranean architecture, with particular attention to enhancing the context and building meaningful connections with the local communities.

The second winner of the Best Building Award is ELASTICOFarm studio, which realized the project of the new complex of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) S-LAB in Turin. This project represents an extraordinary example of linguistic-technological research. The building transforms traditional technology for productive buildings, using heavy prefabrication in reinforced concrete in an innovative and experimental way. Thanks to an attentive relationship with the context and its multiple environmental, atmospheric, perceptive, and landscape declinations, the S-LAB project acquires a strong identity, surpassing the "generic" conception typical of this type of structure.

The Under 35 Award was awarded to Studio Ossidiana, which impressed the jury with their project of the Art Pavilion M in Almere, the Netherlands. The studio managed to combine in a single synthetic gesture the main characteristics of their work, between formal research and sensitive investigation into environmental and interspecies relationships of architecture and landscape. The project stands out for its conceptual clarity and its ability to innovatively express the interactions between the building and the surrounding environment.

In addition, a special award was given to Aimaro Oreglia d'Isola, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to Italian architecture throughout his career. The jury praised his commitment to nurturing the architectural debate around fundamental themes such as the relationship between modernity and tradition, natural and artificial, territory, and landscape. Aimaro Oreglia d'Isola's career has marked an era of innovative and surprising creations, leaving a significant imprint on Italian architecture.

Triennale Milano and MAXXI - National Museum of the 21st Century Arts have been collaborating for four years to promote and enhance Italian architecture through the Italian Architecture Prize. The exhibition of the projects of the winners and finalists of this fourth edition of the prize will be open to the public at Triennale Milano from July 14th to September 24th, 2023.

This edition of the Italian Architecture Prize has confirmed the level of creativity and innovation present in the Italian architectural landscape. The awarded projects represent high-quality architectural solutions that address contemporary challenges with originality and practicality. Italian architecture continues to amaze and inspire, with projects that combine aesthetics, functionality, and a strong social commitment.

Special Mention / Mention Paraphernalia

Italy, Viale E. Alemagna, 6, Milan Triennale Milano

2020 Credits: (ab)Normal

Looking up at the sky, focusing on the top of a common urban tower, observing the wall of a domestic environment, straight on the white box or on the liquid crystal screen, on the shelves or on the desks of any office, in one's own pockets, or directly on the wrist. Even within one's own body. A variety of technological gadgets, prosthetic coadjutants of modernity, have colonized every aspect of human experience. The architectural space itself serves as a background, rather than a shell, losing importance in favor of a multiform infrastructure that surrounds the planet. (ab)Normal proposes a project that aims to exaggerate this phenomenon. Following the provocation contained in Reyner Banham's research, "Anatomy of a dwelling," and more specifically in "A home is not a house," where architecture itself disappears, and space collapses, leaving a maelstrom of technological trinkets. Paraphernalia re-proposes, with the same sensitivity, an agglomeration of digital technology, now indispensable and in some cases more significant than space itself. This kind of multiform and upgradable infrastructure will consequently become a constant presence in the urban and domestic landscape, a symbiotic element of any architectural geometry, generating an element assimilable to the ornamental apparatus of the 5 architectural orders. Paraphernalia, therefore, attempts to establish an analogy between the column and the antenna, aware that the latter will become the protagonist of a process of assimilation into the aesthetics of the city.

(ab)Normal

image attached (ab)Normal is a creative agency engaged in multidisciplinary exploration in areas such as design, architecture, digital art, and creative direction.

The project started as a graphic novel without a chronology, where obsolete 3D objects and unrealized formal obsessions are reorganized into spatial narratives. The highly iconographic images allegorically describe the strange intersection between the Internet, gaming, and religion, mixing the theme into a visual narrative.

In 2022, (ab)Normal won the competition for the new Beic Library in Milan, together with Onsite, Baukuh, Yellow Office, and Dot Dot Dot.

They have contributed their works to various cultural events related to design and architecture, such as Triennale Milano, Dropcity Milano, Venice Biennale, Tbilisi Biennale, Oslo Triennale, and worked on special projects for clients such as Moncler, Bally, LVMH, Cassina, OneBlockDown. The works of (ab)Normal have been featured in magazines such as "Domus," "Platform," "Artribune," "Zero.eu," "Abitare," "Archdaily," "Elle Décor," and "Volume Magazine."

Special Mention / Mention More With Less horizontal

Italy, Piazza Santa Maria Paganica, L'Aquila MAXXI L'Aquila 2021

Credits: Antonio Di Cecco and Francesco Scipioni Courtesy of Fondazione MAXXI

More With Less was conceived and developed by the architect Giuseppe Grant, a member of the collective orizzontale, and the students of the course of Architettura e Composizione Architettonica IV (ACAIV) of the University of L'Aquila. They collaborated to design a temporary structure as a means to initiate and reflect on what architecture can contribute to the city. The project aims to trigger processes of transformation and improvement in the quality of spaces, showcasing the opportunities offered by a specific urban environment fully dedicated to the life and social interactions of citizens. The project, which commenced during the 2020/2021 academic year, explores possible applications of incremental urban intervention methods within L'Aquila's historic center, bridging the gap between academic teaching and professional practice.

Can a temporary architectural object permanently enhance the urban environment and act as a catalyst for social activities within the community? How can resources be optimally utilized to enhance community spaces? These are some of the questions that More With Less seeks to answer. The research, both theoretical and practical, aims to analyze the value of incremental urban projects beyond their short-term and emergency-driven connotations. Consequently, 'Temporary Beyond Emergency' encompasses dynamic, flexible, and effective urban interventions to foster the ongoing development of contemporary public spaces.

orizzontale

image attached orizzontale is a collective of architects based in Rome, whose work spans architecture, landscape, public art, and self-construction.

orizzontale has been promoting relational public space projects since 2010, giving shape to images of abandoned or unprecedented cities. These projects have served as a testing ground for new forms of interaction between inhabitants and urban common goods, while also challenging the limits of the architectural creation process. They have built and developed projects in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Greece, Ukraine, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

Their mobile theater, 8 ½, constructed in 2014, won the international Young Architects Program ("YAP MAXXI 2014") prize organized by the MAXXI Museum and MoMA PS1. In 2016, orizzontale won the competition for the regeneration of Piazza della Comunità Europea in Aprilia, organized by MiBACT and CNAPPC. The project was completed and awarded the Urbanistica Prize by INU in 2020. In 2018, orizzontale received the "Giovane Talento dell'Architettura Italiana 2018" recognition from CNAPPC at the Venice Biennale. In 2021, they were invited to participate in the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale in the Italian Pavilion.

orizzontale is composed of: Jacopo Ammendola, Juan Lopez Cano, Giuseppe Grant, Margherita Manfra, Nasrin Mohiti Asli, Roberto Pantaleoni, Stefano Ragazzo

Studio Ossidiana

image attached Studio Ossidiana is a design studio based in Rotterdam (NL), operating between the scales of architecture and design, creating spaces, objects, installations, and landscapes.

The studio's projects include experimental playgrounds for children and adults, floating gardens inhabited by birds, outdoor kitchens, water-based land art pavilions, and worlds to explore and cultivate for humans and other species. Studio Ossidiana's projects and research have been showcased in international exhibitions and events, including the 23rd International Triennale Exhibition in Milan in 2022, the Venice Biennale in 2021, Arkdes 2021, Istanbul Design Biennial 2021, Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021, and Shenzhen Architecture Biennale 2022. Their work has been featured in national and international publications such as "Corriere della Sera," "La Repubblica," "The Architectural Review," "The New York Times Style Magazine," "Domus," and "Dezeen."

Giovanni Bellotti and Alessandra Covini, the partners of the studio, complement their design work with courses and presentations at universities in the Netherlands and internationally. In 2018, Studio Ossidiana won the Prix de Rome, the oldest prize dedicated to designers under the age of 35 in the Netherlands. In 2023, Studio Ossidiana won the Public Award and the Academic Committee Award for "The Seeds Garden" project at the Shenzhen Biennale, as well as the Sustainable Achievement EDIDA promoted by "Elle Decoration International."

Labics

image attached Labics is an architecture and urban planning studio founded in Rome in 2002 by Maria Claudia Clemente and Francesco Isidori.

The name Labics conveys the idea of a laboratory, a fertile ground where ideas circulate. Among their main completed projects are the "MAST" Foundation in Bologna (2006-2013), the multifunctional complex "Città del Sole" in Rome (2007-2016), Piazza Fontana in Rozzano (2007-2011), the Jacaranda nursery-school in Milan (2017-2018), and the restoration of Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara (2018-2022). Some of their ongoing major projects include four residential buildings in the "Cascina Merlata" complex in Milan (2018-2024), the university building Cu.Bo in the Biomedical Campus of Rome (2019-2023), a school pavilion for St. George's in Rome (2022-2024), and the new plan for the Colosseum Arena in Rome (2021-2024).

Labics has exhibited their work in various exhibitions, including the 11th, 12th, and 14th Venice Architecture Biennales. The studio has received several international awards and recognitions, and their work has been published in major national and international magazines. In 2018, Labics published their first manifesto monograph, "Structures," with Park Books.

ELASTICOFarm

image attached ELASTICOFarm is an architecture and product design studio

ELASTICOFarm was founded in 2005 by Stefano Pujatti, Alberto Del Maschio, and Sara dal Gallo. The studio has offices in Chieri (TO), Pordenone, and Toronto (Canada). Pujatti was a visiting professor at the UofT in Toronto from 2014 to 2016 and at the Polytechnic University of Turin from 2005 to 2014. He has been invited as a speaker to various international universities, including RMIT - Melbourne, Hoesi University - Tokyo, Accademia di Architettura - Mendrisio, and IUAV - Venice.

ELASTICOFarm's architectural research focuses on the relationship between natural forces and elements and their impact on the built environment. Every project is an opportunity for experimentation with materials, technology, and forms. Their portfolio includes architecture and product designs that have received significant recognition in national and international events and publications. Among these are the Venice Architecture Biennale (2006-2010-2014-2021), the monographic exhibition "Form Matters" at the Italian Institute of Culture in Toronto (2015), and the INARCH-ANCE 2006 prize. ELASTICOFarm was a finalist for the Mies Van der Rohe Award in 2013 and nominated in 2019 and 2022. They won the Plan Award in 2015 and Archmarathon in 2017. In 2019, they won the first prize at the RED DOT Award, the LF Design Award, and the Green Design Award. In 2008, Maggioli published their monograph "Architettura al sangue," and in 2019, ELASTICOFarm was the guest editor of an issue of the magazine "IQD."

Carlo Atzeni, Maurizio Manias, Silvia Mocci, Franceschino Serra

image attached Carlo Atzeni is a full professor of Technical Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Cagliari, teaching Design and Construction

He is the author of numerous publications and scientific coordinator of national and international research on contemporary architecture in historical and rural contexts. His projects have been distinguished with awards and mentions, including winning in Europan IX and X, the Council of Europe Landscape Award 2011, and the BigSEE award 2021. Maurizio Manias is a Civil-Edile engineer, specializing in the recovery of traditional architecture, strategic and operational planning in the inland areas of Sardinia, with particular reference to depopulation processes and school architecture. He has designed numerous schools, churches, cultural centers, and social housing complexes. Silvia Mocci is a researcher in Architectural Technology at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Cagliari, participating in national and international architecture competitions and being distinguished with awards and mentions. Among these are winning in Europan IX, X, and XIII, the Council of Europe Landscape Award 2011, and the BigSEE award 2021. She is also the designer of numerous schools, churches, and social housing complexes. Franceschino Serra is a Civil Structures engineer, serving as diocesan officer for worship buildings in the Diocese of Ales-Terralba. He is involved in structural design, systems, and energy efficiency for existing heritage buildings.

Carlo Atzeni, Maurizio Manias, Silvia Mocci, Franceschino Serra

image attached Carlo Atzeni is a full professor of Technical Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Cagliari, teaching Design and Construction

Technical Glossary:

Premio italiano di Architettura: Annual recognition promoted by Triennale and MAXXI to celebrate Italian architecture.
Premio under 35: Award given to young talented architects under the age of 35.
Premio alla carriera: Recognition for an architect's significant contributions throughout their career.
Complesso parrocchiale e chiesa di Santa Chiara: Architectural project by Carlo Atzeni, Maurizio Manias, Silvia Mocci, and Franceschino Serra, located in Sini, Oristano.
ELASTICOFarm: Architecture studio awarded for the project of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) S-LAB in Turin.
Studio Ossidiana: Winner of the under 35 Prize for the Art Pavillion M. project in Almere, the Netherlands.
Aimaro Oreglia d'Isola: Architect awarded with the Career Achievement Prize for his significant contributions to Italian architecture.
Mostra in Triennale Milano: Exhibition of the winning and finalist works of the Italian Architecture Prize, open to the public from July 14 to September 24, 2023.
Triennale Milano: An important institution that promotes architecture and arts in Milan.
MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo: Museum of contemporary art in Rome.