Mario Cucinella will be the curator of the Italian Pavilion for 16th Venice International Architecture Exhibition curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara (Grafton Architects) and promoted by the Biennale di Venezia Foundation.
The team led by the architect Mario Cucinella -winner of an invited competition by Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (MiBACT)- will propose “Archipelago Italy”: a great dynamic laboratory that focuses on the urban space formed by interior areas, which by extension and historical-cultural stratification, embodies the identity of our country.
Architect Cucinella explains: “Archipelago Italy is an opportunity to restore the centrality of expressions of quality in architecture, which can only emerge from empathy with sites, favoring the right measure over the grandiose gesture and accounting for the feasibility of the project. This reflection derives from a scientific reading of the territory based on four transversal themes: architecture and landscape, infrastructures, society and economy.”
The opportunities that emerge from this research will be expressed in the meaningful selection of some thirty projects intended to promote a response to the needs of inhabiting, connecting, sharing and progressing – always in an integrated way.
Particular attention will be given to the post-earthquake emergency context of the Central Apennine region, for which this project will become a rallying cry.
As part of the proposal, Mario Cucinella / MCA also suggested to MiBACT that it bring the Pavilion outside the spaces of the Venice Biennale, and in order to establish a biunivocal relationship with the territory, that concrete involvement of local communities should be expected.
Captions
Mario Cucinella portrait by Luca Maria Castelli.
Some recent and under construction projects by MCA (from left):
Unipol Grouunder construction in Milan Milano Porta Nuova.
One Airport Square, Accra, Ghana.
Nursery school in Guastalla,Italy.
Headquarters Coima under construction at Porta Nuova in Milan.
Yvonne Farrell e Shelley McNamara (Grafton Architects).
