Architecture

Portrait of 4 Italian architects who have inspired us with their innovative creations

From the Colosseum in Rome, via the Duomo of Milan to the cathedral of Florence: Italy has never been lacking in architectural gems. And that should hardly come as a surprise. Italy has, after all, always been the country of harmonious proportions – think of the golden section during the Renaissance or the symmetrical simplicity of Palladianism. But Italy is not just about classical architecture. The contemporary tours de force by Giò Ponti, Aldo Rossi, Gae Aulenti and Cini Boeri – to name but a few – are permanently etched on our collective retina.

Written by Céline Nickmans
Adapté d'un texte de Karin Van Opstal
Published on16 June 2022
2 minutes
VILLAS Decorationitalian architects
© Stefano Boeri

A portrait of four international renowned italian architects who are continuing to this day to enthral us with their innovative creations. Eco-architect Stefano Boeri has scored high marks with the Bosco Verticale, his skyscrapers wrapped in plants in the heart of Milan. Pritzker Prize winner Renso Piano has made his name with his high-tech architecture, of which the Centre Pompidou and The Shard are prime examples. Matteo Thun enchants with his timelessly elegant designs that are able to respect the soul of the site. The Sicilian architect Antonino Cardillo has been able, with his cutting-edge, almost archetypical work, to engage with centuries-old cultures and civilisations.

STEFANO BOERI    

The Milanese architect-urbanist Stefano Boeri gained worldwide recognition with his Bosco Verticale, two skyscrapers in Milan, completely wrapped in luxuriant plants. The sustainable residential project, a green oasis in the concrete jungle of the city, has been imitated in Paris, Utrecht and on the Antwerp Nieuw Zuid, where the Palazzo Verde promises to become the country’s greenest building. Boeri’s most impressive project is indisputably Forest City, a complete city forest in the Chinese million city Liuzhou. Boeri is a creative jack-of-all-trades, who is architect, professor, guest speaker and author. He was, for example, the editor-in-chief of Domus and Abitare. He was recently appointed curator of the 59th Salone del Mobile in Milan.

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Stefano Boeri | Giovanni-Gastel

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Forest City, Liuzhou | Stefano Boeri Architetti

RENZO PIANO   

The star architect from Genoa, Renzo Piano, will undoubtedly go down in the history books as the designer of the Centre Pompidou in Paris (together with Richard Rogers) and of The Shard in London, Europe’s highest skyscraper. In his high-tech architecture – with a predominance of steel, aluminium and glass – the building’s skeleton is often visible. That technique and elegance are not contradictory is proven by the architect in, say, the graceful, generously located Tjibaou cultural centre in Nouméa. In 1998, Piano won the prestigious Pritzker architect prize, aka the Nobel Prize for architecture.

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Renzo Piano | SIPA

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Privévilla Aspen | Nic Lehoux | RPBW

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Cultureel centrum Tjibaou in Nouméa | John Gollings | RPBW | ADCK | Fondazione

MATTEO THUN   

Timeless simplicity and restrained luxury characterise the work of Bolzano-born architect Matteo Thun. The architect, a notorious member of the legendary Memphis Group, has been running his own office since 1984, concentrating largely on the luxury hotel sector. His private residences also place a premium on resident well-being. Thanks to Thun’s search for the genius loci, the soul of the site, his architecture seems to melt into its surroundings. The Vigilius Mountain Resort in Southern Tirol follows the contours of Monte San Vigilio. The Villa Adriana in Zurich, constructed with glass cubes, acts as a window onto the landscape.

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Matteo Thun | Nacho Alegre

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Villa Ibiza | Matteo Thun & Partners

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Villa Solitaire | Matteo Thun & Partners | Hiepler Brunier

ANTONINO CARDILLO   

The Sicilian architect Antonino Cardillo amazed the international professional media with his Seven Imagined Houses: hyper-realistic computer images of buildings that will never be built. Whether he is working on his imaginary concepts or his tangible projects, Cardillo’s unique, archetypical work synthesises centuries of civilisation and makes eager use of historic building elements. His occasionally daring, then his restrained colour palette gains its strength thanks to the wide use of textures chosen, including roughly applied pozzolana plaster. His monumental, almost sacred rooms – a cave, a labyrinth or an oratory – breath an aura of mysticism.

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Antonino Cardillo

VILLAS Decoration Architectes italiens

Ellipse 1501 House | Antonino Cardillo