As the EU member states prepared to cast their votes this past weekend, architects from Europe and abroad gathered in Milan to discuss the profession's most pressing topics. Milano Arch Week, hosted by the Triennale Design Museum and its president Stefano Boeri, was made up of an engaging series of lectures, conversations, workshops, and itineraries. ‘My vision is to bring Triennale Milano back to its traditional roots as the type of place where differing points of view are considered,’ Boeri described of the event, ‘and controversial topics are discussed and explored through various artistic and cultural viewpoints.’
This year’s theme, ‘Architecture and the Anthropocene', took its cue from Broken Nature, the blockbuster exhibition that opened at the Triennale in April. Curated by MoMA’s Paola Antonelli, Broken Nature investigates the irrevocably severed ties between the environment and humankind, inviting architects, researchers and designers to explore notions of restorative design. Many of Arch Week’s events extrapolated on these projects, featuring talks by a number of Broken Nature participants: design duo Formafantasma, who created Ore Streams, an investigation in the recycling of electronic waste; Curator of the Dutch pavilion Angela Rui; and American soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause, who devised The Great Animal Orchestra, an interactive deep dive into nature’s noises.
Milano Arch Week included a series of lectures, conversations, workshops, and itineraries.
A number of architects were also invited to present their recent work, from research projects by up-and-coming studios to Pritzker-winning big guns, each chosen for their practice of sustainable design. Local firm Fosbury architects discussed their recent work, including Ice Shanties for Cryptocurrency miners, a series of micro-homes whose heat is generated by the mining of cryptocurrency, which is currently being shown at the Versailles Biennale. Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi of NLÉ presented recent developments into his Makoko Floating school project, which is now in its third iteration, discussing the need for adaptable architecture as coastal cities become increasingly prone to flooding.
One of the more interesting moments of the week proved to be the most pressing for the city of Milan. On Thursday and Friday mornings the Triennale hosted the public consultations for the regeneration projects of Scalo Farini and San Cristoforo, two former railway depots that will soon be transformed by OMA into what is being touted as Europe’s largest urban park. Led by architect Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli and local firm Laboratorio Permanente, the presentation described a masterplan that aims to mediate the city’s scorching summer temperatures and notoriously polluted environment by installing a massive green tract in the north and urban lake in the south. It’s an ambitious project, whose longterm undertaking rests precariously on the country’s volatile economy, but based on the vociferous local turn out, it proved that an environmental change has to start at home.
But the most prescient observation came from Pritzker prize winner Shigeru Ban, who spoke at length about his various disaster relief projects over the years, from temporary housing in Sri Lanka following the 2004 tsunami to the Christchurch cathedral, built after 2011’s devastating earthquake. He stated: ‘disasters are no longer natural, they are man-made. It’s not the earthquake that kills people, it’s the collapse of the building.’ A point of view that summed up the sentiment of the wide-ranging festival.
Curated by MoMA’s Paola Antonelli, Broken Nature (above) investigates the irrevocably severed ties between the environment and humankind.
Within this theme, architects, researchers and designers were asked to explore notions of restorative design.
American soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause, who devised The Great Animal Orchestra (pictured here), an interactive deep dive into nature’s noises, gave a talk during the festival.
The curator of the Dutch pavilion in Broken Nature, Angela Rui, was among the speakers.
Design duo Formafantasma, who created Ore Streams (pictured here), an investigation in the recycling of electronic waste, were also part of the talks line-up
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Milano Arch Week website
-
First look inside 62 Reade Street, a clock factory turned family home62 Reade Street, a boutique New York residential project by architects ODA, unveils its first apartment interior, courtesy of Hovey Design
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Lucienne Day’s lesser-known silk textiles are a splendour of geometry and colour at Margaret HowellMargaret Howell presents British designer Lucienne Day’s 'Silk Mosaics' in a solo exhibition, alongside the launch of the brand's 2025 calendar in homage to Day
-
Naples Central Station boasts a wavy, wooden signature roof that is dramatic and sculpturalNaples Underground Central Station by Benedetta Tagliabue is a work of art that’s inviting and vibrant, matching its dynamic context
-
‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is an essential tour of the Italian master’s works‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is the perfect book for architecture enthusiasts
-
New Aesop Milan store is a haven of beauty and tranquillityThe latest Aesop Milan store to open is a hub of wellness, beauty and tranquillity in the Italian metropolis
-
A new water mirror casts a misty veil over ancient Roman bathsArchitect Hannes Peer reveals a water mirror in Rome – an immersive architectural installation at the heart of the ancient Baths of Caracalla
-
Giovanni Michelucci’s dramatic concrete church in the Italian DolomitesGiovanni Michelucci’s concrete Church of Santa Maria Immacolata in the Italian Dolomites is a reverently uplifting memorial to the victims of a local disaster
-
Milan’s 10 Corso Como revamp nods to the concept store’s industrial characterMilanese concept store 10 Corso Como unveils its new look by 2050+, a stripped-back design that nods to its 20th-century character
-
Carlo Ratti announced curator of Venice Architecture Biennale 2025Carlo Ratti has been revealed as the Director of the Architecture Department at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, with the specific task of curating the 19th International Architecture Exhibition
-
Floating infinity pool by Herzog & De Meuron at Lake Como is largest of its kindHerzog & de Meuron creates the largest floating infinity pool in the world for Mandarin Oriental in Lake Como
