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The centerpiece of the conference series held at the Grand Hotel Savoia during Cortina Design Weekend was the roundtable session organized by THE PLAN entitled “Sports Infrastructure: Architecture, Technology, and Mobility for Experiencing the Mountains in Summer and Winter.”
Moderated by Francesco Chiamulera, founder and manager of the successful exhibition Una montagna di libri (A mountain of books), the session saw the participation of Marco Zardini, president of Impianti Dolomiti SuperSki; Stefano Lorenzi, project manager with Leitner; Fabio Calorio, head of brand extension at Pininfarina; Silvia Prandelli, senior principal of Popolous Italia; Alessandro Zoppini, partner of Studio Zoppini; and Benedetto Camerana, founder of Camerana & Partners.
The topic for discussion was infrastructure and mobility in the context of what’s been termed the “mountain experiment,” with a particular emphasis on the value of design and the importance of a far-reaching approach to thinking about design. As part of its discussion of the merits of temporary and permanent structures, the conference also focused on architecture for sports and events, and their legacy once the function for which they were designed is over – Olympic infrastructure, in particular.
>>> Discover all the events as a part of Cortina Design Weekend
Populous, an international architecture firm specializing in sports facilities, opened its new Populous Italia offices in Milan in September 2022. The firm is headquartered in Kansas, and has offices in London and Melbourne. The opening of the Milan office was in response to the studio’s growing involvement in projects across Italy, including a new stadium in Milan. One of Populous’s best-known projects is the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, a huge and spectacular spherical structure designed for concerts that’s bedecked, inside and out, by hundreds of LED panels.
Founded in 1961 by Pino Zoppini, Studio Zoppini has offices in Milan and London. The expertise it has acquired over the years, especially in the area of sports and recreational architecture, saw the studio win the international design competition for Oval Lingotto, the stadium built to host the speed skating events at the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006. Alessandro Zoppini is one of the very few architects to have designed facilities for three different Olympic Games: Turin 2006, Sochi 2014, and PyeongChang 2018.
Established as Camerana & Partners in Turin in 1977, Benedetto Camerana Studio has over 20 years’ experience in urban and landscape design, and major public and private architecture projects, including sports infrastructure. One of the studio’s most important projects is the Olympic Village for the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006, which won the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture. More recently, Benedetto Camerana developed the masterplan for the Nitto ATP Finals, hosted in Turin in 2021, which involved the transformation of Arata Isozaki’s Pala Alpitour.
The first part of the session focused on how infrastructure is a tool at the service of what’s been termed the “mountain experiment,” with professionals involved in the management and construction of mountain facilities taking part. Marco Zardini opened the session with a summary of the most recent projects in Cortina d’Ampezzo aimed at skiers in winter and hikers in summer.
The president of Impianti Dolomiti SuperSki then discussed projects currently in the pipeline and new areas for intervention aimed at linking different geographic areas, increasing the speed of existing infrastructure, and improving the flow of traffic in mountain passes.
In this context, collaboration with ropeway and cable car manufacturer Leitner is fundamental. Stefano Lorenzi outlined the history of his firm, illustrating the various areas of application of Leitner products and the firm’s most advanced technologies. Collaboration with Pininfarina has helped fuel the company’s growth, with Fabio Calorio highlighting how design and beauty are an added value in any field. Design is therefore a distinctive element able to create competitive advantage for the company, while adding quality to the mountain landscape.
The second part of the session focused on the relationship between architecture and sport. Silvia Prandelli, Benedetto Camerana, and Alessandro Zoppini, all founders and principals of some of the most respected studios involved in sports architecture, contributed their views on the topic.
They discussed some of their most highly acclaimed projects, including stadiums, Olympic villages, and pavilions for events. A recurring theme was the importance of flexibility in the use of these structures, the creation of a recovery and reuse plan, and the importance of this type of architecture’s legacy. The theme of memory – that is, of leaving a distinctive sign that commemorates an event – can combine with intelligent design choices to minimize material use, and maximize flexibility in the use of spaces and the reuse of infrastructure, including through overlay techniques. This is all part and parcel of achieving real and working sustainability through a cooperative approach and local partnerships.
>>> Read about the conference presented by Dolomiti Contemporanee
Photography by Teresa De Toni e Chiara Beretta, courtesy of Cortina for Us
