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The act of design can, and must, be responsible – a responsible and sustainable choice as regards the planet, humans, cities, and nature. And in this, materials play a fundamental role. This was the key theme of the Press Café discussion presented by THE PLAN at the 40th Cersaie, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings. The title of the session, moderated by co-founder and director of THE PLAN Nicola Leonardi, was “The Materials of Architecture: Design as a Responsible Choice.” The event saw the participation of three leading lights of Italian and international architecture: Miguel Casal Ribeiro, partner of Lissoni Casal Ribeiro (the division of Lissoni & Partners that deals with masterplans, architecture, and landscaping); Ines Bovone, partner of Coima Image (a consultancy company that offers architecture, interior design, and space planning services); and Giuseppe Tortato, founder of Giuseppe Tortato Architetti.
Deciding what the most responsible choices that a studio or architect can make regarding the best materials to use means taking responsibility for the sustainability of one’s work and its effects on everyday life. The materials, in dialogue with form, context, history of place, and all the other elements of a project, are able to tell the story of a space, and talk about the identity of both studio and client. This underscores Miguel Casal Ribeiro’s belief in the leading role of materials in terms of “the type of project, depending on whether the starting point is an interior, an exterior, or a conversion.” Sometimes, though, materials can also be a kind of project matrix, such as in the case of The Middle House, a hotel in Shanghai that was completed in 2018, described by Casal Ribeiro as “newly built architecture with an important narrative created by its interiors, which were determined by the condition that all materials and furnishings had to be made in China. For this reason, we acted a little like Marco Polo, traveling around China and meeting local artisans. It was an investigation of the local culture and their ways of processing materials. We then filtered this knowledge through our own style to produce a unique project that encapsulates a dialogue with the people who live in those places. The project narrative was born from this dialogue, from this cross-pollination, from the desire to acquire new knowledge and communicate one’s own personality. A good example is the interior paneling with its bamboo pattern, which we combined with glossy black flooring.”
The choice of materials and their leading role can also stem from the logic behind the functional reuse of a building, as mentioned by Ines Bovone. “One case is the project for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic village, the competition for which was won by SOM and for which Coima will design the interiors. This is a reuse project in the sense that the six new buildings housing the athlete accommodation are also being designed for later reuse as student residences. The technology used therefore includes prefabricated vertical metal structures, precast concrete floors, and CLT modules for the façades. Construction will be very quick but with functional reuse built into it, along with the constructive reuse of materials.”
The issues mentioned by Giuseppe Tortato reflected a similar theme, on the one hand addressing the idea of architecture that ages well and, on the other, self-protective design (the term used by the studio). “The objective is to design buildings that grow more beautiful as they age but are also beautiful from the moment they’re built. Regeneration is an act of sustainability, but it’s also self-defeating to recycle materials if a building has only lasted twenty years.”
The studio’s approach focuses on two key elements: “The choice of materials and their shape,” continued Tortato. “You start out with materials you believe are suitable, but then, in some cases, you end up choosing different options in response to contingent needs. But this happens without losing sight of the form, the expressive power of which isn’t compromised. The choice of materials is fundamental, but it’s just one part of the whole process, and it’s not possible to divide materials from the building, or, therefore, context.”
Individual photo credits are included in each gallery image
