Interview by Pavlos Amperiadis
“This sentiment is one I have held for a while and would repeat to my younger self: The future is the product of present actions. You may remember it from the Venice Biennale when I curated the Italian Pavilion and had these words displayed using LED lights,” reveals Mario Cucinella, Creative Director, MC A – Mario Cucinella Architects
Global Design News speaks with Mario Cucinella, the founder and Creative Director of MC A – Mario Cucinella Architects, an international design studio, based in Bologna and Milan, specializing in research-based architectural design linked to sustainability issues, following a holistic approach.
The future is the product of present actions
The impact and importance of his work, both from an environmental and social point of view, as an architect and as an educator has been recognized with the Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects (2017) and with the International Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2016).
In 2015, he founded SOS – School of Sustainability, a post-graduate training center aimed at training architectural and design professionals in the field of green architecture and sustainability.
In 2018, he was the curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale with the exhibition “Arcipelago Italia.”
In 2019, he founded MC D – Mario Cucinella Design, a product design department, focused on the theme of recycling and circular economy with many collaborations with the most famous Italian companies.
In 2021, Mario Cucinella and the studio participated in COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, with the TECLA – Technology and Clay project, the first innovative model of an eco-sustainable 3D-printed home made entirely of local raw earth designed by MC A – Mario Cucinella Architects and WASP, displayed in the Build Better Now virtual exhibition.
In the same year MC A was the only Italian design firm to sign Architecture 2030’s “1.5°C COP26, Communiqué,” an open letter to governments demonstrating the commitment of companies and organizations to the 1.5°C reduction plan of the Paris Agreement and asking governments to do the same.
Mario Cucinella has carried out projects in Europe, China, North, and Central Africa, the Middle East, and South America.
Among the most important are the “La Balena” nursery school in Guastalla, Reggio Emilia; the ARPAE headquarters for the regional agency for prevention, the environment and energy, in Ferrara; the Sino-Italian Ecological and Energy Efficient Building, in Beijing.
The firm has about fifty projects under design and/or construction. Among the most important are: the new Unipol Management Centre, the SeiMilano residential and mixed-use project, the Rovati Foundation Etruscan Museum, and the new Surgical and Emergency Centre of the San Raffaele Hospital, all in Milan.
Also in progress is the Valle D’Aosta University Hub project in Aosta and two “Viertel Zwei” residential and office towers in Vienna, two residential projects in Tirana, and various private projects in the Middle-east.
GDN: Mario, you have led a long journey in design, architecture, and urban planning — architect, founder of Mario Cucinella Architects, designer, and writer. Would you be able to discuss with us where it all starts?
Mario: The studio was founded in Paris in 1992 and seven years later we opened our Italian base in Bologna. Today we have offices in Bologna and also in Milan where we moved to a new space—a former military uniform workshop, just last year.
From the start, I have been interested in how buildings are made and how they coexist with our environment. This has informed our work over the years and led to what we call designing with creative empathy.
Think harder about available energy resources and respect nature
Regulation is not the solution on its own, but it requires political will and can also galvanise a commitment towards sustainable design
GDN: Which are the notable challenges and rewards you have received in your career?
Mario: I share the challenge of my colleagues of working towards a reduced carbon footprint which is why we founded the School of Sustainability (SOS) where professionals of tomorrow, of the next twenty years, can grow and increasingly address the strains that the climate crisis has landed us with.
The reward for me is to witness this positive change take place and to share the energy of the next generation as we try and do things better project by project.
Our installation project for this year’s Salone del Mobile–Design with Nature–did this in a microcosm
GDN: Which would you name as the distinctive influences in your architectural philosophy and practice?
Mario: The American architect, author, and educator Edward Mazria.
I really like what he says about our tendency to rush towards the complex when trying to solve a problem, although simplicity can very often win in the context of energy independent architecture.
We continuously apply what we learn from our clients and collaborators and the places we work in around the world
GDN: Let’s speak about your upcoming book publication ‘The Future is a Journey to The Past.’ How would you describe its purpose and contribution to the field?
Mario: I think it really pick up on Edward Mazria’s sentiment about simplicity and the wealth of knowledge available from vernacular architectural traditions from around the world.
It’s about making us think harder about available energy resources, respecting nature.
My book sees this through the lens of ten journeys from Iran to China to Maghreb and Ireland.
GDN: If we look at the contemporary international political scene, how do politics fit within the evolution of our cities in terms of sustainability and improvement of our living conditions?
Mario: Regulation is not the solution on its own, but it requires political will and can also galvanise a commitment towards sustainable design.
We took part in COP26 as we think it is important for the architectural profession to communicate with political powers and to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals on carbon reduction.
The Agreements do have an impact on urban living but they are one of many tools.
Ultimately, there needs to be a widespread desire for change and for doing the right thing, and as designers we can also make this change more appealing. This is our job.
As designers, we can also make this change more appealing, this is our job
GDN: There are countless discourses and initiatives in an attempt to promote a more sustainable future for our societies by theorists of architecture and design. How can we, in your opinion, conceive a new sustainable model for the society?
Mario: Our installation project for this year’s Salone del Mobile–Design with Nature–did this in a microcosm.
It investigated the dynamics of urban living, our interdependence with nature while emphasising ‘sociality’ and around what we call “eco-systemic know how.”
It is about a establishing a happy common ground through our joint positive commitment to reducing our negative impact on the planet.
To this end, the installation was organised around three themes: ecological transition, the home as the first urban building block and the city as a mine, ranging over a large area that turns into both a landscape and a space for dialogue, a refuge for discussion, sharing, reading, and reflecting.
There needs to be a widespread desire for change and for doing the right thing
GDN: What would your advice be to your younger self who just enters the field of architecture and design?
Mario: This sentiment is one I have held for a while and would repeat to my younger self:
The future is the product of present actions.
You may remember it from the Venice Biennale when I curated the Italian Pavilion and had these words displayed using LED lights.
GDN: Would you be able to discuss with us the projects that you consider the landmarks of your career?
Mario: For us, each project is a landmark as we continuously apply what we learn from our clients and collaborators and the places we work in around the world.
Saying that, I am very happy that we have worked in Ghana and Algeria in the past and are about to complete a project in Brazil.
A new project in a wholly new region always represents a landmark in the life of our practice.
GDN: Last, can you possibly disclose to our readers upcoming cutting-edge projects by Mario Cucinella Architects?
Mario: Yes. In Brazil, we have completed the headquarters for Nice just North-West of Sao Paolo.
It’s a 16,000 sqm industrial complex for the Italian multinational which is world leader in the home automation, home security and the smart home sector.
The roof of the project has been inspired by the shape of a tropical leaf.
It is about a establishing a happy common ground through our joint positive commitment to reducing our negative impact on the planet
In addition to its roof design, the building will act as a landmark example of sustainable factory architecture.
Photovoltaic roof panels covering 4000m2 will fulfil the electrical load for the building, potentially allowing it to disconnect from the grid during sunny days.
The roof will also facilitate the collection of storm water, which will be stored in a 500m3 water tank for irrigation and grey water purposes.
A new project in a wholly new region always represents a landmark in the life of our practice
Peccioli, Italy | Photographer: Duccio Malagamba