Festa dell'Architetto 2019 award winners announced in Venice

High waters and bad weather in the city of Venice in mid-November did not stop Italian architects from holding their annual gathering. In fact, in order to draw attention to the fragility of this beautiful city and demonstrate Italian architects’ support for the people of Venice, on 15 and 16 November Ca' Giustinian, where the Biennale di Venezia is held, hosted the conclusion of Festa dell'Architetto 2019, a celebration promoted by the National Council of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects and Conservationists (CNAPPC). During the two-day festival, now in its seventh edition, the Council announced the winners of the prizes the CNAPPC awards to Italian architects whose projects stand out for their excellence in the discipline. Examples of such excellence include all the projects selected for awards and honours by a panel of judges headed by Winy Maas, founder of MVRDV and editor-in-chief of Domus magazine in 2019.
The award for young architects and architectural practices, “Young Talent in Italian Architecture of 2019”, was presented to BDR Bureau, the studio of architects Alberto Bottero and Simona Della Rocca, for their renovation of Enrico Fermi school in Turin. This project, which, as the judges point out, is “responsive to users’ needs”, joyful and elegant, saw the collaboration of the Iris Ceramica Group, supplying 2000 sqm of Fiandre Architectural Surfaces treated with Active Clean Air & Antibacterial Ceramic™ technology.

The top award, “Italian architect of 2019”, went to Bergmeisterwolf architekten, the studio of architects Gerd Bergmeister and Michaela Wolf. The project chosen by the judges is the Hotel Belvedere in San Genesio (Bolzano), a new building that “responds to its setting with a focus on the choice of materials and a bold formal solution”, according to the motivation. The judges also awarded a number of honourable mentions in different categories. Bergmeisterwolf won not only the top prize but an honourable mention in the “New buildings” category, while BDR Bureau was named not only “Young Talent in Italian Architecture of 2019” but winner in the “ Restoration and Reclamation” category.
Other honourable mentions went to: Gnomone, the studio of architects Federica Andreoni, Mattia Biagi, Annachiara Bonora and Valerio Socciarelli, in the “Installations and Interior Design” category, for their “Terre in Movimento” project in the spaces of San Gregorio Illuminatore church in Ancona; the top honour in the “Works in Open Spaces, Infrastructure and Landscape” category went to Stifter + Bachmann for the “Sasso Nero shelter” in San Giovanni (Bolzano). And lastly, the honourable mention in the “Design” category, a new award offered since 2018, went to Giacomo Fava for his Air Purifier, an “innovative little item for making homes healthier”.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Italian Architect of 2019 award / Honourable Mention for New Buildings
bergmeisterwolf architekten, Hotel Belvedere, San Genesio, Bolzano, 2019
ph © Gustav Willeit

Young Talent in Italian Architecture of 2019 award / Honourable Mention for Restoration and Reclamation Projects
BDR bureau, Enrico Fermi School, Turin, 2019
ph © Simone Bossi, Francesca Cirilli

Honourable Mention for Installations and Interior Design
Gnomone, Terre in movimento, Ancona, 2018
ph © Marco Maria Zanin

Honourable Mention for Projects in Open Spaces, Infrastructure and Landscape
Stifter + Bachmann, Sasso Nero Shelter, San Giovanni (Bz), 2018
ph © Oliver Jaist


Honourable Mention for Design Projects
Giacomo Fava, Air Purifier, 2019
ph © Giacomo Fava

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