Bioclimatic architecture, an enduring vision

(April 2026) – From the outset, Giuseppe Tortato’s design approach has been rooted in sensory experience and environmental sustainability, treating humanity and nature as the cornerstones of architecture. Natural elements are intentionally incorporated into interior spaces to foster a bioclimatic way of living, one that uses solar orientation, natural ventilation and high-performance materials to minimise energy consumption.

After graduating, Tortato moved to Amherst, Massachusetts, where he collaborated with a protégé of Paolo Soleri who, like his mentor, followed the principle of “arcology” – a concept that combines architecture and ecology to create settlements in harmony with nature and urban ecosystems.

On returning to Milan in 2012, he founded his multidisciplinary practice and went on to deliver a number of pioneering projects, including the redevelopment of former industrial complexes in Milan’s Certosa District, the AB Medica headquarters in Cerro Maggiore (a finalist in The Plan Award) and bioclimatic villas in Rho. All of these projects demonstrate a seamless fusion of technology, local history and landscape.

These public and private buildings are based on bioclimatic principles, including passive design, landscape integration and energy self-sufficiency.

 

Your biography mentions that you worked in the studio of one of Paolo Soleri’s earliest protégés. How did you meet him?

After finishing university, I sent out three CVs to practices in the north, centre and south of the United States – and all three replied. Two firms said, “Thanks but we don’t need anyone,” whereas Tullio Inglese’s practice hired me. An Italian who had fled his homeland as a child during the war, Inglese became a carpenter and later a close collaborator of Soleri in Massachusetts, establishing an outpost of Soleri’s ideas in the maple forests between Boston and New York. I was offered the chance to work with Paolo Soleri in Arizona, but for romantic reasons I chose to return to Italy – a decision I regret to this day.

 

What did you take away from that period? Did Soleri’s thinking influence you?

That’s something I only realised twenty years later. I sent out those three CVs almost randomly, like skipping stones, and ended up there without really knowing who Soleri was. We practised bioclimatic architecture: building timber houses in the woods, using a compass to orient them towards the sun. We were completely immersed in nature. Massachusetts felt like a place outside of time, where people lived as if it were the 19th century. I often wonder whether Soleri influenced me, or whether that philosophy was already a part of me. The concepts of community and artisanal self-building are present in all my projects, albeit adapted to the Italian context.

 

Were there any other formative encounters that shaped your career?

Another turning point was seeing Richard Serra’s work at the Biennale. Entering those spaces, I was struck by the power of curved, almost tactile walls and the sheer force of moving elements. This organic approach merged with Soleri’s philosophy: in my projects there are never any cars in sight (parking is always underground) and there is genuine craftsmanship. I struggle with imposed fashions, such as commercially driven attention to nature. The art of integrating greenery is an essential gift, both for oneself and for those who inhabit the spaces. Mandatory greenery is a poor substitute: it is something added, not felt.

 

So do you fear that bioclimatic architecture might become just a trend?

It already has. Twenty years ago, during dinners in my Forgiatura building, completed in 2013, people asked me: “Why did you create a building with such sustainable features so early on?” I replied that for me it was the only way. The La Forgiatura complex in Milan, formerly a steel production site, was converted into a business park. We restored the existing buildings and added new glass volumes set within greenery, with a man-made hill to conceal the technical systems and a large underground car park.

 

 

La Forgiatura marked the beginning of the redevelopment of a large area in Milan’s Certosa District, a project in which you played a leading role. How do the other two buildings you designed – the Econocom headquarters (2018) and the Sandvik headquarters (2020) – fit into this context?

These two projects sit within the Forgiatura campus as compact, extensively glazed, light-filled buildings that echo the colours and geometries of the surroundings, using large bridge-like steel trusses to create a continuous internal hall permeated by natural light and greenery. The Sandvik building follows the design philosophy that my studio has adopted for years: creating buildings that do not originate from a preconceived form but develop geometrically in relation to the sun, often leading to surprising results.

 

 

Greenery and bioclimatic principles appear to be the most significant components of your projects. How do you work with landscape designers?

I view projects as a kind of “controlled polyphony” in which I am the conductor and landscape designers and craftsmen are the individual musicians. Bioclimatics is fundamental to my projects, including massing studies, solar orientation, shadows, masonry and earth. I love passive design, like North African chimneys that have lasted for centuries. When developing a concept, I spend months studying the sun and the seasons; to me, this is essential. A prime example is the villa I built in Rho, which has only three external windows like a Roman domus. An introverted building with thermal walls, the interiors are organised along the heliothermal axis to enable light to enter the bedroom in the morning and the living area later in the day. I adopted the same principle for the new SIT headquarters in Padua, which incorporates intelligent solutions for thermal control and consumption monitoring. On Lake Iseo, I designed a coral-shaped villa to provide better lake views and achieve optimal lighting. Every building I design responds to its climatic context.

 

 

In addition to environmental sensitivity, your projects also focus on the psychophysical well-being of the occupants.

Absolutely. The AB Medica headquarters in Cerro Maggiore (2015) employs cutting-edge systems to harness renewable energy sources such as geothermal and photovoltaic solar power. The volume – a large horizontal slab – is carved at its base by inclined exposed concrete walls, while the upper level is lighter and more luminous. This open, fully glazed floor houses open-plan offices, with structural elements arranged around triangular courtyards and along the irregular perimeter. The roof has deep overhangs that provide solar shading and triangular openings that ensure diffuse natural light throughout the workspace.

 

 

For the redevelopment of the Arcadia Center, the new Volkswagen headquarters in Milan’s Gallaratese district (2020), I sought to restore the dynamism of the original architectural layout as part of an entirely new structure with a sinuous external design and advanced technological content. Encased in an envelope characterised by the contrast between curved white bands and anthracite-grey angular volumes, the interior features flexible spaces designed with user well-being in mind. The use of air, light and greenery as building materials creates a project with a high level of social sustainability and low environmental impact, enabling it to achieve LEED Silver certification.

 

 

Beyond air, light and greenery, which materials do you prefer?

I love materials that stand the test of time, like zinc-titanium which can last a century. Corten steel and concrete require maintenance, whereas I believe that materials should age gracefully. We do not yet know how many new materials will perform over time. I like ceramics for their durability, but I’ve never used them for external envelopes because I dislike repetitive modularity. I prefer small tiles, which reflect light beautifully. I’d like to create a ceramic system that avoids the “cladded slab” look and feels more integrated.