Creativity and technology for new design challenges | by Mattia Santi

At the Cersaie 2020 Press Café entitled “The Materials of architecture. Creativity and technology for new design challenges“,  THE PLAN’s editor Nicola Leonardi met Massimo Alvisi, Co-Founder of Alvisi Kirimoto Architects, and Peter Pichler, Founder of Peter Pichler Architecture, to discuss the future of architecture and the importance of the materials used in these times of major change.

“Today the choice of materials is essential for promoting dialogue between creativity and technology,” said Nicola Leonardi. “Without this dialogue, architecture will be unable to respond to the new challenges deriving from today’s exceptional circumstances. This is a time for profound reflection and reappraisal, for thinking about the things that we once took for granted but are now perhaps no longer so obvious.” In this context, the editor of THE PLAN discussed the importance of materials in developing solutions that will be capable of adapting to the needs of the future.

Massimo Alvisi believes that materials have a significant influence on design, so an initial analysis must take account above all of the tactile sensations that architecture can offer visitors. The work of his practice focuses on compositional diversification to allow for experimentation with a wide range of materials.

Peter Pichler discussed the connection between architecture and tradition. His projects seek a constant dialogue with the location and use materials as a means of connecting with the local culture and geography. In every project it is essential to understand the context and the way in which materials can be used to create a contemporary and sustainable proposal.

The talk was concluded with a focus on ceramic tile and its innovative aesthetic and functional qualities.

Massimo Alvisi: “It is one of the materials I have worked with most frequently in the past and is certainly highly innovative in terms of its aesthetic and technological qualities. It’s not just a technical material but is also capable of constructing the space where it is used.”

Peter Pichler: “We feel it is important to emphasise the material’s honesty. As with any material, when we use ceramic tile we need it to express itself on its own terms independently of marketing considerations that sometimes want to turn it into something else.”

View the complete programme of Cersaie’s Press Cafés.

 

December 2020