Selected Works_September 2018 by Andrea Cusanno

Andrea Cusanno Selected Works

September 2018 1

INDEX • Curriculum Vitae • Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia Master Thesis, Iuav, Paola Viganò

2-5 6-23

• Annex iii

24-33

• Szzm

34-49

• Carnets

50-59

• Postcards from Italian Beauty

60-65

• Floating They Care

66-69

Design Studio, Tu Delft, Michael Riejdeick

Pavilion and Exhibition Design, Common Room

Indipendent Reasearch and Publication, Iuav

Workshop as assistant, Fala Atelier/CENTRAL, Iuav

Archmedium Competition, First Prize

Andrea Cusanno • Architect • 11/11/1993, Torino (Italy) • Via Arcol, 4, Valdobbiadene (Italy) • cusanno.andrea93@gmail.com Education • Master degree at Iuav University, Venice, 110/110 with honours, march 2018 • Exchange program at Tu Delft, September - February 2017 • Bachelor degree at Iuav University, Venice, 110/110 with honours, July 2015 • High School diploma at Liceo Scientifico G.Verdi, Valdobbiadene, 94/100 • Italian, mothertongue, English, Fluent (Toefl certicifacte), French, Basic. Work • Assistant of Fala Atelier and CENTRAL ofaau at Wa.Ve workshop, Iuav, Venice, 25th of june - 13th of July 2018 • Internship at Common Room, Brussels, March - August 2017 Competitions • Amsterdam Children’s Playschool, Archmedium, First Prize, January 2017 Lectures • Carnets: Coming of age round tables, Iuav Library, Venice, 23-24-25th of May 2018 • Carnets: from the land of unborn manifestos, po·mo·stroika – Postmodern Theories, Practices and Histories in Central and Eastern Europe, Berlin, 17th of May 2018 • Direction Without Orientation, a talk by Common Room, Design Museum Gent, 8th of June 2017 Publications • Carnets: 15 young architecture offices, Venice • Roma 20-25 - New Life Cycles for the Metropolis, catalogue of MAXXI's exhibition, Pippo Ciorra, Francesco Garofalo Workshops • Re-Forming Salento, Studio 017 Paola Viganò, September 2017 • Rome 20-25 - New Life Cycles for the Metropolis, Iuav, August 2015 • Living Venice, Manuel Aires Mateus, July 2015 Software • Autocad, Archicad • Rhinoceros, Sketchup, Vray • Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign • Word, Excel • Qgis 2

eflecting on my view on Architecture as a cutlural discipline, I have tried to express my own trajectory through a brief text, that might help myself and the reader to better understand my position, and justify the selected work showed within this portfolio. First, i would like to stress my willingness to tackle the discipline in its full spectrum: i am interested in Architecture as a large panorama comprising of its interdisciplinarity with social and political matters, its own inner logics of composition throughout history, down to the role of the architect in today’s society. In this sense, i am very much keen on both research (theory) and practice. Within this framework, i would also like to add my interest in working on all scales of spatial thinking, speculation and production, not as separated spheres, but as parts of a unitary discourse on space: from the (post)metropolitan to the territorial and urban, from the production of buildings to the rereading of existing space through small scale interventions and installations, conscious that the many problems afflicting our society must be addressed spatially.

Socio - Political “‘Change life!’ ‘Change society!’ These precepts mean nothing without the production of an appropriate space. [. . .] To change life, [. . .] we must first change space.” 1 Henri Lefebvre’s thinking, above all his work the production of space, has strongly influenced me in producing a critical position on space, especially with his thesis stating that each society produces its own space. From this point of view, the rapidly and ever faster changing society we are living in is keen to the production of new space(s). New, innovative and radical ways of producing (social) space, both in terms of process of production as well as its outputs, taking into account sustainability not as ca1. Henry Lefebvre, The Production of Space. pp. 59, 160 2. Oswald Mathias Ungers, Five lessons from Schinkel’s work

tch-phrase, but as an essential attitude and approach towards the project. Extending this approach to its speculative limits, i am intersted in Utopian visions, not intended as big dehumanizing gestures, but as interventions on real places. This speculative approach i am interested has been the central factor within my Master Thesis at Iuav University, named Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia.

Autonomy “The continuity of ideas. Style doesn’t mean anything. It is replaceable, linked to its time and ephemeral. The idea is everything.” 2 Regarding the matters concerned with spatial design, at all scales, i find myself to be interested in the recurrence of architectural form in time through typology and the inner logics of architectural composition. In this sense, I am especially interested in the work of Giorgio Grassi, (the first) Aldo Rossi, Oswald Mathias Ungers, Etienne Louis Boullé. The architecture i tend to produce is thus clear and archetypical, obtained through a process that strives to reduce the complexity of the problem to the simplicity of the solution. This set of forme immutabili is thus adapted and reacts to each and every specific spatial context and contition of the city, in order to produce architecture as urban space rather than detached object. This interest has been developed through the work illustrated in this portfolio named Annex III.

The Architect Lastly, i am also interested in the ever changin figure and role of the architect in society, through the rapid transformations in today’s professional field. This has been the central focus for the research project still in development named Carnets. I hope that you will enjoy this selection of works. 3

common room, info@common-room.net belgium: aalststraat 7–11/a3.1 | rue d’alost 7–11/a3.1, 1000, brussels, be; tel +32 2 880 82 56 31.08.2017 To Whom It May Concern: It is with great pleasure that I submit a letter of recommendation on behalf of Andrea Cusanno. Andrea joined common from March until August and was a very welcome addition to the team. During his time at our office Andrea was able to demonstrate exceptional skills in a wide range of work. He proved to be an extremely professional, independent, and dedicated individual. Andrea was very focused and demonstrated care and precision in what he did and was always thorough in the development of his work. Andrea is talented and capable and has a strong drive to follow through on his ambitions. It was a delight to work with Andrea during the six months he was at common room. I endorse him in the endeavours that he wishes to pursue. I believe Andrea will be a valuable asset to any office or environment he chooses to work in. Sincerely,

Lars Fischer

usa: 465 grand street, 4c, new york, ny, usa 10002 tel +1 212 358 8605 common room, info@common-room.net 5

Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia Iuav, 2018 Master Thesis Tutor: Paola Viganò

ISSUU: Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia 6

Atlas of Valleys

Labour’s Utopia

This Atlas focuses on selected territories in the Lombardia region. It aims to describe the present condition of industrial production, in relation to the geomorphology of the territory, the residential tissue and infrastructures. In parallel to the restitution of these spatial relatioships, the goal of this Atlas is to reconstruct the patrimony of abandoned industrial buildings that these territories present; this happens through the overlap of the historical productive sites and abandoned infrastructures, with the current productive tissue. Two typologies of historical productive territories have been classified.

The territory of the Olona Valley presents a series of potentials linked to the reuse of production spaces and the reconstruction of natural spaces along the river. The inhabitants of the municipalities that flank the valley have shown a strong sense of belonging to the territory, and an equally strong entrenchment to the Olona river’s past; for these two reasons, we imagined a Utopia, based on real dynamics that are impacting the world of work. what is happening in the labor market concerns the question of automation. The Utopia proposed here is based on a post-work society.

In the first case, the Valleys that penetrate the Lombardia pre-alps: Val Trompia, Val Seriana e Val Brembana. These territories can be described as linear systems that from the flat Pianura Padana go into the valley bottoms. Focusing on the western part of the Lombardia region, the historically productive linear territories are identified with the course of Adda, Lambro and Olona rivers, which, coming out of the prealps, have created valley bottoms of different width. These systems can be described as “incisions” in the high Pianura Padana. Olona Valley Among these territories, we have chosen to focus our attention on the Olona Valley, since in our opinion a large amount of disuse corresponds to an equally great potential. We analyzed this potential in more detail through on-site surveys, during which we tried to understand the current state of the territory, and the forms in which the production took place historically.

In the case of the inhabitants of Olona Valley, the freedom offered by a post-work society turns into the will to take care of the territory, given the bond between people and the place, taking the character of a social game of construction and deconstruction. Play thus becomes the primary element upon which the new society is based, as theorized by John Huizinga in the text Homo Ludens. This theory has profoundly influenced Constant’s work in the construction of his New Babylon, in which man, freed from the automation of productive labor, becomes capable of developing his own growth through play and creative development. Unlike the latter, the playful society presented in Valley of Labour’s Utopia is not based on Neo-Babylonian nomadism but on the sense of belonging to a territory made up of real places. In the case of the Olona Valley, the theme of the journey to Utopia turns into a four-step itinerary which ecnounters the operations carried out by the inhabitants with the aim of re-signifing open and closed spaces. 7

Atlas of Valleys

27,5

20 Abandoned Industrial buildings

Serio Valley

27,5

20 Producing

Serio Valley

Living

27,5

20 Abandoned Industrial buildings

Adda Valley

27,5

20 Producing

Adda Valley

Living

Olona Valley

Urbanization

Natural Elements

Labourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Utopia

Illustration from Friedrich Pollock, Automation: a study of its economic and social consequences, 1956

The inhabitants have assembled terraced modules, using recycled materials from other places in the Valley

Once assembled and composed, the modules create spaces of different sizes, suitable for different work needs 21

Olgiate Olonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inhabitants have introduced a wet meadow along the renewed roggia of the Olona river

The new meadow is a transitional point between the town and the new railway line, where the community works close to the river. 22

The inhabitants have assembled terraced modules, using recycled materials from other places in the Valley

The inhabitants have built a scaffholding structure, without touching the structure of the old mill 23

Annex III

Tu Delft, 2017 Design Studio Tutors: Michiel Riedijk,Alper Semih Alkan, Micha de Haas KooZA/rch: The single object and the city

he city of Luxembourg is characterized by a strong duality: on one hand, in the eastern part of the city, the historical centre proposes itself as the model for the pre-industrial city, where the scale is totally linked to the pedestrian sphere and where space is the prevailing element over the architectural object. On the other hand, the Plateau de Kirchberg is the complete realization of the modern practice of city planning: the scale loses its relationship with the human being in favour of the car; a collection of strangely shaped objects prevail in a vast vacuum. None of these two city models is superior to the other, as Colin Rowe says. Each one presents its pros and cons. The Parc des Trois Glands is precisely located in the geographical middle between these two worlds, dividing but at the same time connecting them with an intricated topography. This forest is a highly evocative space where light and noise is filtered through the trees, and where the need of a point of reference is strong. The place doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t belong to the city but seems to apply to its own natural rules: once you enter the forest the city is forgotten. The City and site location are the solid elements on which the architectural gesture lays its foundations. The proposed datum is an institution: a law think tank that houses 28 students (one for each European Union country) and trains them in order to become the future members of the European Court of Justice, located in the adjacent Plateau de Kirchberg.

The project is Vertically developed in three layers of action: The first one on the level of the forest, is a completely public space that functions as footing of the building. Its pointy paradigm recalls the tree trunks in the attempt to give order where randomness reigns. A covered piazza that frames a portion of the forest. The sequence and framing of space directly recalls the historical centre: space over objects. The second layer is to be found 10 metres above, where the roof of the thinktank functions as parking spot for the cars coming from the Plateau de Kirchberg. The same geometrical elements found on the public ground floor are here solidified in concrete objects, recalling the paradigm of the modern city. Here, the object prevail as an obstacle. The thirt layer lays between the two: the thinktank itself is a squared slab in which the most important space, the courtroom, is symbolically located in the centre. A ring of services acts as frame and limit between the double height central space and the peripheral two floor crown of secondary spaces. The materiality of the building is expressed in the use of one material only: concrete. Depending on structural requirements or required insulation values, the walls are made of either ordinary concrete or insulation-grade structural concrete, thus producing a massive building that exploits the capability of concrete to store and release heat during the winter, while during summer the building would be protected by the forest surrounding it.

350

Crisis of the Object: predicament of texture

1000

Territorial Framework

275

Grounding

275

Birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s E

110

Plan

110

Wormâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view

Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tower

SZZM

Common Room, 2017 Pavilion, Exhibition Design Zuiderzeemuseum, Einkhauzen (NL) 34

he project Studio ZZM consists of two parts: the pavilion in the Outdoor Museum (open from 1 April to 29 October 2017) and the exhibition in the Indoor Museum (open from 30 June 2017). The project transforms the Zuiderzee Museum into a bustling studio where crafts are given new applications, and ideas and expertise are exchanged. Studio ZZM is a dynamic programme that is constantly changing. Pavilion A new pavilion for the outdoor museum of the zuiderzee museum in the context of the exhibition studio zzm. studio zzm aims to confront the relationship between the craft and trade traditions displayed in the historical village complex of the outdoor museum and the aesthetics and means of contemporary production. the new pavilion uses the typology of the industrial shed to create a dialog with the existing context (craft vs industry), with the program (production vs instruction) and with the users (skill vs knowledge). transparency allows appropriation of the outdoor setting and displays the indoor activity. the level of transparency of the building shell reflects the internal organization of the program and the external conditions. the interior activities become part of the exterior environment, while the existing context remains present in the new space. a transparent shed becomes a flexible space for learning and display. users are able to appropriate the open space and transform it in support of the social and cultural objectives of studio zzm. The pavilion is scaled to fit the existing context. the height matches that of the adjacent building and positioned close to the walkway the pavilion is integrated into the streetscape. difference to the context is

created though its materiality and seeming banality. Exhibition For the exhibition studio zzm, curated by jan boelen (z33) and evelien bracke, common room organized the work by six different artists as an archipelago of islands defined against the context of the zuiderzee museum. the archipelago concept is legible on the scale of the museum as well as on the scale of the individual areas themselves. it sets up a dialogue with the context while allowing a focused view of the exhibit content. in each of the six exhibition areas, a circular curtain is used to define a studio space for each artist. an area for display and activity is provided by low accessible platforms. pedestals and table height platforms exhibit the artists work while shelves display reference material from the zuiderzee museum archive. the materiality of the exhibition scenography continues the language of the zzm pavilion. standard building materials applied in a less standard manner act in dialogue with the existing context. the curtains are made of corrugated plastic supported by telescopic props. the platforms and pedestals are painted wood panels. chairs and tables are added to facilitate the activities occurring in the spaces. the exhibition graphics focus on industrial craft and process through a playful manipulation of the everyday material of exhibition design and signage. the graphics system manipulates the cut vinyl installation process and uses the 3 stages of cut vinyl installation as a means of hierarchy of typographic information.

Pavilion

OUTDOOR

Image Credits: Bertrand Cavalier

B’

A’

Plan, Elevation

A-A’

B-B’

Sections

Image Credits: Bertrand Cavalier

Exhibition

Image Credits: Bertrand Cavalier

Carnets

2017 - ongoing Research and publication in collaboration with Iuav w/ Marco Andreatta, Caterina Barbon, Gianluca Bernardi, Davide Cecconello,Leonardo Peressa, Tommaso Petrosino, Matteo Vianello carnets.magazine@gmail.com Instagram: carnetscarnetscarnets Facebook: Carnets

ur goal is an investigation in the contemporary European architecture scenario. The professional figure of the architect is subject to the changes and, especially nowadays, it has to relate and confront with the social and economical crisis that has marked the last ten years. In order to portray the current situation, 15 young architecture offices have been selected: Atelier Fanelsa(DE), Bonell+Doriga(ES), CENTRAL ofaau(BE), Fala atelier(PT), False Mirror Office(IT) , Fosbury Architecture(IT), La Macchina Studio(IT), Mertelj Vrabic(SL), Norell/Rodhe(SE), OMMX(UK), Point Supreme (GR), Schneider Türtscher(CH), Studio Maks (NL) , Unulaunu(RO), Weyell Zipse(CH). In this sense, we named our project CARNETS, as a sort of product of a fictional journey throughout Europe, where to keep written and drawn memories. Publication The first part of the project has been carried out through the publication of the 15 interviews made to each office: an interview built of six questions and the request of a drawing of each office’s work space. The idea at the base of the interviews is that the personal life and the professional one, even if formally separated are indistinguishable in architecture, following Oscar Niemeyer conviction that states that architecture is only a pretext. Life is what really matters. The biographical interview has been used as a tool to portrait each practice, with the hypothesis that Architecture could emerge as a direct consequence of the experiences made by each individual, rather than

talking directly about the discipline. Each interview, in format of a folded A4, has been delivered weekly within the Iuav Architecture faculty in Venice. Round tables - Coming of Age After the publication, the offices have been invitated to a series of round tables in Venice.

The personal interviews developed in the first stage of the project have traced multiple trajectories, some of them quite parallel. This has permitted to deduct that the interviewed architects show an heterogeneous and metamorphic appearance, not only regarding the different approaches and diverse cultural backgrounds, but also for the multidisciplinary mindset towards the architectural discipline. In order to describe this condition, we have chosen a precise expression: Coming of age. This term refers to a life stage in which experimentation, contamination, travels, wins, losses, exploration and theoretical researches take place, independently from anagraphic age. In an Architect’s life this term refers to a stage beyond the childhood period of university, but before an adulthood phase which seems to be continuously postponed, where the practice generally establishes itself in a more specific behavior towards the architectural discipline. Coming of age must be intended as a temporal, yet untitled territory. The three round tables have been an important chance for these young architects, even operating at the opposites parts of Europe, to meet and exchange ideas, to debate on the current state of the architectural discipline, and ultimately to communicate to students the future beyond them. 51

Publication

Carnets presentation, Iuav library 22/11/2017

Carnets exhibition, Iuav library November - March 2018

C O M I N G OF A G E 23.05.2018 h 19:30

(DE)

(ES )

(IT )

23- 24- 25 MAY 2018 h 19 :30 - 21:30

(IT)

h 19:30

C E N T RA L o f a a u Fa l s e M i r r or O f f i c e M e r t e l j Vr a b i č Schneider Türtscher U n ul a u n u 25.05.2018 (BE)

(IT )

(S L)

(C H)

(RO )

C hi ost r o d ei Tolentini - Univer sità Iuav d i Vene z ia Sa nt a Cro ce - 191- Venezi a

A t e l i e r Fa n e l s a Bonell+Doriga Fo s b ur y A r c h i t e c t u r e La Macchina Studio 24.05.2018

h 19:30

Fa l a a t e l i e r OMMX Norell/Rodhe We ye l l Z i p s e

(PT )

(UK )

COMING OF AGE is a series of talks organized by

C A R N E T S

(S E) (C H)

during the opening week of BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 2018 - FREESPACE

Carnets: Coming of age, round tables 23-24-25th of may 2018, Iuav

Postcards From Italian Beauty

W.A.Ve 2018, Iuav Workshop as assistant w/ Fala Atelier - CENTRAL ofaau 60

.A.Ve is a series of Summer Workshops that started in Iuav Venice in 2002. It generally takes place in the first 3 weeks of July. Such event, which concludes the school year, marks a time of great openness for aspiring young architects: 30 workshops with about 1,800 students from the three-year Architecture Course. The workshops are directed by architects from all over the world and from different generations and backgrounds. These intensive courses provide students with the opportunity to make a practical experience concentrated in time and strongly focused on in-depth training objectives. Two of the offices chosen for Carnets, have been selected for the annual Iuav Summer School: Wa.Ve 2018, Italian Beauty. Those are Fala Atelier and Central ofaau. As Carnets, we have coordinated the workshop and enriched it through extra events for the students, as well as assisted the offices in the teaching experience. After an edition (2017) dedicated to the reconstruction of Syria, W.A.Ve. dealt again with Italy. The chosen theme concerns the particular beauty of Italian cities. “Italian Beauty”, is the title of W.A.Ve. 2018, that deals with small and medium-sized historical city centres. The cities, chosen on the whole national territory, from Sicily to Trentino, have been involved through their administrations that selected design project themes concerning their most precious heritage. This year’s edition has been an opportunity to combine historic and contemporary architecture and to foster the research on a topic, the historical city centres, that for over forty years has not been considered with the due attention in the Italian public debate.

The two cities assigned to the workshop were Palmanova and Monfalcone. For long time italian historic cities were considered as sleeping beauties. Today, the uncontrollable evolution of the ‘citta diffusa’ has lead the Italian territory to an unsustainable state. New models of urbanization must be imagined and historic cities can act again as vectors of territorial evolution. Often conceived as closed systems the historic cities in order to evolve have to open up their ‘walls‘ and connect themselves with their environment. The italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of the country and the main potential interface to connect and articulate historic cities with the territory. The train station is a specific urban typology, it opens up the possibility of the movement, made to allow people to travel easily and transport different goods, it is a necessary function for the city evolution. At the same time it is an important centrality for the city, a place of encounter and exchange, a bustling public space with a roof. For the occasion of the wokshop, we propose to consider the train station as the main study subject for the historic city transformation. The train station typologies aremanipulated on different scales to propose a specific architectural interpretation by the students. Finally the new relations between the historic city and its environment through the train station interface are highlighted through models, drawings and collages. 61

Students models 62

Postcards 63

Image Credits: Maxime Delvaux

Floating They-Care

2017 Archmedium Competition -First Prize w/ Harald Hermogenes Batol BjĂ¸rkum, Gustav KjĂŚr Vad Nielsen, Marcello Carpino 66

msterdam as the port of the future. The inhabitable floating structure; as the acknowledgement of the volatile nature of cities, as a reminder of the prior port activity at the pier and as the physical link between human and water - an increasingly more critical relation to be addressed. We propose a fleet of six ships encompassing a multitude of programs; play, learning, culture and manual labour. Eyckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s playgrounds of the 1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meet Amsterdamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vital port activities in the envisioning of a series of floating structures where empathy, knowledge and culture are the constructs to be assembled, distributed and consumed - the cargo of the future. Floating program; due to the increasing variety of demands for the use of space and the decreasing amount of space available within the city, the programs of the boats are interchangeable, thus learning facilities for children during the day become arenas for public events in the evening and weekends. Formal transitions from intimate spaces of learning through semi public courtyard-bridges to public structures including a public square and cultural activities secures a level of structure. The proposed structures are encircling the old pier which is envisioned to be taken over by the present invasive nature. Thus the pier itself maintains its existing role as a recreational retreat and experimental laboratory within the dense and vibrant metropolis of Amsterdam.

300 69

Thank You!