Open Mic. A conversation with Tommaso Principi

Open Mic A conversation with Tommaso Principi

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Aparna Avasarala Zachary Butler Adam DeChant Hayden Erdman Justin Gleason Paul Hazelet Taylor Inzetta Michael Kekedy Ashley Kerwood Kara Konieczny Kaycee Lowengrub Kurt Nelson Alex Petruso Jonathan Rankin David Sidick Zachary Skwara Michael Sweterlitsch Justin Wharrey Alexander Wills Brendan Wolfe

Made by students enrolled in the “Video, Media, and Architecture� class taught by professor Marco Brizzi at Kent State University in Florence in Spring 2015.

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Contents 4 Biography 6 Interview

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Biography

Tommaso Principi’s journey began by studying civil engineering at5 the University of Bologna and video systems at the Dipartimento di Storia del Pensiero Europeo (Di.S.S.P.E) at the University of Genoa.

He then directed several films before returning to the University of Bologna to pursue a degree in architecture, graduating in 1999.

Tommaso continued into the field of architecture by working for the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 1998, where he met Paolo Brescia.

Principi and Brescia left RPBW in 2000 to found Open Building Research with the intention of investigating new ways of contemporary living. Today, OBR has offices in Genoa, Milan, London, New York, Mumbai and Accra, which create a design network that spans the globe and expands upon their initial investigations.

Research done by the firm concentrates on using urban design to promote both a sense of individual and community identity through architecture. This focus becomes evident in many of their built projects and exhibitions, which have been shown around the world.

OBR’s work includes a vast array of projects, both theoretical and completed, that exemplify their emphasis on identity at an individual, community, and global level. These projects include the Milanofiori Housing Complex, Terrazza Triennale, and the Hope City proposal.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH TOMMASO PRINCIPI

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INTERVIEW WITH

Tommaso Principi FLORENCE 2015

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Thank you for joining us today Mr. Principi. We would like to begin by asking you a little about your roots. How do you believe that your education and upbringing as an Italian has influenced your approach to Architecture?

This is a long story. I think that location played an important role in becoming an architect but I still think that every one of us can find his own way. Because yes, school prepares you in a professional and unique way, but at the same time you have to get some experience and look for your real passion.

stuck, we thought “how would Renzo Piano approach this particular situation?”

At the end of the period of working with Renzo Piano, we opened our own office and we tried to look for other kinds of research. After ten years of our work I still think that what we learned with Renzo Piano is still with us; he’s our master. This is a typical Italian thought. For us it was important to have a master and to study a lot by taking something from our master.

When opening OBR, what aspect of the process of building up the firm was the most stressful or difficult?

How do you believe working with I don’t know. When we opened the office Renzo Piano shaped your design I remember we were full of energy. We process and style? were very happy to start our business. I For me and our office it was very don’t want to say that it was easy, but if important. I met my business partner you have a dream and if you can follow through Renzo Piano. When I went your passion with friends, everything there I was very happy to be part of the is easier. I remember the first years network, because Renzo Piano’s office were very long. Today, years go by very is a kind of harbor for architecture. You quickly. The first two, three years of the can meet a lot of interesting clients or office were a very long process because critics or journalists; at the same time we got to know many things and then you can meet other people your age. This many people. Probably the most stressful is probably one of the most important thing was paying the rent. To get jobs things. I met interesting people and we and pay the rent because. Yes, you can decided to start our own office. At the do a competition, you can do research, same time, the way to work in our office but at the same time you have to create at the beginning was to see Renzo Piano a structure. When we started our office, as a leading figure. When we didn’t know we were in a period when you stopped how to approach some project or we were working in an analogic way and the

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digital world was just beginning. We were not able to produce images in a digital way. I did have some experience from the university, but we were more interested in following the process, to stay on site, to experiment with materials.

In the beginning this was very important.

We had to create a structure to face this period of change.

Many architecture students hope to one day run their own architecture firm as well. What is the key to starting your own firm and maintaining its success?

First of all, you should create a group with your friend. Finding a business partner is different from finding a friend.

You have to find someone that you can create a team with, that can work together, that can build a kind of balance that can last for a long time. You have to resist when things are not going well. First of all the tip is to believe in your project and to find the right people to pursue the project together with you.

What do you believe is the most important aspect of architectural education today? Is there anything that you believe that students should be focusing on learning?

The design process is probably the most important part of our education. I think

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that today you have to learn about digital media and communication and how to produce drawings using digital media.

As I said before don’t forget about the analogical world, the physical world. You are very privileged to be studying here in Florence for a semester. You will notice, maybe later on, that in the history of a place there are many important things that can help you in the creative process of contemporary architecture. You learn every day.

Studying the history of architecture is critical, it can inform a lot of the contemporary production of architecture. Also all the arts are very important. Especially in our office, when we start a project, we collect historical information and the work of local artists for inspiration. The learning process for an architect never ends. It is important tto be ready to sketch or to take a picture of a detail that you run across, because it may become handy later.

How has the evolution of technological advancements in the past several decades influenced OBR’s methodology since its establishment in 2000?

I think we were lucky, because for us it happened that we were not part of this process. We started to work in a digital way; we produced images. I was not able to produce good images, but my

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A look inside the offices of OBR.

business partner and I were able to understand the process of doing so. We had the images in our head. We understood that the change of the production of the images and the possibility to share these on the web was something important for the future. In the beginning we shared this role. Our process is more analogical.

Sometimes we use 3D softwares to check some details of the project that you cannot imagine or sketch. But the very production of each of our projects is still more analogical than digital.

Does this give you an advantage over new firms?

I think in the coming decades, the 3D printer will change the way we design. The possibility to see the project already made by a 3D printer can change our approach to design. At the moment I think that we still have to go on site to deal with the contractor. The world

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Children’s Hospital (photo: Mariela Apollonio).

Located in Parma, Italy. Designed to be as homely as possible for the children, it was completed in 2013.

is changing so fast and the workers on site are changing their process a lot. These days you still need to know everything about construction in order to be able to produce good buildings. In the future, you can probably avoid this part of the process. With completely digital education- the methodology will be different. I think this is an advice for you. I don’t know if you still sketch when you start a project or you use the software the whole time, but today you have to find the right balance.

The buildings are still real, are still solid so you have to deal with a material process.

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Terrazza Triennale (photo: Michele Nastasi).

Completed in 2015, Terrazza Triennale is a glasshouse immersed in greenery, suspended above Milan.

What design process do you go through when you first start a project?

I would say that every time there is a different methodology. It depends on the external conditions, on the client, on the place. General ly speaking, we try to gather all the historical information we can about the site. And this process is sometimes easier with the abundance of information from the Internet.

Sometimes we don’t get to see the site before making a design proposal, such as when we do competition. We

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AN INTERVIEW WITH TOMMASO PRINCIPI

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Milanofiori housing complex (photo: Mariela Apollonio).

Completed in 2011, the complex is part of a larger cluster of various functions located in South Milan. The complex takes a “C” shape, embracing a park.

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“At your age you have great potential because you contribute to have the new vision of the world. (...) To exchange ideas with you and students at different universities is very important to us.�

create an archive with a lot of images and then we start meeting with nothing more than this information. We try to make a synthesis with all the information we have available and start a process that is not very determined but can be ramified after the first synthesis. Later, in the lecture, I will show you a project that we did in India where the client asked for 3 different concepts. This approach was very diffcult for us because in school, when you present a project, you have to have a precise idea. One concept, one idea. It is not professional to show up and say: I have this idea but I also have this other one. Things are very different in a developing

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AN INTERVIEW WITH TOMMASO PRINCIPI

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Right to Energy.

This project, completed in 2013, studies the space where energy exchanges take place and imagines a new form of democratization of energy.

country because they want to see different solutions to the problem and then take a decision. This is something that they like.

How does the design process differ when presenting three options, as opposed to just one?

The clients want to receive completely different concepts. The first time we used this approach we were in front of our client from the United Arab Emirates. We knew that we couldn’t present just one concept to him.

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your practice on the idea of an international connection as opposed to a more localized scale?

Someone said that when we chose our own name, OBR, there was an attitude to start research that was not just local. In the beginning we created a network between friends that were not in the same place; the Internet and the possibility to easily share large files was a great potential. After some time we understood that this approach can help in some situations, like when you have to develop a project faster; but it does not help the firm to grow. After a year we started to work more locally.

We thought that we needed to deal How have the research projects with people directly, to sketch together you’ve conducted in the past with the consultants and the clients. affected the design process and When I graduated, I wanted to have final outcomes of your built work? an experience abroad but I opened the And vice-versa? office before I had a chance of doing so.

Every project is different. It depends on We wanted to know what it meant to the scale of the project, on its complexity, deal with different cultures and to make on its location (whether you are in the projects in different countries. When we historical center or in the outskirts of the started to do this in our office it was also city). I think what you learn from making out of necessity. With the credit crunch, different projects is that you have to face the economy changed, so we understood different external conditions but you that it was better to start to travel and to have to approach the project with your meet people, not just in Italy but around ethical value. In the end, your project the world. expresses your way to see the world, and to change it.

What differences do you see in the design and building process Why did you decide to base between the U.S. and Italy?

We prepared 3 different options, but we knew in our hearts that only one was the good one. In that case the concept was “there are two wrong concepts and this is the good one.” Today when the client asks for this approach we try to create a matrix. “I’ll show you three different concepts and we will create a matrix together of pros and cons. Then we develop a full concept of our own that is a synthesis of the three concepts.” To save energy we try to define a line of research that will announce the potential of the place and then we decide three different options that develop the research of the first idea.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH TOMMASO PRINCIPI

“You can find the same ugly buildings all around the world At the same time, the economical processes that produced these building are completely different. Also the people involved are completely different.�

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This is a very difficult question to answer. I still think that maybe there are some differences between countries, but it really depends on the architect’s personal approach. Every architect has a methodology to design. I don’t know too many offices in the U.S. in order to be able to make a comparison, but what I can say is that between Italy and the U.S. what is completely different in general is the size of the firm. For some reason, in Italy there are not big firms. The largest may be Renzo Piano’s, and his has 50 people. In the U.S. there are firms of 2,000 architects. Some of these offices were founded 100 years ago, so the firms have a great heritage in the professional field, and this heritage creates an efficient structure. Sometimes this structure, however, is not able to listen or be creative. But for sure, to deal with big budget projects or complex projects, it is easier to have a big structure instead of a small one like in Italy.

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project is enough; they can then work with their engineers or architects to develop the scheme. But this is a process that often does not work.

Why would another country seek out an Italian architect?

It depends on the country. Countries like China or India have very good engineering firms. In general the process that we follow in those countries is to design the first step and then work with them through the planning stages and make the construction documents. It is imperative to control the process. Every drawing produced by local engineers or architects must be checked by us to control the process. It is very difficult to follow an Italian process in India or China from beginning to end because the client thinks they need you just for ideas. We deal with a contract in order to give them ideas but also to check the process. In other countries, like Turkey and Africa, in general the client asks us What things were least expected in to be responsible for the process from regards to the role of the architect beginning to end. In that case you need in foreign countries? to go to this country and thanks to a In general, clients like to work with consultant you create the right team to go Italian architect. It is important, however, on with the project. In that case the team to explain to a client, be he from India is under your control. If the project is or from Africa or wherever, that design big enough you have someone from your ideas without control of the construction office to stay in that place that can check process are not good ideas. Sometimes the work of the local partners. Sometimes clients think that just receiving an Italian the process can be managed completely

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from Italy if you trust the local architect or engineer.

So with all that in mind, what do you believe the role of an architect in the global community is? Do you believe it is more pragmatic or more humanitarian?

It depends on the architect. What do you believe in? What are your values? What is your field of interest? What we are trying to do with our work is to create processes that are interested in what is happening from the social point of view in the larger community, especially in a developing country. When we talk about globalization, everyone has an idea of what is happening. What is wrong, what is good? In our experience every country is different. The results are similar. You can find the same ugly buildings all around the world. Copy and paste. At the same time, the economical processes that produced those buildings are completely different. Also the people involved in the process are completely different.

Recently, after some experience doing projects in India and Africa, especially with a project in Ghana, we were trying to engage with local artisans and workers in the production of the architecture.

Architecture is a result of some driven forces- economic forces, political forcesthat we cannot control. I think the most important thing is to create a building

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that can create a more livable city for the people. The lives of people can be better and happier. At the same time it is a political job. Sometimes and you have to take your side in the political process.

You seem to guest lecture at a lot of different universities across the world; how do these experiences help your firm as it continues to grow?

It is very interesting for us to meet students. Every time it is an occasion to share our work, but also your work. What is your vision of the world? At your age you have great potential because you contribute to have the new vision of the world. To exchange ideas with you and students at different universities is very important to us.

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This interview with Tommaso Principi was focused upon his growth as an architect, design process, research, and the globalization of architecture. It was a collaborative effort among students of the Video, Media, and Architecture course at Kent State University Florence. Guest lecturers were brought in from all over Europe for a Spring lecture series and students were tasked to create an interview before each of these lectures. After analyzing numerous interviews with other architects, students researched and explored the work of the visiting lecturers. Questions were then devised by each student, and these questions were analyzed based upon their thematic similarity and their relevance to the work of each lecturer. The most appropriate questions were chosen for each interview, and the specific students who created these questions then were charged with interviewing our guests, using the chosen questions as a base and posing any other questions that flowed with the interview.