Dialogue at the Heart of Design by Platinum Media Lab

DIALOGUE AT THE HEART OF DESIGN

Firmly convinced of architecture’s educational and civic roles, architects

Simonetta Cenci and Alfonso Femia use dialogue as a design instrument –between citizens and landscape, institutions and regions

by Veronica Lempi - ph. courtesy by Atelier(s) Femia

They hold architecture classes for kids and new ways of establishing new dialogues and connections between citizens, institutions and designers. From the SOUx to the Biennale dello Stretto, architects Simonetta Cenci, general director of Atelier(s) Femia and Alfonso Femia, the studio’s founder and CEO, believe firmly in the educational power of architecture as an expression of civic sense and duty. A beacon lighting the firm’s progress, now marking the way to three European offices, in Genoa, Milan and Paris. When looking at their projects it’s impossible not to notice

the team’s ability to create a close understanding with the region where it is operating. Establishing mutual exchanges between players, human and otherwise – between people and nature, for example –is the philosophy that guides the studio’s activities. It operates, in fact, on the basis of “Dialogue as an instrument of design. Design as an instrument of dialogue”.

Their success is also down to an untypical but highly regarded professional approach. “We’re driven by a deep love for architecture”, says Cenci, “Art, photography, literature and music are concrete

The new

designed as a place for emotional transition in the route leading to embarkation. The facades interact with their surroundings, blending aesthetics, functionality and security.

Porto Corsini terminal

Ravenna,

Simonetta Cenci, general director of Atelier(s) Femia and Alfonso Femia, the studio’s founder and CEO, both convinced exponents of architecture as a vehicle for education

elements that feed into our design praxis. We regard dialogue as a substantial part of the design process”. They implement this approach by complementing their design method with a serious, in-depth research process developed over the years in theory and in the workshop by investigations in the field, which deepen and strengthen the connection between architecture and people.

Protecting and caring for the landscape is a subject that has always been close to heart of the Atelier(s) Femia team. This is clearly demonstrated the Marseilles Docks, Spezia Carrara Terminal and the Reggio Calabria Waterfront projects, evidence of the team’s ability to maintain a healthy permeability between sea and land, something they are well-equipped to achieve.

In Cenci’s words, “The waterfronts function because they help renovate derelict areas like abandoned stretches of the shorefront”. It’s an element

the team is working on, especially for the Linear Park in Trieste. They say the task becomes even more complex when it involves an area that has to blend the physical essence of a place with the intangibility of the services, as is the case with the Porto Corsini in Ravenna.

Overcoming all these complexities, making the project fully usable and integrating it as far as possible with the surrounding landscape, is a crucial element in Atelier(s) Femia’s work. Generosity as a design feature is the filter that makes it all possible, and is what the Atelier(s)

Femia sees as conceptual innovation. “Living isn’t solely associated with the home, it extends to the dimensions of collective sharing and functional hybridisation. Heterogeneity and cross-influencing are aspects of social and urban enhancement”, says Cenci.

Through the benefit corporation 500x100, the operational arm for carrying out the studio’s cultural projects, Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia has

© Luc Boegly

© AF517 & Diorama

To side, the Paris offices of Atelier(s) Femia. Centre, two renders of the project in progress for the Parco Lineare in Trieste. Below, the new BNL-BNP Paribas offices, Rome. Opposite: above, two images of the Les Docks Marseilles project; below, a render of the New Cruise Terminal at La Spezia (in progress)

© Anzini

These pages, some images of the HOUSE BOAT PROTOTYPE project (Miami, Florida, USA), 2018. This is a floating home around 23 metres long and 10 metres wide, with zero environmental impact. It uses purified sea water and solar power.

launched a research initiative entitled Mediterranei Invisibili in the areas around the Strait of Messina, as well as an event, La Biennale dello Stretto, this year in its second edition. “The Mediterranean is changing, the geo-political balances are altering, as are the ports and coastlines, and the populations are migrating. The regions are evolving, the weather is burning up or flooding different places. Once again, we’re convinced that dialogue is the only way to understand, design and improve situations”.

Experts in initiatives that blend land and sea, they have never tested themselves against the task of designing on-board spaces, but the architects admit that it’s an area they find very attractive. Their idea of experiencing the sea has become reality in the “House Boat Prototype” project developed in 2018 in Miami, Florida. It’s a floating residence around 23 metres long and 10 metres wide, with zero environmental impact. It uses purified sea water and is powered by solar energy. In this way they have developed a potential marine project, enabling people to “Live and experience the water, engaging in a constant dialogue with the sea, its variations and its energy values”.

© Atelier(s)

Alfonso Femia