L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano T he Italian Cul- tural Institute i n W e s t w o o d inaugurated the exhibition Renzo P i a n o B u i l d i n g W o r k - shop: le Fil Rouge, dedicat- ed to the most significant pro- j e c t s o f t h e R e n z o P i a n o Building Workshop, an inter- national architecture firm made up of twelve partners and led by the Pritzker Prize- w i n n i n g a r c h i t e c t R e n z o Piano. With offices in Genoa and Paris, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop followed and completed over 140 pro- j e c t s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d , including the Tokyo Marine headquarters, the Paris Nord Hospital, the new campus of the Politecnico di Milano in Milan, the Pathé Palace cine- ma complex in Paris, the Cen- ter for Arts & Innovation in B o c a R a t o n , a n d t h e n e w S a r a s o t a P e r f o r m i n g A r t s Center. For the opening, the Insti- tute organized a roundtable discussion featuring Luigi Priano, partner at the Renzo Piano Building Workshop; Shradda Aryal, Executive Vice President of Exhibitions at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Ange- les; and David Pakshong, senior associate at Adamson Associates Architects, former- ly project director at Gensler during the construction of the Academy Museum. The con- v e r s a t i o n , m o d e r a t e d b y architect Elena Manferdi- ni, Chair of the Graduate Pro- gram at SCI-Arc, focused on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n architecture, art, and science, sustainability, and innova- tion. " W e c h o s e t o s h o w t h e d e s i g n a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n process of some projects com- pleted over the last fifty years, from the Centre Pompidou in Paris and The Shard in Lon- don to the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome and the Pediatric Surgical Hospital in Uganda, providing a snapshot of the studio's work in the United States," said Luigi Pri- ano, who joined the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 2011 and became a partner in 2021. His first project was the Whitney Museum of Ameri- can Art in New York, complet- ed in 2015. Along with Mark C a r r o l l , h e a l s o l e d t h e teams working on the Acade- my Museum of Motion Pic- tures in Los Angeles, com- p l e t e d i n 2 0 2 1 , a n d t h e Whittle Schools & Studios campus in Washington DC, completed in 2020. Dr. Priano, the Acade- m y M u s e u m i s o n e o f your standout projects, which you followed for all nine years of develop- ment. What was the ini- tial idea? First, we asked ourselves how to renovate the Saban Building, a symbol of Los A n g e l e s , a n d h o w t o a d d something that would better represent the contemporary nature of cinema, which is continually evolving. It was quite an interesting challenge b e c a u s e f i l m m a k e r s a n d those involved in cinema are very creative, so many imme- d i a t e l y p r o v i d e d u s w i t h inspiration. The bar was set very high quickly; the client a l w a y s s u p p o r t e d u s a n d often set even more ambi- t i o u s g o a l s t h a n w e h a d imagined from a designing perspective. H o w d i d t h e s e requests translate into practical terms? By creating a project with flexible materials and a flexi- ble layout. Ultimately, the solution was found by collab- orating with the Academy team and placing the more t r a d i t i o n a l m u s e u m p a r t inside the existing building, w h i c h h a d a v e r y r e g u l a r structural grid and lent itself well to a flexible exhibition s p a c e t h a t t h e y u p d a t e almost annually. On the exte- rior, we restored and recon- figured the existing building and created this new wing, the sphere, within which we collaborated with Dolby for the sound. The projectors inside the two rooms, includ- ing an underground room beneath the museum, can display any film, from nitrate films to 3D movies, bringing to light our initial idea that the cinema museum would have two spaces where you could experience the history of cinema from its begin- nings to the present day. One thing that struck me about the exhibition is the attention to waste reduction. Is architec- t u r e n o w f o c u s i n g o n sustainability? It is fundamental to con- sider it, not as a slogan but as a modus operandi. Going back to the Los Angeles pro- ject, renovating the former May Company department store from 1939, rather than demolishing and rebuilding it, is a clear example of this. Consider that, in 2005, we inaugurated the California Academy of Sciences, and the San Francisco Science Muse- um, which was one of the first major buildings in the US to receive Elite Platinum certification. We have a holis- tic approach to architecture because we consider not only materials but also the build- i n g ' s e n t i r e l i f e c y c l e : t h e energy it will consume when completed, the energy used to build it, and how much energy was used to produce the materials it is made of. Is there another pro- ject you've worked on in the US that represents this philosophy? The project for Columbia University, where we built a small campus with a focus on minimal consumption and recovery. You are also responsi- b l e f o r t h e S N F A g o r a Institute at Johns Hop- kins in Baltimore, and the Levante Waterfront in Genoa. Can you tell us about the Baltimore pro- ject? I t i s a v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g building, relatively small at 6,000 square meters. It was created in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foun- dation from Athens, and the Agora Institute, which aims t o s t u d y t h e e v o l u t i o n o f democracy, from variations and weakening of democracy to how it evolves in our soci- eties. It will be inaugurated in the spring, between April and June 2025. It's a small build- ing with a grand mission. R e n z o P i a n o w o n numerous architecture awards throughout his c a r e e r , i n c l u d i n g t h e Pritzker Prize, the AIA Gold Medal, and the Son- ning Prize. What is his c u r r e n t a p p r o a c h t o work? He is very present, dynam- ic, and attentive. I am the youngest partner, at 41 years old, so I joined last, but the office has quite an interesting history because, at Renzo's insistence, we are 120 people between Paris and Genoa with a zero-growth policy. This means we do not grow in numbers; we only take on projects that we can handle, making a rigorous selection of the proposals we receive. Thanks to this choice, Renzo has the energy, time, and strength to be involved in all aspects, dealing daily with every project. What have you learned working with an archi- t e c t u r a l g e n i u s l i k e Renzo Piano? I have always been struck by his humanistic and hum- ble approach. Renzo doesn't a p p r o a c h p r o b l e m s a s a n e x p e r t o r t e c h n i c i a n , b u t always keeps a very open vision and keen curiosity. He t a u g h t m e n o t t o f i n d answers on my own, but try to understand the reasons behind things. This helps us work collaboratively, as if we were a large orchestra. Renzo never presents himself as an architect who built 300 or 400 buildings around the world; I've never heard him s a y , " W e ' v e a l r e a d y d o n e t h i s . " H e a l w a y s h a s t h i s desire to seek different solu- tions and continually chal- lenge himself, an approach that, I think, is excellent for life in general, not just archi- tecture. SILVIA NITTOLI Exhibition showcases Renzo Piano's landmark projects at the Italian Cultural Institute in LA From left, Luigi Priano, partner at the Renzo Piano Building Workshop; Shradda Aryal, Executive Vice President of Exhibitions at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles; Raffaella Valentini, Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles; Emanuele Amendola Director IIC LA; Elena Manferdini, Chair of the Graduate Program at SCI-Arc; David Pakshong, senior associate at Adamson Associates Architects. (Photo: James Rivas + Veronica Maffei). Bottom right, publications dedicated to Renzo Piano's work (Photo: James Rivas + Veronica Maffei) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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