The young architects Francesca Torzo with Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture and Lucy Styles with Home Sweet Home have won the first edition of the Italian Architecture Prize promoted by MAXXI - Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo - and Triennale Milano under the patronage of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.
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The first edition of the Italian Architecture Prize was promoted by MAXXI - National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome - and Triennale Milano with the support of the Italian Culture and Tourism Ministry. The prize “promotes architecture by Italian architects or architects working in Italy with a commitment to innovation, design quality and the social role of architecture”. The awards ceremony was held on June 30, 2020 at MAXXI and announced as winners two women architects under 40: Francesca Torzo with "Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture" and Lucy Styles with "Home Sweet Home". An honorable mention was also conferred to architect Cino Zucchi for the Lavazza Headquarters in Turin, while the Award for Lifetime Achievement was assigned to architect Renzo Piano.
The award for the best building realized in the last three years was given to Francesca Torzo, born in 1975, for Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture (2019), an exhibition space recently opened to the public in the historical center of Hasselt, Belgium, perfectly integrated in the context of the garden of the old beguinage and the result of a fruitful work among all the actors involved. The project strongly stood out for its profound ability to interpret the history and the architectural style of the surrounding area. Its spatial and expressive features applied to the exhibition space are also perfectly suited to contemporary needs. Moreover, the accuracy and original quality of the final presentation are able to highlight the construction process alongside the author’s personality.
The award to the best designer under 40 was conferred to Lucy Styles, born in 1984, with Home Sweet Home (2020), the open-air home in the MAXXI square that redefines the relationship between domestic and public spaces. The project proposes a new concept of domestic space and questions the viewer’s idea of privacy and ownership. In this house, contrasting spatial and temporal components coexist and intertwine – private spaces and public places, the ordinary and the extraordinary. Through a dynamic and unordinary use of the functions that generally characterize the rooms of a house, Lucy Styles' project invites the viewer to reflect on our way of living the places of everyday life. By incorporating the city within the internal spaces, Home Sweet Home offers a new interpretation of the house in which the latter become one with the city.
Cover image: Ph. Musacchio, Ianniello e Pasqualini. Courtesy Fondazione MAXXI
Written by Maria Eleonora Piva