This is also important in terms of saving energy and material resources. Studying the context to gather the elements that will flow into architecture is important to understand what to invest in. For instance, constructing a double skin facade makes sense if there is a functional logic behind it, otherwise it just results in a waste of money, and this is a luxury we cannot afford. Today, the focus is on the energy aspect, but this is just a piece of the larger picture. In order to produce the materials that we use, we must, in turn, exploit the minerals from our soil, and this means continuing to impoverish it. We need to find a balance in that.

Speaking of comfort living, what are the elements that must necessarily characterize a space to ensure the comfort of those who live there? 

I could translate this into one expression: total quality. Each of us must have happened to go to a place and feel comfortable as it does not happen elsewhere. This is because in that place we find a series of well-balanced and designed elements that contribute to our well-being. An architecture generally has its own definition of form, image and functionality, but then other factors involving the five senses take over. These include light, humidity and climate, which naturally merge into comfort – which, in turn, can be both indoor and outdoor.

I can cite as an example the project of a park nearby a busy road. Having taken charge of the area development, we decided to build an artificial two meters high hill towards the road, so that it would act as an acoustic barrier. That area, which until then had never been frequented because it was too noisy, was then reached by a group of ducks that settled there. This is a typical case of external comfort and well-being. The sensitivity and attention needed to realize a project that guarantees comfort can be explained as a form of total quality. These are mostly invisible elements, but not apparent. You appreciate them as soon as you start living in the place. 

To me comfort means to add something more beyond the image. There must be a quality of space that looks at the five senses within the specific context. Therefore, the classroom of a university requires a different acoustics than that of a living room. To truly understand a place, you have to visit or experience it. Often the images we see, however beautiful, are deceptive.

How has the way of doing architecture changed from the beginning of your career to today? 

Today we have to deal with the energy crisis, which has shown the flank and the limit of the road we were walking. Alongside the energy component, now essential in design, the digital revolution has really shifted the needle. Having digital tools today allows us to create projects that were previously far from our imagination. This also affects the expressiveness of architecture and its customization. Another example is given by osmotic situations, such as the automatic regulation of artificial light based on the amount of natural light entering the spaces during the day.

 One of the first roots of our work was the search for a balance between man and nature. There are several projects that I can cite as an example. Among these, the Ecological Grandstand at the Enzo Ferrari Circuit in Imola, for which we had to cope with a landslide of the hill. This project is almost a paradox, because it has no plant, and yet it is one of the most sustainable ever made by us. In this case we refused to build the concrete grandstand, as we thought it would be a scarring on the landscape. We studied the reason why the hill slid, we understood that it was a problem related to the water that, running, eroded the ground. We then made drainage to channel the water and then built a grandstand exploiting the natural slope, as used to do by the ancient Greeks, also taking advantage of the visibility curve. This well exemplifies our working method, in the past and today.