Mario Cucinella is the founder and creative director of MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects, an international design firm based in Bologna and Milan, specializing in research based architectural design linked to sustainability issues. In 2015 he founded SOS – School of Sustainability, a post-graduate training center aimed at training professionals in the field of sustainability. In 2018 he was curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale with the exhibition “Arcipelago Italia In 2019 he founded MCA Design department, focused on the theme of recycling and circular economy with many collaborations with the most famous Made in Italy companies. The impact and importance of his work, both from an environmental and social point of view, as an architect and educator has been recognized with the Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects (2017) and with the International Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2016). In 2021 Cucinella and MCA participated in COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, with the TECLA – Technology and Clay project designed with WASP, displayed in the Build Better Now virtual exhibition.
San Raffaele Hospital ph duccio malagamba
– What are the biggest challenges you have met in your career?
It’s hard to compare and quantify which challenge is the biggest, but I would say that our recent work for the Fondazione Luigi Rovati’s underground Etruscan galleries introduced an extraordinary situation. In preparation for the subterranean expansion and digging down two levels below the 19th century Milanese Palazzo, the structure needed to be stabilised by inserting piles around the entire perimeter of the existing building and that of the future expansion. Before starting the construction phases, it was also necessary to reduce the weight of the building by removing partition walls, furnishings, woodwork, and plaster, and to demolish the roof and third floor. At one point the building was virtually in mid-air!
Italy Pavilion – Archipelago – sketch
Italy Pavilion – Archipelago
– What is the message you want to send, and what kind of people are you referring to?
I think an important message is that of using less. This is not just about the way we build, but how we live. This really is a message for everyone.
– What is your main source of inspiration?
The way in which humans have cohabited with nature in the past. I recently wrote a book that explores this very topic through ten stories about architecture. The title is The Future is a Journey to the Past. I consider how, today, traditional dwellings, adapted to climate, culture, and context, are gradually replaced by dwellings informed by imported fashions and by an abstract knowledge, insensitive to the subtle knowledge achieved through a deep experience of nature and local climate – and its potential in terms of adaptation and manipulation. It is this deep experience that I convey through the different stories in the book. They are not nostalgic tales, but the discovery of a past in which to seek information that can help us in our journey to the future.
italian pavilion expo 2025 osaka designboom
– What about your next project?
There are multiple projects nearing completion and on their way. In Bologna, where our main studio is based, we have now started on a project to create a multipurpose pavilion within the city’s fairground. It will be used for sport, entertainment and cultural purposes. The idea is to integrate the trade fair as a part of the city and ensure its facilities can also be used for events that are of a more moderate scale. We like the way architects – through the design of places – can help communities make the most of their environment in this way.
– How would you describe your work approach in a few words?
We are research-driven and human-centred and delighted to have the next generation of architects and designers as part of our collaborative team.
Portrait | Mario Cucinella