Mario Cucinella will reflect on his professional journey and design philosophy, exploring how design can regenerate spaces, objects, ideas, and relationships. His perspective provides the conceptual framework for the panel discussion, which will focus on the Fondazione Luigi Rovati Art Museum.
Fondazione Luigi Rovati in Milan was established by the Rovati family to honour the legacy of Luigi Rovati, physician, researcher, and pharmaceutical entrepreneur, and embodies his vision, rooted in research, innovation, and culture.
Opened in Milan in 2022, the Fondazione Luigi Rovati Art Museum hosts an Etruscan collection alongside modern and contemporary art. The museum space, designed by MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects, extends from the Hypogeum floor, characterized by stone domes and Goppion’s polygonal display cases, to the Piano Nobile, whose nineteenth-century-inspired interiors have been reinterpreted through site-specific works by contemporary artists. The project placed strong emphasis on environmental and energy sustainability, with the building meeting the standards of LEED certification.
Following its renovation, in 2024 the Fondazione Luigi Rovati Art Museum was awarded the Compasso d’Oro ADI, one of the most prestigious international design awards, in the Exhibition Design category.
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Mario Cucinella
Mario Cucinella was born in Palermo in 1960 and graduated in Architecture at the University of Genoa in 1986.
In 1992, in Paris, he founded Mario Cucinella Architects, an architecture firm now based in Bologna and Milan, and of which he is also the creative director. In 2015 he founded SOS – School of Sustainability, a postgraduate program focused on sustainable architecture.
The importance of his work and continued commitment as an architect and educator on environmental and social issues have been recognized with the International Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2016) and with the Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects (2017).
In 2018 he was curator of the Italian Pavilion de La Biennale di Venezia 2018 with the exhibition “Arcipelago Italia”. On 20 June 2024, MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects received the ADI Compasso d’Oro Award for the ‘Museo d’Arte Fondazione Luigi Rovati’ project.
He is the author of many publications including: “Città foresta umana. L’empatia ci aiuta a progettare” (2024, published by Giulio Einaudi Editore), “The future is a journey to the past. Ten stories about architecture” (2021, published by Quodlibet), “Architecture of Education” (2021, published by Maggioli), “Building Green Futures” (2020, published by Forma).