Architecture trips – Round trip from China to Italy

    26/09/2013 - 04/10/2013 0:00

    The first “architecture travel” organized by Area and the 24 ORE Group in collaboration with ProViaggiArchitettura took place from 26 September to 4 October 2013; the purpose was to promote the best Italy can offer in terms of products, architectures and local attractions in China. Area has invited a large group of architects and architecture firms, currently among the most famous and important in China: Gong Dong – Vector Architects, Hua Li – TAO (Trace Architecture Office), Keiichiro Sako – SAKO Architects, Pei Zhu – Studio Pei-Zhu, Shu Winston – IDA Integrated Design Associates Ltd, Yang Pu – Atelier FCJZ, Zhang Ke – standardarchitecture, Zhang Lei – AZL Architects, Zhu Zhiyuan – Atelier cnS.
    The architects have participated in a ten-day trip in Italy which has proceeded along an itinerary made of a program with visits to contemporary works of architecture and important cultural locations, interspersed by instructive meetings with Italian manufacturers in the construction sector. The synergy between the Area magazine, which has selected Chinese architects who are leading figures in the contemporary architecture debate and the companies, which represent the very best Italian production, and ProViaggiArchitettura which has planned the itinerary and organized the cultural highlights, has given rise to a direct dialogue between the world of culture and that of business. Along the itinerary, the guests have had the opportunity to get to know our country, its best manufacturers, its architecture, landscape and obviously also the local wine and cuisine.

    itinerario del viaggio
    itinerario del viaggio

     

    The journey has first of all represented an opportunity to establish direct contact between the invited architects and those manufacturing realities which are particularly interested in internationalization, and that look to the Chinese market. But at the same time it has also represented a moment of reflection and comparison between the current state of architecture in China and in Italy, a debate which has been staged within the context of as many prestigious venues as Cersaie in Boogna, MADE Expo in Milan and the geographic locations of the participating companies, where visits to plants and showrooms have been organized. The meetings in the manufacturing sites have given the architects an opportunity to familiarize with Italian know-how and design. The travel itinerary has comprised a selection of visits to prestigious contemporary works of architecture as the MAXXI of Rome by Zaha Hadid, the Church of S. Paulus the Apostle by Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas In Foligno, the Antinori Winery by Studio Archea, modern architecturs as the holiday resort designed by Vaccaro in Cesenatico, Le Corbusier’s Esprit Nouveau pavilion, Carlo Scarpa’s Brion tomb, Pier Luigi Nervi’s Palazzetto dello Sport and the Gallaratese district by Aldo Rossi and Carlo Aymonino, and finally one of the unchallenged masterpieces of ancient Roman art: the Pantheon.
    The modern travellers have followed in the footsteps of scholars and artists of a distant past; ever since the times of the Grand Tour and Goethe’s “Travels in Italy” in a distant 1786 travel has represented an educational experience and a way to get to know and explore different cultures through comparison and in-depth analysis. Today, when it becomes obligatory for architectures to continue studying (as of 1 January 2014) this instrument certainly also represents a conscious way to explore and live the territory and to keep abreast with the changes in the building sector, which follows the development and the countries which are drivers in the real estate market. The “Architecture Travels” program organized by Area will continue with the reprise of the “Round Trip from China to Italy” formula, to be held simultaneously with the Milanese design show in April and trips with Italian architects, to discover the very best of cultural treasures, works of architecture and outstanding manufacturing that our country is so rich in.

    Participant companies:
    Ceipo
    Oikos
    Technogym
    Zumtobel
    Ceramica Flaminia
    Tagina
    Rubinetterie Toscane Ponsi
    Secco Sistemi
    Gessi
    Moroso
    Itlas