Italian architects hold exhibition at Shanghai Design Week

Visitors at the exhibition

The Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai organized the exhibition "Italian Architects in Shanghai and Eastern China" as part of the 2014 Shanghai Design Week, which took place from October 10 to 12 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

The design work of 16 Italian architects and interior designers was displayed during the exhibition, including work from Kokaistudios who had received UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage awards for the Bund 18 and Huaihai Road 796 projects.

The exhibition also promoted new and innovative projects of sustainable urbanization and environmental protection, such as "edible cities" with aquaponics roofs by Dedodesign. They design rooftops of skyscrapers so that top quality vegetables and fish can grow with hydroponics, to provide food for the inhabitants and to clean the environment.

It is also worth mentioning that 3GATTI was selected to design one location of Oscar-winning film Her, which additionally won Best Set Designer at the Art Directors Guild Awards.

Stefano Beltrame (Consul General of Italy in Shanghai), Cristina Giachi (Vice Mayor of Florence), and Liu Boyin (Metropolitan Industrial Section Chief of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization) all attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition. The consul generals from Germany, Austria, Greece, Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, and Israel were also in attendance.

Consul General Beltrame told the Global Times: "There are about 3,000 Italians registered in Shanghai's consular district, and then there are those who come on a temporary basis. In total, there are around 5,000 Italians in our district. Among them, there are about 30 architecture studios and around 100 architects and designers."

He believes that China has changed its focus from infrastructure and transportation to quality of life and protection of the environment. This is exactly what the Italians are very good at. "Sustainable urbanization and environmental protection are the two top priorities in our bilateral relations. It is in these two areas where we can make large contributions, and we are expecting a big increase in these fields," Beltrame said.

He also mentioned in his speech that Italians have been working and living in Shanghai for a very long time. The Italians have paid much attention to products and production, yet have not cared nearly as much about marketing. It is good to draw attention to the works of the Italian architects in Shanghai so that they can be better known. This is the purpose of the exhibition.

Chen Yuehua, Vice Director of Shanghai Culture and Creative Industry Promotion Leading Group Office, and the Inspector of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, commented that after Shanghai officially joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2010, it was awarded the title, "City of Design." This title is becoming the new focus point of Shanghai's urban restructure and development. In 2012, the Promotion Leading Group Office of the UNESCO Creative City in Shanghai signed a framework agreement for the project "Shanghai and Florence - Sino Italian Design Exchange Center." China and Italy have found a new model of collaboration and communication in this center.

The base of the Sino Italian Design Exchange Center in Florence is the "Strozzi" Villa. Vice Mayor of Florence, Cristina Giachi, told the Global Times: "The Florence project of the 'Strozzi' Villa can be a concrete realization of culture and national cooperation. The Italian base was opened in 2013, and in 2014 we will open the Shanghai base of the Sino Italian Design Exchange Center. We will start exchanging people, ideas and intellectuals in 2015."

During her trip to China in October, Vice Mayor Giachi visited Ningbo, Shanghai and Nanjing. She visited the Youngor Group, the Shanghai Italian Center and attended a meeting with representatives from major travel agencies in China, among other activities. Giachi is looking forward to the further cooperation between the two countries in design and architecture.

Among the architects that exhibited their work during the exhibition was Alessandro Copetti. He lived for one year in Ningbo, then for three years in Shanghai. He has now designed four projects in China. He told the Global Times that he "…hopes to invite people to see and visit Italy in order to know how we live and how we do things. Exchange and communication is the future."

The list of the exhibitors include: Arcotecnica Group, Virtuarch Architecture Design Consulting, 3GATTI, Progetto CMR, Studio Cerri & Associati, A.R.R. International, Copetti Design Studio, Studio Marco Piva, Ningbo Dedalo Industrial Design, Kokaistudios, Milano Architectural Team, Vudafieri Saverino Partners, Dedodesign, Taranta Creations Architecture, Fineco Architects, and Studio A.

The 2015 World Expo will be held in Milan. According to Consul General Beltrame, during the 2015 World Expo there will be three pavilions from China - one national pavilion and two corporate pavilions. This will further strengthen the exchange between the two countries in architecture and design.