Alfonso Femia. Architecture and Generosity

Exhibition Hours

From 29 April to 20 November 2022, the internal loggia of the Museo Novecento will be transformed on the occasion of the Architecture and Generosity exhibition, a project that explores the intimate and design world of Alfonso Femia and his Atelier (s) starting with the representation of the Whale.

“Contrast and Time (the right tempo), associated with the figure of the Whale, are the two key themes at the basis of Alfonso Femia’s thought. The contrast of an animal that, although a mammal, lives in the depths of the sea; and Time – the right time – because it only emerges when necessary. A path of immersions and ascents, reflections and thoughts and their externalization only when ready to manifest themselves in the form of drawings, architectures and words“.

The Whale is therefore a paradigm of how Alfonso Femia interprets architecture: a journey of immersion in the depth of situations and places, of reflection on their history in order to formulate a project hypothesis that is harmonious and coordinated with contexts and expectations. of people.

Inside the exhibition there are about 30 works, including ceramic models and maquettes, in addition to the Mediterranean Bestiary conceived by Alfonso Femia in 2011 on the occasion of the OGR project in Turin and created by the master ceramist Danilo Trogu, who has always accompanied this voyage.
Precious moments “Inside The Whale” will be exhibited, inside the Whale: the people who “make up” the studio – architects, engineers, communicators, administrators; the hands in their extraordinary silent expressiveness; the cities of the Atelier (s), Genoa, Paris, Milan, a geographical and urban triad that creates explosive trans-design connections. Above all, the Whale and its star guides and travel companions.

Alfonso Femia’s table is therefore configured as a bridge between design, architectural, artistic, compositional and technological dimensions, between memory and the present, a paradigm of an intimate and particular dialogue with every place, city and territory. Thoughts that come from the deepest abysses of the sea that can emerge and create a fruitful dialogue with the different times of humanity.

“With this exhibition we do not want to tell only our way of working and our works, we think it is an opportunity to transfer a necessary paradigm shift that focuses on the generosity and responsibility of architecture”, says Alfonso Femia.

ALFONSO FEMIA: ARCHITECTURE, PROJECTS AND CULTURE IN THE ATELIER (S)

Atelier (s) Alfonso Femia is an international architecture firm based in Genoa, Milan and Paris. The experience gained in more than 25 years of design activity, developed at all scales of intervention, is reflected in the depth of approach to the most sensitive issues of the city and the territory.

Founder of the Atelier (s) is Alfonso Femia: in 1995, creator and co-founder of 5 + 1, in 2005 transformed into 5 + 1AA and who subsequently, in 2017, changed its name to Atelier (s) Alfonso Femia . A continuous journey, marked by significant stages and evolutions, which has always placed the project at the center as a tool for dialogue.

He has carried out academic activity at the Kent State University of Florence, at the faculties of Architecture in Ferrara and Genoa and was a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong. He is visiting professor at the School of Architecture of the Federico II University of Naples, at the University of Cagliari and at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic of Turin.

In 2021, he won design competitions under public tender in Bologna, Messina for the Citadel of Culture and for the new Cruise Terminals in Porto Marghera; in Marseille in France and private competitions in Barcelona, ​​Spain and Ravenna in Italy. The firm is constantly engaged on the international front, favoring the Mediterranean as an area of ​​interest.

He was guest editor of the IQD magazine dedicated to the Invisible Mediterraneans project, in 2018 and editorial advisor for 2019, developing the theme “Invisible Brazil” – together with Antoine Vernholes – and “Mediterranea”, a selection of international considerations and specific interviews , first expression of the Invisible Mediterranean research project.
In the same year he was artistic director of the third edition of the Pisa Architecture Biennale, with the theme “Tempodacqua”.

In 2021, at the invitation of Alessandro Melis, curator of the Italian Pavilion, he developed, in the context of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021, an in-depth study of climate change, water and architecture.

From January of the same year, in the Journal section of the atelierfemia.com website, he opened a blog of reflections on architecture, the city and professional activity.