Pier Paolo Maggiora
Encyclopedia
Biography
He was born in 1943 in SaluzzoSaluzzo
Saluzzo is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont region, Italy.The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc...
. In Turin he got the Master of Arts degree with Carlo Mollino.
Apprenticeship in the ateliers of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Carlo Scarpa, Oscar Niemeyer and Kenzo Tange.
In 1967 Pier Paolo Maggiora opens his own practice in Turin and few later he founds The Studio ArchA.
In the following years, during the post-industrial and environmental/infrastructure crisis, he develops some project proposals which involve, starting from architecture, environmental, land and urban aspects, which lead to his theory of “architectural territory”.
That is an idea of territory that is thought of in his organic and wider efficiency - cultural, social, economic, functional and aesthetic – as an attractive pole that spread of dynamic and creative energy.
Dialogue in Architecture
In the '80s he laid down the foundations of his theory for a "Dialogue in Architecture", for the promotion of creative projects between architects and, at the same time, to restore the charm of the unitarian diversity, which has created layers over the centuries in the historic city.His professional activity is based on this general concept of Architecture and its role in civil society, and is expressed in a big number of projects and works, where the theory is embodied in structures, masses, surfaces, facilities.
In the convergence of stimulus and information from different disciplines (ecology, anthropology, urban planning, engineering, sociology, economics, management and finance) is defined, through his whole work, the architectural synthesis where philosophical principles are called to interwine in forms and functions offered to the social fruition.
Projects
The following are some of the latest projects:- The Caofeidian EcoCity”, the first town of the Third Millennium, Tanghshan, China;
- the Third City of Jinhua, part of the “100 Cities Project”, which the architect, Mr Pier Paolo Maggiora, has designed as Italy’s contribution to the Chinese programme to move hundreds of millions of country people into the city, China;
- “100 City Project”, Method proposal about a definition of New Urban System in the China urbanization program, in the cooperation between Italy and China Governments;
- The "Green Lagoon", the new central metropolitan area in Settimo TorineseSettimo TorineseSettimo Torinese is a comune in the province of Torino, in Piedmont. It is a Turinese suburb taking its name from the distance from that city, which amounted to seven Roman miles...
, TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - The New Tower of the Milan exhibition area Fiera di Milano in RhoRhoRho is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 100. It is derived from Semitic resh "head"...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - The “New Arcade” , financial district in VeronaVeronaVerona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - CityLife: the “new center” of Milan, in the historical exhibition area (with Zaha HadidZaha HadidZaha Hadid, CBE is an Iraqi-British architect.-Life and career:Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. She received a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.After graduating she worked...
, Arata IsozakiArata IsozakiArata Isozaki is a Japanese architect from Ōita. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1954. Isozaki worked under Kenzo Tange before establishing his own firm in 1963. He was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986.In 2005, Arata Isozaki founded the Italian branch of his office: Arata Isozaki &...
and Daniel LibeskindDaniel LibeskindDaniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...
), ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - Susa 2 complex (2004), that completes the Sitaf headquarter system which was realized beginning 1990 in Susa, TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - The "Tower 18" in BresciaBresciaBrescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - The Turin Health Park in TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - The Central Olympic Compound For the Turin 2006 Olympic Games (with Arata IsozakiArata IsozakiArata Isozaki is a Japanese architect from Ōita. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1954. Isozaki worked under Kenzo Tange before establishing his own firm in 1963. He was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986.In 2005, Arata Isozaki founded the Italian branch of his office: Arata Isozaki &...
), ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; - The “Parque Urbano” Headquarters in Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
Quote
"In the first place, there is a factor that unifies Pier Paolo Maggiora’s architecture and outlines its cultural essence, even before its style. In fact, it is not only universally acknowledged as urban architecture that fits in perfectly with the social and visual context it is meant for, but also – and especially – as metropolitan architecture. This means it is intended to redesign the context that hosts it, so as to relaunch it into a wider perspective of new functions and new images.From this point of view, Maggiora’s work fits into a leading-edge trend of contemporary design culture, which sees architecture as a social service that is capable of participating in a project for collective existence. In all of the Turinese architect’s main works, the urban territory is immediately configured as the grounds for an organized and planned development thanks to the presence of an architectural artefact. Indeed, in its perfect functional efficiency, the latter sets itself as an attraction that radiates dynamic and creative potential."
Maurizio Vitta. Pier Paolo Maggiora. CAYAC, X Biennale di Architettura di Buenos Aires. L’Arca Edizioni, Milano 2005