On the occasion of Italian Design Day 2023,
the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Consulate General of San Francisco
present
Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop
March 9, 2023 | 6:30 PM
Italian Cultural Institute @INNOVIT
710 Sansome St, San Francisco
Italian Design Day in the World 2023 (IDD) will take place in 100 cities all over the world. As in the past editions, a theme will be chosen with particular attention to sustainability by 100 “Italian design ambassadors” – architects, designers, academics, business people, critics, communicators – who will bring us the best of Italian design. This year, Francesca Molteni will be the “Italian design ambassador” in San Francisco.
Italian Design Day in the World is a project launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and it is the result of a fruitful team work of MiBACT, MISE, ICE Agenzia, Confindustria, Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI), Fondazione ADI-Compasso d’Oro, Federlegno Arredo, Salone del Mobile Milano and Triennale Milano.
Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop is a documentary by Francesca Molteni’s MUSE – Factory of Projects, directed by Claudia Adragna and Davide Fois, following the work of famed architect Renzo Piano’s firm for 18 months. The film shows the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) method: what happens in the workshops in Punta Nave in Genoa, in Paris, and in the building sites–in Europe, Asia, and America.
Following the screening, Barbara Andrews (California Academy of Sciences) will join Francesca Molteni to discuss the famed architecture firm’s approach as a true Italian bottega and the way Studio Piano works in its building sites, as a proper Italian workshop and a place for research, experimentation, and collective production. The program will also feature an appearance by Giorgio Bianchi (RPBW). Event moderated by Daniel Perez, 2023 AIASF President.
A small documentary exhibition featuring some of RPBW’s iconic buildings with images provided by RPBW will be on display.
This event is organized in collaboration with Muse – Factory of Projects, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the California Academy of Sciences and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) San Francisco.
ABOUT
BARBARA ANDREWS
Barbara Andrews is the Legal Manager and IACUC Administrator at the California Academy of Sciences. Growing up in the Bay Area, she often visited the Academy in Golden Gate Park, never dreaming that one day she would enter the Academy as a volunteer in 1994 and never quite leave. As the Assistant to the Executive Director in 1999 and 2000, and then as Project Coordinator from 2002 to 2008, Barbara had the exciting opportunity to support the architectural selection process, followed by the Academy’s amazing transition, planning and work with Renzo Piano to achieve what stands today as a physical and conceptual extension of the Academy’s mission. Barbara has been in her current role for over 17 years, continuing to enjoy and relish every opportunity the Academy presents.
GIORGIO BIANCHI
Architect DPLG based at Paris Office. Born in 1957, Giorgio Bianchi studied architecture in Genoa. He joined RPBW in 1985 and was based in Genoa until 1994, working on most of the major projects of that time including the re-development of Genoa Old Harbour. In 1995, he moved to RPBW’s Paris office to work on the design of the Stage Theater am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Since becoming a partner in 1997, he has been responsible for numerous projects including the rehabilitation of the Centre Georges Pompidou, which he is still in charge for; the Morgan Library expansion in New York; an important private residential building in Colorado and more recently, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens and the Kum & Go Headquarters in Des Moines. He is now leading an opera house project in Vietnam and the renovation of the Centre Pompidou. He has worked on the design of all RPBW exhibitions since 2000. He has been invited to lecture at many universities including Milan Politecnico and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture. Giorgio was also appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture in 2013.
FRANCESCA MOLTENI
After completing her degree in Theoretical Philosophy at University of Milan, Francesca Molteni studied Film Production at New York University. She curated the design and direction of television and documentary formats for the Rai networks on art and design and, in 2009, founded MUSE Factory of Projects. She received the “Award of Prizes” for Innovation from the President of the Italian Republic for her project QallaM, and an honorable mention from Compasso D’Oro. In 2013 she received the Cathay Pacific Award for women entrepreneurs, and in 2014 the PIDA Design Prize for the film and exhibition Where Architects Live. In 2017 she presented the documentary SuperDesign: Italian Radical Design 1965-75 at the Architecture & Design Film Festival in New York.
DANIEL PEREZ, AIA, LEED AP
Daniel is a California licensed architect and holds a Master of Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Design from Arizona State University. Daniel grew up in rural Idaho and has a deep appreciation and respect for the natural environment. Studying and working in metropolitan and major US urban centers have informed his practice. Daniel practiced architecture in Arizona, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area prior to starting Studio Perez in 2005. Daniel is currently serving as President of AIA San Francisco. He also serves on the AIASF Latinx in Architecture Knowledge Community and is a former co-chair of the AIASF Mentorship Committee and wholeheartedly advocates for mentorship in the architectural profession.
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