2018 in Architecture: Collapse, Renewal, and the Rise of Gender Equality
The year 2018 was significant for Italian architecture, highlighted by the tragic collapse of the Polcevera viaduct in Genoa on August 14, resulting in 43 fatalities and the displacement of 556 individuals. In October, severe storms wreaked havoc on northeastern Italy's forests. November saw the inaugural World Forum on Urban Forest held in Mantua. Milan was recognized as Italy's most livable city, while Rome commenced construction on Mario Cucinella's Rectorate for Roma Tre University in September, projected for completion in 2020 with an investment of nearly €40 million. On October 23, 2018, the Italian pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai initiated an international competition. The architecture community mourned the losses of Will Alsop and Robert Venturi, while Balkrishna Doshi received the Pritzker Prize, with a monograph exhibition set to open on March 30, 2019.
Key facts
- On August 14, 2018, a portion of the Polcevera viaduct in Genoa collapsed, killing 43 and displacing 556.
- The first World Forum on Urban Forest was held in Mantua in November 2018.
- Milan was named Italy's most livable city by Sole24Ore in 2018.
- Mario Cucinella Architects' new Rectorate for Roma Tre University broke ground in September 2018, with completion expected by 2020 and a €40 million investment.
- The Lilly Reich Grant for equality in architecture was awarded to Laura Martínez de Guereñu in autumn 2018.
- The 16th Venice Architecture Biennale had over 275,000 visitors.
- Balkrishna Doshi won the Pritzker Prize in 2018.
- The Design Museum London is preparing the exhibition 'Moving to Mars'.
Entities
Artists
- Mario Cucinella
- Laura Martínez de Guereñu
- Richard Meier
- Balkrishna Doshi
- Will Alsop
- Robert Venturi
- Denise Scott Brown
- Gillo Dorfles
- Tomás Maldonado
- Charlotte Prodger
- Olafur Eliasson
- Matthew Mazzotta
- Thomas Heatherwick
- David Adjaye
- Alice Rawsthorn
- Bjarke Ingels
- Sou Fujimoto
- Iwan Baan
- Norman Foster
- Yvonne Farrell
- Shelley McNamara
- Hashim Sarkis
- Riccardo Morandi
- Bruno Zevi
- Gio Ponti
- Fabio Novembre
- Mario Botta
- Stefano Boeri
Institutions
- Openfabric
- World Forum on Urban Forest
- Sole24Ore
- Apple
- Fondazione Prada
- Museo Etrusco
- Piuarch
- Park Associati
- Festival Super
- Università degli Studi Roma Tre
- Mario Cucinella Architects
- Campus Bio-Medico
- Fondazione Alda Fendi
- Insula architettura e ingegneria srl
- Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (CONI)
- Consiglio Nazionale degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori (CNAPPC)
- Ordine degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori di Roma e provincia (OAR)
- Biblioteca Nazionale di archeologia e storia dell'arte
- Expo 2020 Dubai
- Fundació Mies van der Rohe
- City Council of Barcelona
- Vitra Design Museum
- British School at Rome
- Turner Prize
- Forensic Architecture
- Assemble
- Dezeen
- Qatar National Library
- OMA
- KAAN Architecten
- Snøhetta
- Dialog
- ALA Architects
- Design Museum London
- Spacefactory
- NASA
- OPEN Architecture
- FCL – Future City Lab
- La Biennale di Venezia
- Artribune
- Brutopolis
Locations
- Genoa
- Italy
- Mantua
- Milan
- Rome
- Ostiense
- Dubai
- United Arab Emirates
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Doha
- Qatar
- Aalst
- Belgium
- Calgary
- Canada
- Helsinki
- Finland
- London
- United Kingdom
- Venice
- Switzerland
- Mars