Dutch architect Maurice Nio, designer of Centro Pecci extension, dies at 64

Dutch architect and artist Maurice Nio died on July 11, 2023. He was best known in Italy for designing the extension of the Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato, completed in 2016. The project features a distinctive antenna-like sensor atop a sinuous volume that extends the original building by Italo Gamberini. Nio described his approach as 'animating matter with vibration' to create experiences. Born in 1959, he studied at Delft University of Technology, graduating in 1988 with a villa project for Michael Jackson. In the early 1990s he co-founded NOX Architects, combining art and architecture. He worked at BDG Architekten Ingenieurs (1991-1996), designing the AviTwente waste incinerator in Hengelo, Netherlands, shaped like a beetle. In the 2000s he founded NIO architecten, focusing on public, private, and infrastructure projects. He also created art, including a 3D-printed golden masks series 'Sýnolon' exhibited at Rome's Piano Zer0 gallery. Nio authored several books, including 'SupraSensitivity in Architecture' (linked to a Centro Pecci exhibition), 'You Have The Right to Remain Silent' (1998), and 'Unseen I Slipped Away' (2004). He often gave symbolic names to his projects, such as 'Sensing from the Waves' for the Pecci extension. Prato's urban planning councillor Valerio Barberis praised the antenna as symbolically powerful, calling it Nio's legacy to the city.