Francesca Torzo's Architectural Poetics: From Genoa to Hasselt

Italian architect Francesca Torzo (born 1975 in Padua) has built a career on synthesizing temporal, spatial, and mental stratifications. After studying in Venice and Mendrisio, she worked alongside Peter Zumthor in the remote village of Hadelstein. In 2008, she established her practice in the secluded hills of Genoa, focusing on interventions in Italy's historical fabric that blend construction traditions with experimental language and materials. Her breakthrough came in 2011 when she won the competition for the new wing of the Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt, Belgium. The design, a labyrinthine ensemble of rooms wrapped in red brick echoing medieval and Roman techniques, earned her the Piranesi Award 2018 and an invitation to the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Completed in 2020, the project received special commendation from the Moira Gemill Prize jury, stating Torzo occupies the same space as Olgiati or Zumthor but surpasses them. Currently, she is working on a dance school in Bishan district and a bamboo library on the Yulong River banks. Her work was featured in a solo exhibition 'Chaosmos' at Triennale Milano last winter, and upcoming shows include Galleria Maniera in Brussels and MAXXI Museum in Rome as part of the Italian Architecture Prize exhibition.