Maurizio Oddo's 'L'albero dell'architettura' explores tree-architecture bond

Maurizio Oddo's new book 'L'albero dell'architettura' (LetteraVentidue, 2023, 868 pages, €69) examines the relationship between architecture and trees through over 200 selected projects. The volume features a cover by architect Beniamino Servino and includes contributions from Giuseppe Barbera, Brunetto de Batté, Valerio De Caro, Alessandro Barracco, Emmanuele Lo Giudice, Lorenzo Netti, and Marcello Sestito. Notable projects highlighted include the Pierre Botero Media Library in Pélissane, France by Dominique Coulon; the Xylem Pavilion in Montana, USA by Pritzker Prize winner Diébédo Francis Kéré; Casa Albero in Xiuning, China by Bengo Studio; Casa nel bosco in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao; Birch Moss Chapel in Nagano, Japan by Kengo Kuma; Casa per gli alberi in Tan Binh District, Vietnam by VTN Architects; 25 Verde in Turin by Luciano Pia; Tree Hotel in Harads, Sweden by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter; Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo; Casa Gilardi by Luis Barragán; and Bofill House by Ricardo Bofill. The book also references projects by James Wines of SITE. Oddo, a professor at the Kore University of Enna, previously organized exhibitions on Purini Thermes and Álvaro Siza. The work includes an essay by Stefano Mancuso and a quote from Franco Purini, concluding with Jorge Luis Borges. The book is structured as an atlas linking architecture and trees, addressing deforestation and the archetypal bond between buildings, trees, and humans.