Studio Ossidiana: Young Italian Architects at Venice Biennale 2023

Studio Ossidiana, founded in 2015 by Alessandra Covini and Giovanni Bellotti, is based in Rotterdam. The duo, winners of the 2018 Dutch Prix de Rome for architects under 35, have participated in architecture biennales in Venice, Chicago, Rotterdam, Shenzhen, and the Istanbul Design Biennial. They met at Delft University of Technology after studying in Milan, Lisbon, and Venice. Their practice spans the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, and the US, focusing on architecture, landscape, public space, and urban art. For the Italian Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, they are collaborating with artist Adelita Husni-Bey on a nomadic textile pavilion in Librino, Catania, for the Casa Tappeto project. They are also renovating a family farmhouse in Cremona, supported by a Lombardy Region grant, to create an archive and event space. Their recent projects include Art Pavilion M., a floating pavilion on water for Floriade, featuring a terrazzo called 'Surf and Turf' made with shells and expanded clay, reflecting the Flevoland region's history. They emphasize innovation through material experimentation and public space activation, advocating for public spaces free from developer logic.