Public Ambitions

Italy Under Construction Buildings, Landscapes, Positions in Contemporary Italian Architecture In a globalized yet fragmented world, how can architecture reevaluate its cultural and political role and enable practises of identification and belonging? What role does architecture occupy in shaping the relationship between regional cultures and international forces? Between the global hunger for the architectural icon and claims for the authenticity of regional craftsmanship, what is the architect’s agency within and against contemporary modes of architectural production? Italy Under Construction is a new programme of exhibitions and lectures on contemporary architecture in Italy. Presented by the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto, the series investigates contemporary architectural practice and its interaction with culture, cities, and landscapes. The programme will bring together emerging and established voices from the architectural community, both from Italy and North America. With Toronto serving as a venue for transatlantic exchange, we hope to open a conversation on the relevance of new architecture in Italy within a broader discussion on architectural design challenges in a globalized world. Italy Under Construction will run for three years and host two exhibitions per year- the first will open in the fall of 2015 and the second in spring 2016. The fall series of exhibitions will focus on a pair of established architects, initiating a dialogue between different approaches to research, local context, and national processes. The spring exhibition is thematic in nature and will present new buildings from a selected group of architects organized around pressing contemporary issues such as the ambitions and opportunities of building public architecture, housing and urbanism, and the domestic landscapes of the private house.