Toronto – “Public Ambitions” architecture show focuses on public space

Public space is the focus of the architecture exhibition “Public Ambitions” held at the Italian Institute of Culture (IIC) in Toronto. Ten major works by Italian architecture firms on the theme of public space are on show for the occasion. The firms are: ABDR (Rome) with Rome’s Annibaliano metro station; Baukuh (Milan) with the “Casa della Memoria” (House of Remembrance) of Milan; CEZ (Bolzano) with an underground car park and sport/recreation area in Luson (Bolzano); Emanuele Fidone (Syracuse) with the Tourist Information Centre of Syracuse; Garofalo Miura (Rome) with the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Rome; ifdesign (Milan) with the NoiVoiLoro civic centre in Milan; mdu architects (Prato) with the Lea Mantovani theatre in Montalto di Castro; MoDus Architects (Bressanone) with the district heating plant and skate park in Bressanone; Scandurra Studio Architettura (Milan) for the Expo Gate in Milan and Studio Paola Vigano’ (Milan), with Theatherplein (Theatre Square) in Antwerp (Belgium). The exhibition will run until May 6 and is the second event in the “Italy Under Construction” series of exhibitions. The series, dedicated to contemporary Italian architecture, will be divided into two annual events over the next three years. Developed by the IIC and curated by Roberto Damiani (lecturer at the John Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto), the series will present the Canadian public with a large selection of the latest projects by the most innovative Italian architects in order to provide a complete picture of architectural practice in Italy over the past 15 years. To this end, solo exhibitions devoted to the work of emerging Italian architects and firms will alternate with group exhibitions on specific themes: from public buildings to private residences, from town planning to landscape architecture. Each exhibition is associated with a lecture held by Italian architects and critics invited by the IIC and with a public debate involving major Canadian and U.S. architects and theorists both for comparative purposes and to strengthen the dialogue between Italian and Canadian architects.