Video for architects

“I have to tell you Mario: If you've never done it before, take a piece of granite and let it splinter and there you can smell the scent of space and time.”. Here is one of the most intense passages in a long conversation between two Italian architects distant in terms of generations, but united by the bond ofEmilia Romagna.

One is Mario CucinellaThe other is Dante Benny: They meet on hills Arezzo For an emotional conversation, where the designer is coming Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka He assumes the unprecedented role of interviewer. Along with an opera singer Raina KapaevanskaBini was selected for the first edition of Emilia Romagna Prize for Culture: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 They will be the head of the region, Stefano Bonaciniculture and landscape consultant, Mauro Filicorito appoint a designer from Modena origins, Born in 1932new recognition.

It is attributed to him “Extraordinary results achieved in the field of architectural research and in the development of innovative building technologies”. The reference here is obviously to the more than a hundred patents on construction site automation resulting from the research of Penney, known worldwide above all for having developed, in the mid-1960s, the construction technology known as Beneshell.

Building with Air: The Story of Architect Dante Bini

It is a system that has been adopted in hundreds of buildings around the world and which has become the hallmark of its production, which allows the construction of domed structures of thin reinforced concrete through the combined use of metal reinforcements and inflatable pneumatic formwork.

Exactly in his hometown Castelfranco EmiliaBenny was able – literally – to raise the first dome built in this way: a result obtained after a series of studies on the static efficiency of domed structures. But he is in United State That, shortly after the first experiments in the Modena region, Beniciel began her global ascension, achieving a large following also driven by “Infinite variations in form” Which allows you to get.

Since the 1970s, this North American country has been a second home for Benny, where he has chosen to live and study various fields of architectural design, including geodesic structures and wood and steel prefabrication methods.

Of his career – deeply international (significant activity in Australia) and itinerant – By awarding the award, the Emilia-Romagna Region intends to emphasize “Emilian pragmatism”Considering this an integral aspect of Benny's success, in addition to his wise nature and orientation towards experimentation.

Benny's “Dome” by Antonioni and Viti

Thanks to its enveloping architecture, Dante Bini managed to “dazzle” even one of the most famous couples of Italian cinema of the 20th century. In fact, the so-called story is widely known domethe director's summer residence in Sardinia Michelangelo Antonioni And the actress Monica Vitti.

However, neither the exceptional nature and architectural importance of this structure, nor the fact that it received influential figures from the cultural scene, saved the house from its fate of abandonment and decay, which the press had long denounced. Introduced since 2015 In the Declaration of cultural interestby the competent ministry, the property last July It was vandalized. An event highlighted by festival organizers at the national level Live the holidaywho selected one of the three interesting poles for their event in Sardinia (also including Benny's track work).

Who knows whether regional recognition, which once again attests to Bini's uniqueness and production, may contribute to keeping the spotlight on his most famous Italian works as well, affecting the hoped-for renaissance.

Valentina Silvestrini

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