present and past collaborators
arch. giacoma di vieste, arch. julia nahmani, arch. yang tian, arch. nicolò conti, arch. silvia ponte, massimo contini
arch. riccardo amarri, logan amont, emilie appercé, laura bertagno, pablo brenas, tomàs cabral, yangnan cai, francesca caravello, letizia fuerer, lorenzo gatta, daniel giezendanner, arch. előd zoltàn golicza, arch. marco guerra, arch. liaohui guo, kaidan hou, felix jungo, cyril kamber, besart krasniqi, arch. antoine lebot, jovan minic, arch. andrea nardi, arch. anna oliva, anna opitz, costanza passuello, alessandro pecci, arch. martina piccolo, arch. francesco rizzi, juri schonenberger, shaohan tang, domenico singha pedroli, xin tang, nicola torniamenti, gion balthasar von albertini, jianfeng wang, jie zhang, yatong zhao, tong zhao
website design ramdath mos from an idea by jovan & nicola
curriculum vitae
Francesca Torzo (*1975 in Padova, Italy) established her own studio in Genova in 2008. She has studied architecture at the TU Delft, ETSAB Barcelona, AAM in Mendrisio, and the IUAV in Venice. She has been working for Peter Zumthor in Haldenstein and Bosshard Vaquer in Zurich and has been a teaching assistant for Atelier Bearth at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio in Switzerland. Since 2017 she is holding a professorship at the Bergen School of Architecture in Norway and in 2020 at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio.
Torzo has been part of the 16th architecture Biennale in Venice, Freespace curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara in 2018 and was appointed chairman of the Maarten Van Severen Foundation in Ghent between 2018 and 2019.
She received the WA Moira Gemmill prize in 2020. Her project for the extension of the Z33 in Hasselt has been awarded with the International Piranesi award in 2018, as well as with the Italian Architecture prize in 2020. The project has also been nominated for the Mies van der Rohe award of 2020.
office profile
The studio consists of a small international team of young architects with a core of few stable ones and a high turnover of the others. Collaborators are named project architect for individual assignments, but they are required to train knowledge and awareness of all projects running in the office. Such an approach calls for an honest and straightforward engagement. The choice of entrusting with the combination of individual responsibility with a common dialectic is grounded on the belief that thoughts need to be daily exposed to a critical process in order to achieve a shareable clarity.
The teaching and the academic research, the collaboration with builders and the design practice challenge and influence each other in the perspective of building a public discourse, which may support the awakening of curiosity for understanding our way of living and confidence in taking responsibility for it.
The studio has intentionally chosen for more than 10 years a defiladed position to gain the time and the necessary quietness to focus on the work.
The process of design starts for us from an understanding of the material constraints and of the cultural context where we are called to operate. The goal is that of formulating the primary spatial relations, which have to be preserved as a narrative through the complete process. We start from a kind of “nebula”, diffused yet made of atoms and molecules. We draw over and over chasing a vision of something that does not exist yet but that hosts the world we live in and its memory. This activity of collecting, hunting, and discerning demands patience and a sort of empathy with the contradictions of human life.
selection of works
r18 Bishan Dance school, Huangshan CN
2019 ⋅ on going
r14 House CMA, Sorano IT
2020 ⋅ on going
n16 Bamboo Library pavilion, Yangshuo CN
2019 ⋅ on going
n19 Tenda, Marmomac Verona IT
2020 ⋅ on going
n15 Podere La Pianella, Procchio IT
2016 ⋅ on going
p11 Maniera solo exhibition, Brussels BE
2020 ⋅ realized
e11 Chaosmos, Triennale di Milano IT
2020 ⋅ realized
n09 Z33 house for contemporary art, Hasselt BE
2012 ⋅ 2019 ⋅ realized
e10 What is Ornament?, 5th Lisbon Triennale PT
2019 ⋅ realized
c19 Borromaeum, Salzburg AU
2018 ⋅ competition
p09 Mariano & Louis, lamps line design
2015 ⋅ ongoing
p08 W33, handle line design for izè
2015 - 2018
e08 FREESPACE 16th Biennale di Venezia
2018 ⋅ realized
n12 Chiatta Banano, bar & club, Genova IT
2016 ⋅ preliminary project
r16 Pavilion house, holiday house, Sorano IT
2016 ⋅ ongoing
n14 VP, new apartment building, Trento IT
2016 ⋅ preliminary project
r15 Casa M, renovation, Genova IT
2016 ⋅ realized
c12 Villa Chile, university, Mendrisio CH
2015-2016 ⋅ competition
r13 Casa CSL, renovation, Genova IT
2015 ⋅ preliminary project
c10 Pestalozzi, elementary school, Bern CH
2014-2015 ⋅ competition
c08 Pavilion, Design Miami Basel 2015 CH
2014 ⋅ preliminary project
c09 Guggenheim, art museum, Helsinki FI
2014 ⋅ competition
r12 Casa T, renovation, Genova IT
2012-2013 ⋅ realized
n10 Pavilion B T, bar & dehòr, Genova IT
2012-2013 ⋅ realized
u03 Bonnenfantenstraat, Hasselt BE
2013 ⋅ preliminary project
u02 Hasselt Tourist Map, Hasselt BE
2013 ⋅ preliminary masterplan
f16 SagronMis UNESCO exhibit, Trento IT
2013 ⋅ preliminary project
f15TimeMachine exhibit, Dobbiaco IT
2013-2014 ⋅ realized
c03 Z33 house contemporary art, Hasselt BE
2011-2012 ⋅ competition ⋅ 1st prize
c04Schloss, school, St Gallen CH
2012 ⋅ competition
c05Agone, elementary school, Caslano CH
2012 ⋅ competition i.c.w. arch. N. Polli
c02 Aion, university campus, Lugano CH
2010-2011 ⋅ competition ⋅ 5th prize
n05 Open Air Museum, Wadi Mathendush LY
2010-2011 ⋅ on going
n07 Kitchen, bar pavilion, Genova IT
2011 ⋅ realized
i10 CasaParis, renovation, Genova IT
2010-2011 ⋅ realized
i09 Casa LuLuMa, interior design, Padova IT
2011 ⋅ realized
p06 Hot Gio, handle prototype
2010-2011 ⋅ realized
i08 Casa Mama, interior design, Rapallo IT
2009-2010 ⋅ realized
r08 Casa Green Crane, renovation, Sorano IT
2007-2010 ⋅ realized
n02 Casa Due, holiday house, Sorano IT
2007-2010 ⋅ realized
r07 Kitchen, club & restaurant, Genova IT
2008 ⋅ realized
r06 Scialalletta, restaurant, Pietra Ligure IT
2008 ⋅ realized
r05 Casa Pozzato, renovation, Comacchio IT
2008 ⋅ realized
i04 Balcone, restaurant, Genova IT
2007 ⋅ realized
r04 Casa Santanna, renovation, Genova IT
2007 ⋅ realized
f06 Kitchen KM, furniture, Milan IT
2007 ⋅ realized
r02 Casa Uno, holiday house, Sorano IT
2005-2006 ⋅ realized
f04 Kitchen 3mm, Genova IT
2006 ⋅ realized
i03Foucault pendulum, exhibit, Padova IT
2005-2006 ⋅ realized ⋅ as baukuh
u01 Bakemabuurt masterplan, A'dam NL
2003-2006 ⋅ realized ⋅ as baukuh
n01 Teatri di Spina ⋅ Lido di Spina IT
2005 ⋅ preliminary project ⋅ as baukuh
f01 Kitchen 6mm, Padova IT
2003 ⋅ realized
p01 Archivio delle acque, Padova IT
2001 ⋅ prototype i.c.w. J. Conzett