Masterplan for Gran Sasso in Abruzzo , Prati di Tivo/ Italien

Press release by Steven Holl Architects

 

 

Milan, IT (May 26, 2023) – Steven Holl Architects unveiled a masterplan for Gran Sasso in Abruzzo, Italy in the town of Prati di Tivo. The project’s drawings and models are on view at Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura in the exhibition Steven Holl: Half Earth, on view May 26 through July 14.

 

The Prati di Tivo Piazza at Gran Sasso will create a new community plaza at the base of the Gran Sasso Mountains, the highest in the Apennines. The three new building elements are all articulated yet subordinate to the view of the great stone mountain. The buildings shape a new space to be enjoyed by the regional community and visitors from abroad.

 

Phase I includes the public piazza, pools, and fountains, and a sliced spherical pavilion inspired by paintings of Giorgio Morandi, constructed on the foundations of a former ski lift. The geothermally heated and cooled pavilion has five apartments and a café/bar. Phase II includes renovation and expansion of an existing 1950s concrete structure to include a spa, restaurant, and eleven hotel rooms. Phase III includes underground parking and a 42-room hotel of CLT wood construction with balcony rooms facing the mountain. 

 

All three new structures are roofed in pre-weathered Verdigris copper and are geothermally heated and cooled, employing the latest sustainable materials and techniques to achieve the highest ecological standards.

 

“The masterplan for Gran Sasso supports E. O. Wilson’s idea of “half earth” as all the surrounding landscape is preserved. The architecture will be ecologically realized and in spirit stands in awe of the great mountain above and the gift of its stone silence.” – Steven Holl

 

At Antonia Jannone Gallery, Prati di Tivo Piazza at Gran Sasso is represented through models, watercolor studies, and a wall-sized view of the Gran Sasso Mountains. The exhibition also includes large watercolor paintings inspired by John Cage's ideas on chance-controlled creation and other projects relating to E. O. Wilson’s concept of “half-earth.”

 

Steven Holl: Half Earth is on view May 26 - July 14, 2023 at Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura. An illustrated catalogue with texts by Fulvio Irace, Evan Douglis, and Steven Holl will accompany the exhibition. For more information visit www.antoniajannone.it

 

Steven Holl Architects is an internationally recognized, innovative architecture and urban design office with locations in the Hudson Valley, New York, and Beijing. Steven Holl founded the firm in 1977 and leads the office with partners Noah Yaffe, Roberto Bannura and Dimitra Tsachrelia. The firm has realized architectural works nationally and overseas, with extensive experience in the arts, and campus and educational facilities. Rubenstein Commons at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey celebrated its completion in October 2022. The Loisium Hotel Expansion opened in Langenlois, Austria, in 2021, expanding on the concept for the resort's original SHA design for the Loisium Hotel (2005) and Wine Center (2003). In 2020, the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Winter Visual Arts Building on the historic Franklin & Marshall College campus were completed. Other recently completed projects include Cofco Cultural and Health Center in Shanghai (2021); The REACH Expansion at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. (2019); Hunters Point Library in Queens, New York (2019); ICA at Virginia Commonwealth University (2018); Maggie’s Centre Barts (2017); and the Lewis Arts Complex at Princeton University (2017). Steven Holl Architects currently has several projects under construction, including Cifi Headquarters in Beijing, China (2023); Meander Housing in Helsinki, Finland (2024); iCarbonX Headquarters in Shenzhen, China (2024); and Kaplankaya Dense Pack in Akbuk, Turkey (2025).

 

For more information about Steven Holl Architects, please visit www.stevenholl.com

 

 

 

Steven Holl (design architect, principal)

Dimitra Tsachrelia (partner in charge)

Wenying Sun (project architect)

Michael Haddy, Maxwell Funk, Yining He (project team)