NEWS & EVENTS > DESIGNING THE EXISTING, ANDREA BRUNO AT THE VELASCA TOWER

Designing the existing, Andrea Bruno at the Velasca Tower


Starting today, the Velasca Tower will host an exhibition dedicated to an Italian master architect

Milan, May 05, 2016 PRESS RELEASE

At the Velasca Tower, an exhibition of the architect Andrea Bruno expands on the themes of recovery and conservation.

A tribute to the architect Andrea Bruno before his departure for Paris where he will be awarded an honorary degree by the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers on 13 May.

Until 5 July, the Velasca Tower will host a retrospective exhibition dedicated to Andrea Bruno, an Italian mater architect who has linked his name to the design of museums and the ingenious conversion of historic buildings. For Andrea Bruno, transformation is “the only way to guarantee the preservation of memories through architecture”. The Velasca Tower, which has always represented the perfect synthesis of tradition and innovation, is thus the ideal location to display some of the main projects by the architect Andrea Bruno. During his professional career, Bruno has found the right balance between historic value and functionality, highlighting how the restoration of architectural icons can still be an opportunity for functional and economic historical enhancement.

On display are 16 models, photographs, original sketches and technical drawings of some of the many projects realised from the 60s up until today, through which it is possible to understand the profound meaning of Designing the Existing for Bruno. An approach that starts with the identification of the correct use for the “existing” in order to enhance the same through innovative and always original design solutions that ensure its conservation over time. For Bruno, “through renewal architecture lasts in time and each correct transformation certifies and guarantees its original memory over time”.

The exhibition also features a ten-metre long table showing a satellite view with a symbolic line connecting some of the most important projects created by Bruno throughout the world: starting from the Castle of Rivoli, it runs through Turin with Palazzo Carignano and the former IRVE building, passing through the island of Cyprus with the MAA archaeological museum, Spain with the Roman circus of Tarragona, France with the Lichtenberg Castle in Alsace and Fort Vauban in Nîmes and many more until reaching the Bagrati Cathedral in Georgia.

Visitors are welcomed by a real-size reproduction of an Afghan foreman who worked under the direction of Bruno in the sixties for the restoration and construction of a museum within the Abdur-Razaq Mausoleum in Ghazni.

Designing the Existing is thus a charming exhibition that covers the broad and comprehensive professional career of the architect, paying tribute to the same before his departure for Paris where on 13 May he will be awarded an honorary degree by the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers(which he redesigned and reopened in 2000) «for his lesson in humility and expertise».

The Velasca Tower, owned by the Unipol Group since 2012, is once again a protagonist in the city of Milan and its future. The Velasca Tower is a part of Urban Up, the real estate redevelopment project of the Unipol Group aimed at enhancing some of the most important Milanese buildings belonging to the Group.


BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF ANDREA BRUNO
Born in Turin in 1931, Andrea Bruno graduated in Architecture in 1956 at the Faculty of Architecture of the Politecnico of Turin, but since then his “creative” path has not only been linked to the present. From 1960 to 1972 he was a consultant for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan and Iraq and assumed the same role for UNESCO in 1975, overseeing the restoration and conservation of artistic and cultural heritage. He became director of the project for the protection of monuments in Herat, Afghanistan, as well as author of the Maa archaeological museum in Cyprus, the integration project of the University in Fort Vauban, Nîmes, and the renovation of the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. Andrea Bruno was professor of Architectonic restoration at the Faculty of Architecture of the Politecnico of Turin (1979-1989) and the Politecnico of Milan (1991-2002). He is currently President Emeritus of the RLICC (Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation) at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.

Unipol Gruppo S.p.A.
Unipol is one of the leading insurance groups in Europe with a total income amounting to approximately €16,5bn, of which €7.9bn in Non-Life Business and €8.6bn in Life Business (2015 figures). Unipol adopts an integrated offer strategy and covers a complete range of insurance and financial products, operating primarily through its subsidiary UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A., founded at the beginning of 2014, Italian leader in Non-Life Business, in particular in vehicle liability insurance. The Group is also active in direct vehicle insurance (Linear Assicurazioni), health protection (UniSalute), supplementary pensions and has a strong presence in the bancassurance channel (Arca Vita Group and Popolare Vita Group).Finally, Unipol operates in the banking business through the network of Unipol Banca branches and manages significant diversified businesses in the real estate, hotel (Atahotels) and agricultural (Tenute del Cerro) sectors. Unipol Gruppo S.p.A. is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange.

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Unipol Group Press Office
Fernando Vacarini
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Claudia Galassi
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Milan
May 05, 2016