“I have to tell you, Mario: if you've never done it before, take a piece of granite, split it and you can smell the scent of space and time.” Here is one of the most intense parts of the long conversation between two Italian architects , who are far apart from each other in terms of generation, but connected by connectionEmilia-Romagna.
One is Mario Cucinellathe other is Dante Bini: They meet on the hills of Arezzo for a passionate conversation in which the designer of the next Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka takes on the unprecedented role of interviewer. Together with the opera singer Raina KabaivanskaBini was chosen for the debut issue of Emilia-Romagna Cultural Prize: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 you will be the president of the region, Stefano Bonacciniand the city council for culture and landscape, Mauro Felicoriattributed to the designer of Modena origin, born in 1932the new recognition.
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It is awarded to him for “the extraordinary results of architectural research and the development of innovative construction techniques”. The reference clearly refers to the over a hundred patents on construction site automation that emerged from the research of Bini, who is best known internationally for developing so-called construction technology in the mid-1960s Binishell.
Building with air: the story of the architect Dante Bini
It is a system used in hundreds of buildings around the world and has become a distinctive feature of its manufacture. It allows the construction of dome structures from thin reinforced concrete through the combined use of metal reinforcement and pneumatic formwork for inflation.
Right in his hometown, Castelfranco EmiliaBini managed to literally raise the first dome built using this method: a result that came after a series of studies on the static efficiency of vault structures. But it is in the United States that shortly after the first experiences in the Modena area, the Binishell began its worldwide rise and achieved a significant following, which was also due to the “infinite variations in form” that it allows.
Since the 1970s, this North American country has become Bini's second home, where he plans to live and study various areas of architectural design, including geodesic structures and wood and steel prefabrication methods.
Of his career – deeply international (significant activity in Australia) and hikers – by awarding the prize, the Emilia-Romagna region would like to highlight them “Emilian pragmatism”He sees it as a complementary aspect of Bini's success, alongside his visionary nature and drive to experiment.
Bini's “Dome” for Antonioni and Vitti
With his enveloping architecture, Dante Bini managed to “fascinate” even one of the most popular couples of 20th century Italian cinema. In fact, the history of the so-called is widely known domethe director's Sardinian summer residence Michelangelo Antonioni and the actress Monica Vitti.
However, neither the exceptional character and architectural significance of this building nor the fact that it housed influential figures in the cultural scene have saved the house from the fate of neglect and decay long denounced by the press. Submitted since 2015 At the Declaration of cultural interestby the responsible ministry, the property last July it was destroyed. An event brought into the national spotlight by the organizers of the Abitare la Vacanza festival, who had identified one of the three poles of interest of their event in Sardinia (including Bini's work in the circuit).
Who knows whether the regional recognition, which once again testifies to the uniqueness of Bini and his production, could help bring his best-known Italian work into the spotlight and thus bring about the hoped-for rebirth.
Valentina Silvestrini
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