黑洞社区

British architects frustrated about their role in procurement may take comfort from the plight of their Italian counterparts. Mario Cucinella (left), one of the most established designers in the country, has said the situation for architects has got so bad that he is asking the leaders of Britain, France, Russia and other G8 nations for 鈥減olitical asylum鈥�.

In an open letter in Italian design magazine L鈥橝rca, Cucinella wrote: 鈥淚 am asking for asylum as I want to continue to work as an architect, which I cannot do in my country.鈥� The letter then describes a land wallowing in 鈥渆mergency and discomfort鈥�.

Speaking to 黑洞社区, Cucinella said his predicament was the result of a divorce between the architectural and political cultures. He said: 鈥淭he deep reason is the difficulty of the culture of architects. The political class is much more interested in the culture of the contractor and consultant engineering firms.鈥�

In his letter, Cucinella, who is a visiting professor at Nottingham university, uses examples from his own practice, including the 鈧�175m (拢153m) head office of Rome council (right). The project was put on hold for two years and it remains uncertain whether it will ever go ahead.

Cucinella said: 鈥淎t least in the UK some architects are well known 鈥� Norman Foster, Richard Rogers 鈥� and people recognise their social role. But not in Italy.鈥�

Cucinella has found support from other Italian architects. Massimiliano Fuksas, who works mainly in France, said: 鈥淚taly is a country in which public administration and bureaucracy are very bad. The single biggest problem facing architects in Italy today is the lack of certainty.鈥�

Francesco Garofalo, an architect and professor of design at the University of Pescara, said it was even harder for smaller practices. He said: 鈥淔or a recent competition I had to prove that I had 12 employees for three years for a project of less than 拢1m. It was a project that any graduate could do with his own laptop.鈥�