I meet Mino Caggiula in his architecture studio in Lugano. The rooms are invaded by models, all different from each other, as if the architect's signature were not there.
«Sorry for the delay, but my days start early and end late»
I can't imagine it hard, also because the studio has become big...
(Smiles) «Actually…also, I don't know if you know, I also have a studio in Milan, which deals with projects in Italy, and I collaborate with a studio in New York. There are nights when I happen to wake up and meditate, I have to recalibrate myself with reality."
Is this why you insist on the importance of feeling good?
«Wellbeing today is an increasingly complex achievement for all of us and increasingly difficult to achieve, I can see it firsthand. If I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night there must be a reason... also because I don't set the alarm" (laughs).
So let's start talking about you through a project of yours that I really liked: the Atelier Trepp, in Origlio...
«Perfect, is it okay if I start with the basics? Just like when I meet a client for the first time?”
Certainly…
(breath) «So, my projects are all born in compliance with my own protocol, the one that I have developed over the years and that I have crystallized in Open Being or Being Open».
(Mino Caggiula shows me a book, his book, Open Being, a journey through his thoughts that crystallize in the realized projects).
«In short, before even starting to imagine we need to know how to open our minds, try to grasp even what the client doesn't tell us, understand the needs not only of our client, but especially of the ultimate users of our architecture, therefore the real community needs. We must always keep in mind that from an anthropological point of view we all need protection, we are an indoor generation, we spend most of our lives inside buildings and therefore feel at "home" - even in a restaurant, in the office, in a hotel or in any type of asset class – it becomes indispensable. Only after having defined the wishes and needs of those who commission the project do we go to the site of the future construction. At this point the position, but also the morphology of the territory, the meteorology, the memory of a place, the geopolitical conditions begin to influence our, so to speak, mental draft".
I imagine that depending on the place chosen you will have to study the habits and customs of the region, respecting the buildings previously built...
«Of course, this research work takes time, but it brings great added value to the design, concept and creation phase, which makes me feel butterflies in my stomach every time. Let's take the Atelier Trepp in Origlio as an example, in that case the client was an Ecuadorian sculptor who lives between Ecuador and Switzerland. Observing her sculptures, talking to her, I was struck by her extreme sensitivity and ability to capture the essence of a person in a specific moment of life. Admiring his ability to shape matter, I visited the grounds of Origlio and from here the idea of modeling the construction following the unevenness of the earth was born, just as the Greeks built their theatres, in perfect harmony with the surrounding nature".
You talk about a concept, concept, but in your projects there are many different inspirations that intersect…
«Of course, but there is always an initial concept, followed by a flow of ideas, of other inspirations. An idea is born from the fusion of known elements, only what we know can produce what we imagine through new relationships. I have a constant hunger for knowledge: exploring unknown areas and facing everything that scares me. For this reason, every day, before going to work, I have the constant habit of reading about ten pages of a book that I choose from time to time among my passions with a predilection for personal improvising. But let's get back to us... as you can see in the center of the Atelier I designed a cenote: the inspiration came to me by looking at photographs of these magical natural freshwater caves, typical of South America, the place where the artist Alice Trepp was born . From here the elaboration took place: I positioned the cenote in the central energetic point of the project, so that it could capture the natural light, which in turn is reflected and refracted in the water, all surrounded by vivid green. For an artist the fundamental space is clearly the atelier, which in this case revolves around the cenote. But that is not all! The artist can also touch this space, lying down in the body of water, lying softly in the immersed rounded black gravel, surrounded by the muffled sound of nature, admiring the moving clouds, accompanied by the chirping of birds, the rustle of the fragrant deciduous jasmine. A place for the artist to search for the sublime in the ordinary, before, during and after the creation of her works of art. A design method capable of involving, in a balanced way, the needs of the individual and the nature of the place in a compositional unicum, an approach which for the Atelier Trepp has honored us and awarded us with eight international awards, won between architecture awards and landscaping. The project has been globally included in countless publications and various stagings have been carried out for advertising campaigns in various international brands including Maybag – Mercedes Benz».
But how do you choose craftsmen when error is not a possible compromise?
«I have my trusted people, I work with local artisans and I make them feel an integral part of my project, only in this way can excellence be achieved. My team's drawings do not allow errors, the parts must match perfectly, to the millimetre. On the other hand, I, as well as my collaborators, are there with them. You can't show up at the construction site with a jacket and tie and raise your voice, you have to know how to work in a team, where every single action has its importance. After all, I was born like magutt…a bricklayer."
You give me the opportunity to talk about your past. You were born in the Province of Lecce, but you practically immediately arrived in Switzerland…
«Initially my parents moved to German-speaking Switzerland for a short period, only later did we come to Ticino, to Solduno, where my father was part of the management of the then Hotel Muralto. Then, to be closer to his family, he decided to take over the management of the restaurant at the ice rink in Ascona, Siberia, where we stayed for twenty years."
Can we say you weren't a model student?
(Laughs). "Certain. I was a lively kid, and I actually didn't have much desire to study. Once I finished compulsory school I started working in Michele Barra's construction company, not so much by chance... at the time he was, among many other things, in the management of Hockey in Ascona and so I proposed to work with him, first as a labourer, then as a bricklayer".
You follow the bricklayer's apprenticeship, you follow projects in the pipeline, but then what happens?
«It was winter and the snow was getting into my collar, with the trowel I was removing the snow that had settled in a formwork before pouring the concrete and I said to myself: “Mino, maybe the time has come to do something else”. Without hesitation I enrolled in the technical high school diploma, they were very challenging years because I had significant scholastic gaps. After graduating from high school, I went to SUPSI and then landed at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio. I studied and worked at Michele's, I couldn't burden my family too much. At University I realized that my technical knowledge was good, but I was missing the whole humanistic part; therefore, once again, I had to recover part of the studies that my classmates had acquired over the years".
Everything seems to go smoothly when, before the Masters, you decide to leave for the United States...
«I thought “now or never”, I wanted to perfect my English in a place full of inspiration. I spent the first three months in New York studying the language, then I found myself with the telephone book in my hand, I looked at it, and I looked for the contact details of Kenneth Frampton, one of the world's most famous architectural historians. He thinks I called him at home and told him I had read all his books and that I would like to meet him."
It almost seems like an American film...
«In a certain sense it was. I met Frampton at Columbia University, I had the opportunity to take all of his courses and when I needed a job I went to him. It was Frampton himself who picked up the phone and called Steven Holl, one of the greatest architects in the world, by putting me in touch with him. But it wasn't easy…I had to call the studio every day for a month before I had a chance. Initially I put the magazines away, in the end, since Steven loves models, I was included in important projects, architecture competitions in France, Denmark and China which we won and built. However, when at the end of this fantastic experience which lasted almost two years I received a permanent offer from the US studio, I decided to refuse and I returned to Ticino continuing to work partly with Steven Holl, but also studying to finish my Master's degree" .
Now you have two studios, with the concrete dream of working in New York too, do you never stop?
«I feel good in Lugano, I have a fantastic family, three daughters and a wonderful life partner. Ylenia, in addition to being a splendid woman, is a mother. Present and apprehensive, a very active Personal Mental Coach in Ayurveda, with whom I share my well-being values, or rather, it is she who inspires me in a continuous practical and intellectual exchange. But I won't hide from you that from time to time I need to move around work, to regenerate, to get involved. Mine is not a hunger for success, I simply have an irrepressible passion for architecture, for building well-being."
There are many architects active in Ticino, but few big young names…
«It's not easy at all on the one hand, and on the other we have to accept that the old masters, I'm thinking of Galfetti, Vacchini and Snozzi, are no longer there. Botta remained and none of the young players have achieved his fame so far. I also think that the architecture of the future will deviate from what is designed by the big names in Ticino. The point is no longer to be recognisable, but to take care of individuals, of their lives, of the landscape. I may seem repetitive, but these are very important concepts. Past architecture was monumental, self-referential, related to appearing, being rather than sharing, today it can no longer be like that."
So how do I understand that an architecture bears your signature?
«I'm happy if you don't understand! Because this is the paradigm shift, because every place is different, as is every person. Without forgetting the historical moment, the needs, myself, my team, with whom there is a continuous exchange of ideas, a continuous and shared design practice in harmony with the client, with the place, with social needs".
But what will our homes be like? You often talk about biophilia in your lyrics, about 360-degree well-being…
«Biophilia literally means love of life, biophilic architecture allows us to improve the environments in which we live, inserting natural elements such as light, water, plants, which are just some aspects capable of taking care of man . The homes of the future, which in reality already exist, will want to be a source of well-being, encouraging tenants to move. Inside them we will find different forms of greenery, even edible aromatic plants that will invade the rooms with their scents and at the same time will be used in the kitchen to prepare increasingly healthier dishes. The sounds, the fauna and flora, the sound of the water, will enter the house as well as the natural light of the sun. We will aim for complete well-being, which will not only involve the home, but also the external spaces, the neighbors, the local economy, in a delicate balance. Feeling good means feeling good, which is why in constructions related to housing, hospitality and beyond, we are exploiting technology to design applications that offer services included in the general cost. We will no longer simply buy the surface, but also all those offers that we may have on site. From the increasingly complex social needs to the simplest, I am thinking of cleaning, trainers for the mind and body, sustainable mobility, home shopping, all at zero kilometer, involving those close to us. The direction I believe in is that living in a home does not just mean purchasing space per square meter, but also the possibility of accessing a variety of innovative services. Total well-being, in favor of the local economy and respecting the environment."
(The alarm rings, I have to hurry to finish).
Sorry, but we're talking about niche architecture and who can't afford it?
«All architects, for all budgets, can design with the well-being of their client in mind. For example, creating openings where the sun does not enter the house, dazzling us and overheating the spaces, but simply bringing natural light, is no longer expensive! We can eat well and healthy without having to buy luxury products! I call it the immense value of the obvious, simple but non-trivial solutions that can be understood by everyone. Just take the time to think, to immediately find intelligent solutions in relation to our customers, always weighing the costs against their return on investment, be it public or private. We are designers, but we must have vision and coordination skills. An architect must be able to orchestrate many professionals, to choose from among the excellences on the market, the same ones divided by skill ranges. A coordinated process, before and during the design, through collaboration in synergy with the various specialists to create spaces dedicated to the well-being of the individual and the community."
Do you think we will actually get to design spaceships?
«I think so, they are already doing it. If we look outside our backyard, whether we like it or not, The Line project in Saudi Arabia, the 170 kilometer long linear city, is a reality. Unfortunately, this type of architecture will no longer take the place into consideration, because it will create it to measure, without having to take pre-existing conditions into account. In the not so distant future all this will happen. Thanks also to "Next Gen", a series of docufilms on promising young architects in which we participated, various international promoters are contacting us to participate in "think tanks", that is, to understand how one day - not too far away - there will be software capable of modifying spaces according to our mood, reading our unconscious desires. We won't necessarily have to enter the house... I know it sounds strange, but if we think that our cell phones already constantly read our habits, our facial expressions, which will be recognized by artificial intelligence... Furthermore, our heartbeat, our our blood pressure, our body temperature and, as if meeting, the space in front of us will transform in order to satisfy our psychophysical needs. All this will happen! But it will be very important to pay maximum attention to our safety as living beings on earth, so that this wonderful planet can continue to host us. Technology must remain a service and not the driver of the creation of a dystopian world, which is why it is essential - starting now - to have innovative and far-sighted thinkers and designers, capable of ethically approaching the changes underway... extremely rapid and alarming! I am convinced that the solution comes through a biophilic sensitivity, without forgetting who we are social animals, we are nature."
This scares me a little…
«It's normal, but the process is unstoppable, so it is very important that artificial intelligence is used by designers also to bring greater well-being to the population and not just for profit…».
I remain thinking about the last words, a space capable of adapting to our every need. Spaceships that will act as mobile homes, cities in the middle of the desert, capable of regulating their own seasons. And then I go back to look at the different projects created by Mino and smile: nature will always remain irreplaceable!
