Armin Pedevilla: architecture and nature

1. What does architecture mean to you?
To me, architecture means working with a variety of materials, responding to the specific needs of the geographical location, and attempting to create a dialogue between the building and the surrounding landscape by helping it to blend in as attractively as possible. To achieve this, I prefer to use local building materials, so that the architectural structure almost becomes an extension of nature.

2. How do you see the relationship between nature and architecture, since you come from the Dolomites, an area where nature is still virtually pristine?
Nature and architecture complement each other; I think that architecture is impossible without considering nature, since nature dictates the way space must be designed. When I talk about nature I also mean the prevailing weather conditions: the materials I choose also have to be suitable for the local climate. Generally in the coldest places I use a great deal of wood, a material which is warm not only in appearance but also at a sensory level, but when I design buildings for warmer locations I find that ceramics, resin or concrete provide excellent coverings. My aim is to achieve an extremely natural result, as if the building were in some way “native” to its site.  

3. In your opinion, what is the place of ceramics within architecture?
I love ceramics. I can create with them: they give me lots of options for building design: colours, textures and sizes that make it easy for me to create shapes, as well as conducting heat very well.

4. What projects are you working on at present?
My most important project: my own home, where I live with my wife and children, the highest expression of my... our concept of what architecture means. A return to the origins of architecture, to natural materials: the idea is to build in a traditional way, without making too many changes, to create an environmentally sustainable home that prioritises function over style but which fits attractively into its surroundings: the Dolomites. I love the idea of the traditional home, the place whose main purpose is to provide comfort for the people who live in it. However, this tradition can be modified and improved through research, which enables us to design in an environmentally aware way, thanks to green materials and energy saving

In the gallery some pics of the evening occured last 12nd November during with Marazzi met the Viennese architects and architect Pedevilla held an interesting speech