Location:
Cummings
Lecture
Theatre,
School
of
Architecture
Time:
7:00pm
Cost:
FREE
-
sponsored
by
Building
Waterloo
Region
&
Metrolinx
Paolo
Desideri
is
one
of
Italy’s
most
outstanding
contemporary
architects.
He
is
one
of
the
founding
Principals
in
the
firm
ABDR
Architteti
in
Rome
and
has
been
responsible
for
the
design
of
projects
of
all
scales
and
types
ranging
from
private
residences
to
major
cultural
institutions
and,
most
importantly,
projects
for
transportation.
His
recent
designs
for
stations
on
the
Rome
Metropolitano
(Subway)
explore
themes
of
procession,
natural
light
in
the
underground,
innovative
use
of
material,
relationships
to
historical
context
and
the
role
of
transit
architecture
in
creating
high
quality
public
spaces.
Each
of
his
stations
becomes
the
catalyst
for
ambitious
piazzas
and
parks,
civic
spaces
in
newer
areas
of
the
city
that
are
typically
weak
in
the
public
realm.
The
connection
between
transportation
and
urban
design
is
also
evident
in
Desideri’s
designs
for
the
new
stations
for
high-speed
rail
networks
in
Bolzano,
Rome
and
Casablanca.
The
enormous
scale
of
the
architectural
forms
follows
from
the
nature
of
transportation
infrastructure,
the
intensity
of
the
use,
the
dimensions
of
the
support
structure
and
the
relationship
to
the
city
itself.
As
large
and
abstract
as
they
are,
Desideri’s
buildings
are
as
vivid
and
exhilarating
as
they
are
an
ordinary
part
of
the
experience
of
the
city.
Desideri’s
recent
design
credits
also
include
such
high
profile
cultural
projects
as
the
new
Opera
House
in
Florence
and
the
Archaeological
Museum
in
Reggio
Calabria.
Paolo
Desideri
was
born
and
raised
in
Rome.
His
father
was
a
well-known
Structural
Engineer
who
was
a
collaborator
of
Pier
Luigi
Nervi.
Desideri
was
educated
at
the
University
of
Rome.
He
established
his
practice
in
1982
with
partners
Laura
Arlotti,
Michele
Beccu
and
Filippo
Raimundo.