Mario Cucinella Architects is an architectural and design firm. With an international team of one hundred professionals including architects, engineers, designers, model makers and visual artists, the firm was established in Paris in 1992 and has offices in Bologna (from 1999) and in Milan (from 2018). With projects around the world, the firm has received several national and international awards over the years, especially for its focus on environmental issues. MCA has extensive experience in architectural design that combines environmental and energy efficiency strategies and relies on an R&D (Research & Development) department that carries out research on sustainability with a holistic approach.
©Giacomo Fausti
©Giovanni De Sandre
The design with BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology is developed internally thanks to a process management team composed of BIM Manager and BIM Coordinator. The studio can also boast a product, interior & industrial design department. All projects have in common a focus on technological integration with environmental and climate strategies to build buildings that can reduce their environmental impact in view of the 2030 European objectives.
©Duccio Malagamba
“We design and construct Architectural projects that, through research, the use of innovative technologies, and professional skill, embody an ideal of architectural quality integrating environmental sustainability, ethics and a positive social impact.”
©Giacomo Fausti
Founder & president
Mario Cucinella
Mario Cucinella was born in Palermo in 1960 and graduated in Architecture at the University of Genoa in 1986.
In 1992, in Paris, he founded MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects, an architecture and design firm that has now headquarters in Bologna and Milan, and of which he is also the creative director.
In 2015 he founded SOS – School of Sustainability, a school for young professionals and recent graduates that focuses on the application of sustainable architecture and design to give future decisions makers the tools necessary to tackle the environmental issues that are emerging globally with an open-minded, holistic, research-driven, and human-centered approach.
The importance of his work and continued commitment as an architect and educator on environmental and social issues have been recognized with the International Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2016) and with the Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects (2017).
In 2018 he was curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale with the exhibition “Arcipelago Italia”.
Mario Cucinella has taught at the universities of Ferrara, Naples, Munich, and Nottingham.
He is the author of many publications including:
Building Green Futures (2020, published by Forma), a volume that investigates, through a collection of the latest projects and most representative architecture of Mario Cucinella Architects, possible answers that architecture can provide to the global challenges of the future.
Architecture of Education (2021, published by Maggioli), an analysis of how the most important places in civil society will be able to evolve thanks to architecture and the dynamics it is able to generate, through a multi-voiced narrative alternating with design solutions developed by Mario Cucinella Architects.
The future is a journey to the past. Ten stories about architecture (2021, published by Quodlibet) In this book Mario Cucinella – together with Valentina Torrente and Laura Zevi – describes ten trips to cities and places that gave him valuable insights into environmental issues and the rational use of available energy.
Progetti in primo piano
©Giovanni De Sandre
Values
Sustainability is a global conversation that grows ever more urgent. Beauty is a design fundamental that is ever more mistreated. At MCA, we believe that forging a bond between sustainability and beauty reveals a fresh relevance and vast potential. For us, sustainability is the pursuit of new beauty.
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MCA Design
The Design Unit was created within Mario Cucinella Architects as a product design department and availing itself of the collaboration of designers in constant dialogue together with Italy’s outstanding craft enterprises.
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©Federico Villa
Graphic Design by Zup Design
MCA R&D
An in-house team focused on capturing insights and turning them into innovation opportunities. MCA R&D ensures added value to design at various scales through an investigative and co-creative approach, promoting environmental and human-centered sustainability.
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Awards
Since the beginning of our activity, we have received important awards in national and international competitions.
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©Iago Corazza