Founder, caravatti | caravatti architecti
The architectural practice of caravatti | caravatti combines the professional architectural standards with direct humanitarian engagement, as evidenced by a long-term commitment to West African projects and different design experiences in socially marginal areas.
Emilio Caravatti graduated in 1989 from the Faculty of Architecture of Milan Politecnico. He shares the activities of the studio within the working group of caravatti_caravatti architetti; in collaboration with Matteo Caravatti, Chiara Gugliotta and Elena Verri. The practice combines professional architectural standards with direct humanitarian engagement, as evidenced by a long-term commitment to Western African projects and by different design experiences in socially marginal areas. Recent professional highlights include the Jigiya So Rehabilitation Centre in the Republic of Mali and, in Italy, a major public space development in Vercelli Old Town and a series of public infrastructure projects with various municipal administrations.
His firm, caravatti_caravatti architetti is the founding member of two different NGO realities. Africabougou Ngo is a multi-disciplinary association that focuses its efforts on behalf of rural villages of Africa Sub-Saharan Africa. During the last twenty years Africabougo has realized over thirty projects that have relied on the direct engagement of local communities and on a network of contacts with private institutions, rural municipalities, community associations and local authorities. The second NGO, ScatolAperta, is an association based within the studio. It organizes and undertakes architectural workshops for children in schools and in other socially marginal realities.
Caravatti | caravatti architetti has been recognised both in Italy and internationally for their public infrastructure projects. Prestigious awards received by the firm include: the Gold medal at the XII ° International Prize for Sustainable Architecture in Ferrara (2017), an honorable mention at the Piranesi Award 2016 in Piran (Slovenia), the special prize S. Nievo Dedalo Minosse in Vicenza (2014) and the special Brick Award Prize in Vienna (2010). Finalists of Medaglia d’Oro of Italian architecture in 2009 (special mention) and in 2015 (Social work), the studio was awarded by the National Council of Architects in Rome as Best Italian Architect 2017 for their “architecture respectful not only of the places, but also of the social contexts in which it’s integrated”.
The firm’s work has been published widely and exhibited in prestigious European architecture museums including: Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Louisiana Modern Art Museum, Humlebaek (Denmark); Architekturzentrum of Vienna (Austria). Lectures on the firm’s work have been held in major universities, including at: Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture de Paris (France); Archit Facultet Zagreb (Croatia); École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Zurcher Hochschule in Winterthur (Switzerland) and Liverpool School of Architecture (Great Britain). Emilio Caravatti has recently taught architectural design at the Politecnico of Milan (2004-2016). His studio is working to increase awareness about the issues of space inside prison situations in Italy and is working on projects that address the realities of people seeking political asylum in the Italian territory.