OBR Open Building Research
In 2000 Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi established the collective OBR to investigate new ways of contemporary living, creating a design network among Milan, London and New York.
After working with Renzo Piano, Paolo and Tommaso have oriented the research of OBR towards the integration artifice-nature, to create sensitive architecture in perpetual change, stimulating the interaction between man and environment.
The team of OBR develops its design activity through public-private social programs, promoting – through architecture – the sense of community and the individual identities.
Today OBR is group open to different multidisciplinary contributors, cooperating with different universities, such as Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, Aalto University, Academy of Architecture of Mumbai and Mimar Sinan Fine Art University.
Among the best known works by OBR are the Pythagoras Museum, the New Galleria Sabauda in Turin, the Milanofiori Residential Complex, the Children Hospital in Parma, the Galliera Hospital in Genoa, the Lido of Genoa, the Ex Cinema Roma, the Triennale di Milano Terrace.
The under construction projects by OBR include the Lehariya Cluster in Jaipur, the Jafza Traders Market in Dubai and the Multiuse Complex Ahmad Qasir in Teheran.
OBR's projects have been featured in Venice Biennale of Architecture, Royal Institute of British Architects in London, Bienal de Arquitetura of Brasilia, MAXXI in Rome and Triennale di Milano.
OBR has been awarded with the AR Award for Emerging Architecture at RIBA, the Plusform under 40, the Urbanpromo at the 11° Biennale di Venezia, the honourable mention for the Medaglia d'Oro all'Architettura Italiana, the Europe 40 Under 40 in Madrid, the Leaf Award overall winner in London, the WAN Residential Award, the Building Healthcare Award, the Inarch Award for Italian Architecture and the American Architecture Prize in New York.
Since 2004 OBR has been evolving its design parameters according to the environmental and energy certification LEED and since 2009 OBR is partner of the GBC.
Biography
Arch. Paolo Brescia
was born in Chiavari on 6 July 1970.After his degree in 1996 in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano, he started in 1998 his collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
In 2000 he founded OBR Open Building Research with Tommaso Principi.
Since 2000 he is guest professor in several athenaeums lecturing at Faculty of Architecture of the Università degli Studi di Genova, Politecnico di Milano, Università di Trieste, Luiss, Sapienza Università di Roma, Kent State University, Mendrisio Academy of Architecture, Helsinki Aalto University, Academy of Architecture of Mumbai.
From 2004 to 2005 he was university professor in charge at the Faculty of Industrial Design at the Politecnico di Milano.
Arch. Tommaso Principi
Tommaso Principi was born Firenze on 20 May 1970.Before his degree in 1999 in Architecture from the Università degli Studi of Genova, he studied Civil Engineering at Università degli Studi di Bologna and he worked with Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
In 2000 he founded OBR Open Building Research with Paolo Brescia.
Since 2000 he is guest professor in several athenaeums lecturing at Faculty of Architecture of the Università degli Studi di Genova, Politecnico di Milano, Sapienza Università di Roma, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Università di Messina and Kent State University.
In the 2007 he coordinated the International Workshop ICAMP for the Sustainable Developmement of the Area of The Stretto di Messina, Italy.
Projects
Completed
- Terrazza Triennale, Milano, Italy, 2014
- Ex Cinema Roma, Parma, Italy, 2013
- Ospedale dei Bambini, Parma, Italy, 2013
- We House, Lavagna, Italy, 2002
- Uffici Cugnasco, Cuneo, Italy, 2002
- Vema, La Biennale di Venezia, Italy, 2006
- Museo di Pitagora, Crotone, Italy, 2008
- Residenze Milanofiori, Assago, Milano, Italy, 2010
- Galleria Sabauda, Manica Nuova Palazzo Reale, Torino, Italy
- Ospedale dei Bambini, Parma, Italy
- Ponte sul Polcevera, Genova, Italy
Under construction
- KGK, Jaipur, India
- Aeroporto di Reggio Calabria, Italy
- Ex Cinema Roma, Parma, Italy
- Riqualificazione dell'Area ex Nuit, Cesenatico, Italy
Current projects
- Hope City, Accra, Ghana
- Royal Ensign, Jaipur, India
- Lido di Genova, Italy
- Marina Grande, Arenzano, Italy
- Villa Boakye Accra, Ghana
- RAK Financial City Towers, UAE
- Waterfront Genova Levante, Italy
- Masterplan Polo di Funo, Bologna, Italy
- Rive di Bisentrate, Pozzuolo di Martesana, Italy
- Centro Giovani Artigiani, Genova, Italy
- Food & Beverage complex, Zayed City, Cairo, Egypt
- Ex Istituto Dermatologico, Milano, Italy
Competitions
- Comparto Stazioni Varese, Varese, Italy, 2016
- Parco Centrale di Prato, Prato Italy, 2016
- Ex Caserma De Sonnaz, Torino, 2016
- Metropolis Malta , 2016
- Jafza Trade Market, Dubai , 2015
- MRM, Dubai , 2015
- Cascina Merlata, Milano , 2015
- Terrazza Triennale, Milano, 2014
- Michelin HQ & RDI, New Delhi , 2014
- Atelier Castello, Milano , 2014
- Bayt Al Fann Jameel, Jeddah , 2014
- Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai , 2013
- Porto Santa Margherita Ligure, 2013
- Via XX Settembre, Genova , 2012
- Cesme Waterfront, Turkey , 2012
- Floriopoli , 2012
- Pitagora Museum, Crotone, Italy, 2003
- Galleria Sabauda of Palazzo Reale in Torino, Italy, 2003
- Sustainable Residential Complex Milanofiori, Milano, Italy, 2005
- Fiera Riva del Garda, Italy, 2006
- Polcevera Bridge, Genova, Italy, 2006
- Reggio Calabria Airport, Italy, 2006
- Museo di arte nuragica, Cagliari, Italy, 2006
- Campus Divino Amore, Roma, Italy, 2007
- Ex Cinema Roma, Parma, Italy, 2007
- Waterfront Reggio Calabria, Italy, 2007
- Museo Diocesano, Milano, Italy, 2007
- Urbanpromo, Urban Planning Prize, INU, Venice Biennale, Italy, 2008
- Xplusform under 40, Italy, 2008
- Masterplan Polo di Funo, Bologna, Italy, 2009
- Nuova Sede Provincia di Bergamo, Italy, 2009
- Messina Fair, Italy, 2009
- Social Housing, Via Cenni, Milano, Italy, 2009
- Nuovo Ospedale Galliera, Genova, Italy, 2010
- Shantou University Center, China, 2010
- Olympic Park Master plan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2011
- Museums of History, Science and Technology, Dalian, China, 2011
- Polo Intermodale of Trieste FVG, Italy, 2001
Awards
- RIBA Royal Institute of British Architects, London, AR Awards for Emerging Architecture, honorable mention, London, UK, 2007
- Urbanpromo by INU Istituto Nazionale Urbanistica, Biennale di Venezia, Italy, 2008
- Plusform for realized projects under 40, Catanzaro, Italy, 2008
- Honorable mention for the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture by Triennale di Milano, Italy, 2009
- The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies prize Europe 40 under 40, Madrid, Spain, 2010
- In/Arch Ance Award, Realized architecture by young architect, Roma, Italy, 2011
- Leaf Leading European Architect Forum Award, Residential Building of the Year, London, UK, 2011
- Overall Winner 2011 Leaf Award, London, UK, 2011
- Wan Awards Residential, London, UK, 2011
Exhibitions
- 13° Biennale di Venezia di Architettura, Common Ground, Padiglione Italiano, Venezia
- Beyond Media 03, Università di Firenze, Image, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Firenze, Italy, 2003
- Intimacy, iMage, Stazione Leopolda, a cura di Marco Brizzi, Firenze, Italy, 2003
- Graz Biennal on Media and Architecture, ArtImage, Graz, Austria, 2004
- NIB+ICAR travelling 2004, Roma, Glasgow, Belgrado, Helsinki, Finland, 2004
- Temporary, Politecnico di Milano, Teatro Franco Parenti, Milano, Italy, 2004
- 2° Festival dell'Architettura, Laboratorio Italia, Parma, Italy, 2005
- Biennale del Paesaggio Mediterraneo, Progetti di Paesaggio nel Mediterraneo, Pescara, Italy, 2005
- V Biennale di Architettura, Contemporary Ecologies. Energies for Italian Architecture, Brasília, Brazil, 2006
- Architecture: Where to, Cross Borders: concepts of a unified Europe/world, London, UK, 2007
- Vivere l'ambiente: città e territorio tra crescita e sostenibilità, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2007
- XI Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2007
- AR Awards exhibition, Berlin, Germany, 2008
- Arup World Architecture Festival, Barcellona, Spain, 2008
- AR Awards exhibition, Budapest, Hungary, 2008
- Un'estetica del "disordine", Ordine degli Architetti della Provincia di Milano, Italy, 2008
- AR Awards exhibition, Seoul, South Korea, 2008
- Giovani Architetti verso il futuro, Auditorium di Palazzo Rosso, Genova, Italy, 2008
- Medaglia D'Oro all'Architettura Italiana, La Triennale di Milano, Italy, 2009
- 40 Under 40, Madrid, Spain, 2010
- Giovani Architetti Italiani, GiArch, Utet, Casa dell'Architettura Roma, Italy, 2010
- Better City, Better Life, World Trade Centre, Shanghai International Expo, 2010
- Dal Lido d'Albaro al Lido di Genova, Confindustria, Genova, Italy, 2010
- Laboratorio di Progettazione Architettonica, OBR, Università di Trieste, Italy, 2010
- Urban Transformation on the Waterfront of Genoa, USI Accademia di Architettura, Mendrisio, Switzerland, 2010
- Spot on Architecture, Milanofiori, Università di Firenze, Italy, 2010
- Giovani Architetti, GiArch, Casa dell'Architettura, Roma, Italy, 2010
- LEED-GBC, Approccio alla sostenibilità nel Real Estate, Genova, Italy, 2011
- Pragmatic Utopias, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland, 2011
- ASJ TV, New Wave in Architecture, OBR Open Building Research, Tokyo, Japan, 2011
- In/Arch Ance, Roma, Italy, 2011
- Young Blood, Annual dei talenti italiani, Roma, Italy, 2011
- EDII European Design Innovation Initiative, Helsinki, Finland, 2011
- Rassegna Italiana, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Italy, 2011
- Changing Communities: does architecture have the power?, Academy of Architecture, Mumbai, India, 2011
- Bhartiya Kala Prasarini Sabha's, College of Architecture, Pune, India, 2011
- Ordine degli Architetti di Bologna, Saie, Bologna, Italy, 2011
- Rigenerazione Urbana, Catania, Italy, 2011
- Green City International Forum, Genova, Italy, 2011
- Italy Now, Congresso UIA Unione Italiana Architetti, Tokyo, Japan, 2011
- 13° Biennale di Venezia di Architettura, Common Ground, Padiglione Italiano, Venezia, 2012
- Medaglia D'Oro all'Architettura Italiana, Triennale di Milano, Milano, 2012
- Workshop Circus Maximus, Roma 3.0, Rome, 2012
- Right to Energy, MAXXI, Roma, 2013
- Cellulae, Salone del Mobile, Milano, 2013