Edoardo Milesi: ecology and ethics to build a sustainable world

The relationship between the CAT address and Edoardo Milesi, international protagonist of bio-architecture, has continued since the complicated times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the first meeting, in a video conference in January 2021, the architect has guided our students to reflect on the need, today increasingly urgent, to design in a conscious manner, focusing attention on eco-sustainable materials as well as on the context in which to intervene . The physical properties of the different tree essences applied in construction were the common thread of each appointment, such as the exceptional occasion in which the students of the current 5A Wood Technologies submitted the projects for a wooden classroom outside for his judgement. open, intended for a national competition. The best one, enriched by the ideas offered by Milesi, is today used in school orientation as an example of constant educational and technological updating by our institute, and of the CAT branch in particular. When on 18 January 2022 he returned to present his volume dedicated to incessant design research into the use of wood, Milesi showed the ethical face of his architectural action even more clearly: the students were impressed by the territorial investigation work and social history that the illustrious guest carried out in the unfortunate republic of Haiti before proposing an economic and ecological building typology that had never been taken into consideration by the humanitarian organizations operating in that country.

The Maremma offers relevant examples of the architectural work of Edoardo Milesi and, to fully understand the teaching of this master of eco-sustainable construction, our students of 5ATL and 4AQ (four-year course) visited the architectural complexes that stand on 21 April in the locality of Poggi del Sasso, in the municipality of Cinigiano. Visiting the 'Colle Massari' winery, the Bertarelli auditorium and the still unfinished monastic complex of Siloe, under the guidance of architect Viola Grassenis, Milesi's collaborator, our 'future surveyors' were able to admire architectural solutions that evoke the constructive wisdom of Alvar AAlto, as well as the attention to every detail, which Milesi inherited from his teacher, Franca Helg. It was a precious opportunity for personal growth for our students, which will certainly be replicated in the coming years.