«He introduced me as ' Costantino Nivola, Sardinian ', these were my only credentials at the time». It is 1946. Jose Luis Sert, architect, makes the presentations in a restaurant in the heart of Manhattan. In the presence of the great master of Orani there is the number one: Charles Edouard Jeanneret, for all Le Corbusier. The greatest architect in the world had crossed the Big Apple as a delegate for the selection of the site to build the glass building of the United Nations. Antine, as Nivola loved to be called, and Le Corbusier do not speak much: they understand each other with the eyes, between the two it is immediately the chemistry of art. Some time later, in fact, they find themselves on the street: Le Corbusier immediately recognizes Nivola. He, the Sardinian in New York, sees the teacher tired and invites him to his home, still modest, but welcoming.

Le Corbusier & Nivola

Orani's ambassador to the world recalls that day: "After greeting my wife in her courteous, almost nineteenth-century way, he turned to me with an approving smile and said to me:" Monsieur Nivola, you have a beautiful family that enters the content of his art. You have talent » . It is there that an extraordinary story begins that will mark the artistic life of two exclusive characters of architecture, art and "modernism". Nivola says: «… With a Bourbon in one hand and a notebook in the other, we sat down at the round table. In front of a vase of fresh flowers, under the angelic and amused gaze of my son, the tutorial has begun: an exclusive didactic dialogue between me and Le Corbusier » .

The heirs

More than seventy years have passed since the beginning of that extraordinary history of art intertwined between the village of Orani and the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Now the two protagonists bounce back on the world stage thanks to a project that for some hours has been depopulating in the international system of innovative, experimental and futuristic architecture. An explosive mix of design, innovation and art put in black and white by a multi-dimensional architecture studio with tax residence in Olbia, an operational base in Umbria and an international branch in Istanbul, in the heart of Turkey. At the head, together with his Turkish colleague Öznur Pinar Çer, is Danilo Petta, a genetically unmodified Sardinian, mother of Iglesias, father of Olbia. The international magazines, millions and millions of visitors in a few hours, have relaunched the project that the Mask Architects studio conceived like a tsunami, drawing inspiration from Nivola's greatest work, “ La Madre ”. A design revolution that the most accredited commentators compare to the architectural advent of the great friend of “Antine”, the great Le Corbusier.

Three-dimensional steel

The first impact is futuristic. On a more careful and reasoned reading, the identity of the project, the architectural and artistic lines, the extraordinarily effective design and above all the conceptual innovation of the realization emerge with a disruptive force. The project that Danilo Petta and his studio presented to the international scientific community is the first structure in the world printed in 3D, in steel. In practice, modular houses for visitors to the Nivola Museum, tourists and artists who will go to Orani, the birthplace of the great Sardinian master. The name of the project that has jumped to the honors of specialized world magazines is emblematic: “Exosteel Mother Nature”. "Mother Nature ExoAcciaio" is the first architecture and design model in the world to use a construction system with a 3D printed steel "exoskeleton" that supports and distributes all the elements of the building, using an unprecedented construction technique that has taken the name of "Exosteel".

From Bulgari to Orani

To tell it is Danilo Petta, architect by birth, life as a designer, Sardinian without borders. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just appointed him 2021 Ambassador of Italian Design in the world and from this year he is among the top 40 designers in Europe. By profession he designs the "very precious" watches of the "Bulgari", one of the greatest powers in the world in the field of thousand and one nights jewelry, now, combining the modernity of design with the charm of identity, he has signed a project that many already consider it revolutionary. His words recount the journey undertaken to cross a hitherto unexplored horizon: «For us it was an exciting challenge. We never expected an international response of this magnitude for a project on which we worked so hard to bring together civil structural engineering, industrial design and architecture. A work that we wanted to dedicate to the land of Sardinia, capable of opening up to the world and reaching the most modern horizons, just like the Master of Orani did ».

Sardinian identity

«At the basis of everything - says Petta - we put the artistic and cultural identity of Nivola, with his extraordinary work of“ La Madre ”. We used those unique and extraordinary artistic traits to create the most modern and innovative that could be conceived, starting with the first building that could be created with a three-dimensional steel print ». Everything is based on a steel “exoskeleton”, following the artistic and identity line of Nivola's most important work. «In this project for Orani, using the most modern techniques, we tried to harmonize the two different concepts of Nature and Mother. We want our housing modules to be able to open and bring communities together, as well as create some sort of artistic influence throughout the design. Orani can become a world icon, to be admired from afar, as well as from within the country, as a display of works of art and monuments. Our ambition is to draw similarity from the Mother Nature of the great master Nivola ». The project, which is making people talk about Orani and Sardinia in the world, was conceived to become a "living point of reference", in connection with the local heritage, starting with the Nivola Museum.

Livable museum

«We think - says Danilo Petta - of this project as a new architectural element for the social, exhibition, housing and tourist areas of Orani. A combination of livable space and sociable space, distributed on the different levels of the ground and in various modules ». The objective is summarized: «We aim to integrate architecture, art and technology in this livable museum project. Our goal is to preserve and protect the heritage of Orani, give the great value it deserves to Costantino Nivola and his work and continue his legacy using modern techniques and our style integrated into the design ». Each building has been designed as "self-sustainable" and can also provide energy resources to the city grid. At the center of each building there will be an "Energy Tower" which will provide all the natural electricity generated by the sun and the wind of Barbagia. Will it ever come true? For now, next September 28 in Amsterdam we start planning the construction of a prototype of reduced dimensions, then we'll see.

Prototype in Amsterdam

The agreement has already been reached with the Dutch MX3D, a robotic laboratory capable of printing steel in three-dimensional form. The project was conceived for a slope of Orani, using the natural scenery of the town. The history, the lessons and the artistic and innovative evolution of the great illuminati, Nivola and Le Corbusier, therefore, travel once again at the highest international levels.

World Tour

The most prestigious architecture magazines in the world, from World Architecture to Design Boom, from Amazing Architecture to Wired, have for days been talking only about Orani and Sardinia. An international stage for a cutting-edge project. Now it is up to the institutions to evaluate. The "suites" of "Mother Nature", identifying and extraordinarily innovative, were conceived and designed for Orani but, if they are not built in Sardinia, they will follow in the distant footsteps of Antine Nivola, an artist of the world, without borders.

© Riproduzione riservata