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Bernard Tschumi's First Project in Italy Blocked, Future Remains Uncertain

Bernard Tschumi's First Project in Italy Blocked, Future Remains Uncertain

Bernard Tschumi’s first project in Italy appears to be on hold—if it is not dead altogether. The regional Superintendence for Architecture and Landscape Heritage has blocked plans for the architect’s cultural center, called “ANIMA”, which was scheduled to open in Grottammare in 2017. The announcement about the plan’s fate was made the same day a retrospective on Tschumi’s work opened at the Pompidou Center in Paris—a retrospective that includes ANIMA, which stands for arts, nature, music, action.

Tschumi’s perfectly square structure is encased in a white concrete facade that has varied, recessed openings to filter in light and serve as entrances. According to the firm, the exterior has a presence that is both simple and striking. Inside the roughly 100,000-square-foot space there are four interior courtyards, which accommodate various cultural programming as hinted by the structure’s name.

“All the different functional spaces will orbit around a central very large core: the heart of the structure, which will consist of a single ambience able to accommodate 1,500 seats that can be divided and used as a flexible and adaptable space,” explained Tschumi Architects in a statement.

For now, however, the building’s future remains uncertain.


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