I Giardini di Gabriel Asnières-sur-Seine, France

Alfonso Femia’s principle of “the right to the material” comes through loud and clear in the two winning projects. Meanwhile, in the Asnières-sur-Seine residential complex, the ceramic covering helps to cement the decoration’s role as an expressive component of the overall design. Ceramic is used for the top of the buildings, with the colour changing based on the seasons and the time of day. The window frames - some designed by the artist Danilo Trogu - interact with the brick facade, like happy “harmonious counterpoints”.

The ceramic material, in its unique 3D diamond version, is used at Dallara to cover the vertical cones that stick out like dynamic landmarks in the Parma countryside.