Architectural Identities, Contemporary Italian Architecture series - Giulia De Appolonia.
Forma Edizioni presents a new architecture series on contemporary architectural identities—a publishing project aimed at highlighting the richness and diversity of contemporary Italian architecture. The series offers
concise monographs on some of the most compelling Italian professionals, through a collection of bilingual volumes that showcase exemplary and thoughtful design work. Each book features essays, project sheets, and critical apparatuses, providing a concise yet structured overview of both research and professional practice.
“Architectural Identities – Contemporary Italian Architecture”reflects the intention to closely follow the evolution of Italian architecture, characterized by its deep-rooted connection to tradition and, at the same time, by its capacity to engage with a range of contemporary scenarios. This is fostered in part through international exchanges and dialogue, which generate renewed and relevant lines of inquiry.
In this sense, the sections on Italian architecture offer distinct perspectives—often partial—rooted in specific professional experiences, whether tied to a particular period of activity or focused on a specific theme. They are, in a way, progressive sections: technical representations used in road design, applied where a significant variation in linear development occurs.
Giulia De Appolonia's work is frequently praised by critics for expressing “a Renaissance sense of volume,” a testament to her ability to craft spaces that balance clarity, mass, and light with intellectual and material precision. De Appolonia’s professional path has been shaped by an early and formative collaboration with João Luís Carrilho da Graça, a master of the Portuguese architectural school, in Lisbon. This experience laid the foundation for a design approach rooted in rigor, sensitivity to context, and an acute awareness of materiality. Upon returning to Italy, she established her own independent practice, dedicating herself primarily to public architecture on a significant scale—museums, libraries, schools, and sports facilities—while also engaging deeply with the restoration and adaptive reuse of protected monumental heritage.
Her built works stand out for their elegant compositional restraint and the dialog they establish with both landscape and urban environment. Notable among them is the Viva Ciência Center in Bragança, Portugal, a science museum awarded first prize through an international competition and praised for its synthesis of innovation and environmental responsibility. Equally emblematic is the Sports Hall of Olgiate Olona near Milan, where her attention to structural clarity and material contrast creates a space that is both functional and emotionally resonant. This monograph traces De Appolonia’s evolving vision across two decades of practice, offering insight into a body of work that continues to redefine the role of public architecture in fostering civic identity, spatial quality, and sustainability.
