Pier Carlo Bontempi (born 1954) is an Italian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He is a representative of

New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...

and

New Classical Architecture New Classical architecture, also known as New Classicism or Contemporary Classical architecture, is a Contemporary architecture, contemporary movement that builds upon the principles of Classical architecture. It is sometimes considered the mode ...

, with a particular emphasis on urban context and the continuity of architectural traditions. Bontempi was awarded the 12th

Driehaus Architecture Prize The Driehaus Architecture Prize, fully named The Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame, is a global award to honor a major contributor in the field of contemporary traditional and classical architecture. The Driehaus Prize was ...

at a ceremony in the Murphy Auditorium of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on March 29, 2014. Bontempi's office is located close to the town of

Collecchio Collecchio (Parmigiano dialect, Parmigiano: ) is a town in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located by road southwest of the centre of Parma. A major food-producing area, it is home to multinational Italian dairy and fo ...

Province of Parma The province of Parma () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma. It is made up of 47 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It has an area of and a total population of aro ...

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, Italy. His studio works on new traditional architecture include restoration, rebuilding and town planning, with award-winning urban old town developments in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, the ''Place de Toscane'' and the ''Quartier du Lac'' resort in

Val d'Europe Val d'Europe (; ) is the easternmost sector (''Sector IV'') of the Planned_community#France, new town of Marne-la-Vallée, located around to the east of Paris, France. It was built as part of a Public–private partnership, public–private par ...

Career

Bontempi studied architecture at the

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

. During his career, he has subsequently taught at the Architecture Faculty of Florence, the

École Spéciale d'Architecture The École spéciale d'architecture (ÉSA; formerly École centrale d'architecture) is a private school for architecture at 254, boulevard Raspail in Paris, France. The diploma from the École spéciale d'architecture (DESA), recognized by the St ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Abroad Center in Florence, the ''State Academy of Art and Design '' in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, and the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

’ Foundation for Building Community in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

He collaborates with the architects

Massimo Gandini Massimo () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss-based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist * Massimo Agostini (born 1964), Italian football man ...

, Giuseppe Greci,

Fabio Paoletti Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented in Portuguese as ''Fábio'' (with t ...

, Matteo Casola, Nicola Bergamaschi and Maria Cristina Celato. Bontempi won the architectural competition for the recovery plan of urban blocks in the historic center of

(1981-1987). In the year 1996, Bontempi received his second award at the international ''Marsham Street Urban Design Competition'' in London. He was also awarded the ''Prix Européen de la Reconstruction de la Ville'' in 1998, by the ''Fondation Philippe Rotthier pour l'Architecture de Bruxelles'' in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 2000, Bontempi was the ''John Burgee Annual Lecturer'' at the

Notre Dame School of Architecture The University of Notre Dame School of Architecture is the architecture school at the University of Notre Dame. It was the first Catholic university in America to offer a degree in architecture, beginning in 1898. History Architecture as a discip ...

, USA. In June 2001, the architect received a ''Charter Award'' at the Congress for the New Urbanism's annual conference ("CNU IX", New York). In 2002, he won the competition for the building of ''Place de Toscane'' in

, a project which has won the 2008

Palladio Award The Palladio Award is an architectural prize given annually for "creative interpretation or adaptation of design principles developed through 2,500 years of the Western architectural tradition". The Awards, in several categories, are presented by ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, USA. In 2014, Bontempi was awarded the international

for ''"a career of achievement in the art of

traditional architecture A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

"''. The prize is awarded to ''"a living architect whose work embodies the highest ideals of traditional and classical architecture in contemporary society, and creates a positive cultural, environmental and artistic impact"''.

References

External links

Pier Carlo Bontempi websiteBontempi at Bevan & Liberatos
- February 12, 2014
Interview with Bontempi at wttw
- March 27, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bontempi, Pier Carlo 1954 births Living people New Urbanism New Classical architects Driehaus Architecture Prize winners 21st-century Italian architects University of Florence alumni Academic staff of the University of Florence Syracuse University faculty

Career

Further reading

References

External links