Past Present Future: Simone Sfriso

Simone Sfriso and fellow TAM partners Massimo Lepore and Raul Pantaleo founded TAMassociati in Venice in 1996. Since then TAM has opened branch offices in Bologna and Trieste. Sfriso, like his fellow partners, studied at IUAV, the Università Iuav di Venezia. TAM's three offices focus on "taking care in architecture" by working with pro-bono associations and volunteer organizations, and with foundations and NGOs on projects in the Global South. Watch the short videos for insight on the past, present, and future of TAMassociati or visit the "Past, Present, Future" website to read a transcript of Itinerant Office's interview with Sfriso.

Like many architecture firms, one of TAM's first commissions was a competition win. Sfriso recounts how, oddly, the jury focused on the negative: the red cubes that were reminiscent of Bernard Tschumi's folies at Parc de la Villette in Paris. Nevertheless, the jury saw the potential, awarded them the project, and told them to build upon the "mistakes."

In 2016, one year before these interviews, TAM took its approach to "social architecture" and extended it into the curatorial realm, with the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. TAKING CARE – Designing for the Common Good presented "architecture as a social art and an instrument in the service of the community" through 20 examples of "outer city living" and 5 "projects for joint action."

To Sfriso, TAM will continue developing the themes it applied to the Venice Architecture Biennale, since he sees their importance continuing for the next 10 or 15 years. Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of public space, the spaces where people meet — "spaces of dignity, legality, and inclusion."

"Past, Present, Future" is a project curated by Gianpiero Venturini, founder of Itinerant Office, with the support of the Creative Industries Fund NL and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Rome. World-Architects is proud to be a media partner of the project.