Renowned architect, theorist, academic, historian, and well-regarded professor passed away on the 30th of May at the age of 92.
Paolo Portoghesi was the first president of the architectural section of the Venice Biennale (1979–1992). In 1980, he spearheaded the creation of the first Venice Architecture Biennale for which he presented submissions from some of the world’s most prominent architects, including Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Robert Venturi, and Denise Scott Brown. He was dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano University (1968–1978). Portoghesi opened an architectural practice with architect-engineer Vittorio Gigliotti in Rome in 1964.
Casa Papanice (1966 -1970), the Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre in Rome (1984-95), the Renaissance district in the Talenti Park in Rome (2001) and Politeama Theater of Catanzaro (2002), and the Strasbourg Mosque (2012) are among his most famous architectural works.
Paolo Portoghesi has been described as a pioneer of Italy’s post-modernist movement drawing inspiration from the works of Victor
Horta and Frank Lloyd Wright. He incorporated neorealism and the Liberty style, instilling his architectural creations with a blend of tradition and innovation. His designs combined geometry with organic shapes to produce a remarkable and unique type of structure.
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