Source: Thrive Global

Official article excerpt:

The winning combination of art and architecture: Cesare Catania

“Think about Paris… close your eyes… What are you thinking now? What is the first iconic building that comes to your mind when thinking of France? But…. Let’s face it: is it a building … or is it a sculpture? “
This is how the artist and civil engineer Cesare Catania describes Paris and the Eiffel Tower.
” Every city should have its own iconic building “continues Cesare” a structure that is not only aesthetically surprising, but something that makes people proud to be a citizen of that country “. … Not only for aesthetic purposes but above all for social purposes.

In a recent interview, Cesare Catania, often nicknamed” The modern Leonardo da Vinci “for his aptitude for engineering and artistic sciences, delves into the theme of the links between Art and Architecture, also referring to modern technology in construction skills such as the ancient era of freedom of architects in design.

The Parthenon in Athens (Greece), is one of the greatest examples where art and architecture combine to form a powerful symbol of what was ideal in the ancient Greek world. The question is: the people of modern Athens are proud today d Is this artistic building designed by the architect and sculptor Phidias 2,500 years ago?

Let’s now turn to the Italian Renaissance a couple of millennia later. Michelangelo had no formal training as an architect. First, a sculptor, believed that the inherent beauty of great art and architecture should be viewed from infinite angles.

In addition to classical ideals such as proportion, harmony and symmetry, Michelangelo considered light and shadow that i his contemporaries did not.

The structure and decorative details were of equal importance to him, so the freedom to combine art and architecture prevailed in his masterpieces, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Medici Chapel and the Library Laurentian. Can we say that these artistic buildings will be considered works of art forever?

Nowadays, according to Cesare Catania, art blends with architecture in new construction projects. “We are entering an era in which architecture tends towards a new golden age; many of us think that we tend to the future but for me we are definitely invoking the past ”… Catania continues referring to the ancient figure or to those“ artist-architects ”who were able to design buildings that were and will be mentioned as” pieces of art “forever.

“Some of the best examples of modern art buildings are the Tête Carré in Nice (France) and the Golden Bridge in Vietnam. One cannot really distinguish the architectural value from the artistic one. “explains Catania.

In this sense, looking at the new projects of the last 10 years, we can certainly say that the usual city skylines are changing their concepts of square thanks to the imagination of our modern architects, modern design software and the inseparable collaboration between artists and architects on the same project. The result will be an aesthetic as well as a social change for all of us.