The architecture studio Alvisi Kirimoto takes center stage in the new monograph “Alvisi Kirimoto: Selected Architecture 2012–2025”, published by Forma Edizioni. The volume marks the launch of the “Progressive. Sections on Italian Architecture” series, an editorial project designed to explore the multifaceted dimensions of contemporary Italian architecture by spotlighting some of the most influential figures on the national scene.


Founded in the early 2000s in Rome by Massimo Alvisi and Junko Kirimoto, the studio fuses Italian and Japanese sensibilities, crafting a distinctive design philosophy that blends methodological rigor with bold experimentation, to form a unique entity in the contemporary architectural landscape.




Over two decades, Alvisi Kirimoto has delivered projects spanning architecture, urban planning, interior design and product design, with a particular focus on harmony with nature and addressing social issues.


The firm’s work, recognized with numerous international awards, is celebrated for its ability to balance contextual respect with the pursuit of essentiality, creating spaces designed to evolve over time.

The pocket-sized book (15.5 x 22.5 cm) spans 168 pages wrapped in a bold coral-red cover—a recurring theme in several of the firm’s projects.
It offers a comprehensive chronicle of the studio’s evolution, showcasing 13 defining works completed between 2012 and 2025.
Following an introductory essay by architect Maurizio Carones, the book features a critical analysis by architectural historian and critic Valerio Paolo Mosco, who explores Alvisi Kirimoto’s bespoke design methodology and its deep-rooted connection with the specificities of place.


“This monograph was conceived to share our design approach with a broad and diverse audience. It’s not just about documenting our work but offering insights into how we envision architecture. Each project, from the earliest to the most recent, narrates a process that transcends the materiality of architecture, responding to the context and to the people who inhabit the space. Our projects are designed to endure and transform in harmony with their environment and users.”
–– says Massimo Alvisi, co-founder of the studio

The book showcases some of Alvisi Kirimoto’s most iconic works, including the Molino Casillo headquarters and the Municipal Theater of Corato (2012), the Affordable Housing complex in Viale Giulini, Apulia (2020), the Chicago Office Headquarters (2018), the Podernuovo Winery in Palazzone (2013), and the ABF Academy of Music “Franco Corelli” of Camerino (2020). It also features recent projects such as the LUISS University Pavilion “The Dome” in Rome (2022), Villa K in Northern Italy (2022), Villa S in Sardinia (2023), the “Rivoluzione Vedova” exhibition at the M9 – Museum of the 20th Century in Venice Mestre (2023), and the Spazio Antonioni museum dedicated to Michelangelo Antonioni in Ferrara (2024).


Rounding out the selection are ongoing projects like the Tenuta Stampino in Liguria and the Nexum Directional Park in Rome, offering a rare glimpse into the studio’s future endeavors. Each project is illustrated through detailed data sheets featuring technical information, analytical texts curated by Valerio Paolo Mosco, and a rich collection of photographs and drawings, providing readers with a comprehensive and immersive explorations of the studio’s creative and construction processes.

The bilingual edition (Italian and English) further enhances the volume’s accessibility, serving as a cultural bridge between the Italian context and the global stage. It is aimed at a diverse audience of professionals, students, and architecture enthusiasts alike.
Through a carefully curated selection of works, the monograph retraces the firm’s history, illuminating its methods and processes while celebrating a balanced approach to space—one that harmonizes simplicity with elegance, and clarity with beauty.


Biography & Profile
Alvisi Kirimoto is an international practice that works in the field of architecture, urban planning and design.
Founded by Massimo Alvisi and Junko Kirimoto in 2002, the firm stands out for its sartorial approach to design, “sensitive” use of technology and control of space, starting from The Hands Work – the manipulation of “sheets of paper”. Dialogue with nature, urban regeneration and attention to social issues make its projects unique in the international architectural scene.

By merging Italian and Japanese sensibilities, the office has carried out numerous projects in and beyond Italy. These include the Medlac Pharma industrial plant in Hanoi, Vietnam (2011); the Incà complex of small and medium industries in Barletta (2010), the new Molino Casillo headquarters (2012) and the restoration of the Teatro Comunale di Corato (2012) in Puglia; the refurbishment of the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg (2013); the Podernuovo Winery in Palazzone, Tuscany (2013); the executive offices for a private client on the 32nd floor of a skyscraper in the heart of Chicago (2018); the Auditorium (2018) and the reconstruction of a new Pavilion called “The Dome” (2022) within the LUISS Guido Carli Campus in Rome; the training spaces within Whittle Studios shopping centers in Nanjing and Shanghai in China (2019); the social housing complex Viale Giulini Affordable Housing in Barletta, Puglia (2020); the renovation of Casa C, an apartment in Rome (2020); the Camerino Academy of Music for the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, Marche (2020); the renovation of an artist’s loft overlooking the Colosseum in Rome (2021); the restoration and expansion of Villa K, a historic farmhouse in the Langhe, Piedmont (2018); Rai News 24 television studios in Rome (2022); the design of the exhibitions “Emilio Vedova” curated by Germano Celant in Palazzo Reale’s Sala delle Cariatidi, Milan, and “Rivoluzione Vedova” at the M9 – Museum of the 20th century in Mestre, Venice; the realization of Villa S, a villa surrounded by a park in Porto Rotondo, Sardinia (2023). In addition to this, the firm collaborated with OMA as Executive and Local Architect at the Prada Foundation project in Milan (2015).

Alvisi Kirimoto has won international competitions and prizes, such as the 2012 AIT Award for the Teatro dell’Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples and the International Architecture Award 2021 of The Chicago Athenaeum for the Camerino Academy of Music for the Andrea Bocelli Foundation for the Museums and cultural buildings section. The Viale Giulini Affordable Housing project in Barletta, Puglia, won the Best Residential Architecture award at the BigSEE Architecture Award 2021, the In / Arch Puglia and Basilicata 2020 Award for new construction projects, a nomination for the EU Mies van der Rohe Award in 2021 and an honorable mention at the Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Award in 2022. The Chicago Executive Offices won Interior Design Magazine’s Best of Year Awards in 2019, the Recognizing Exemplary Design (RED) Award from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and the Global Design & Architecture Design Awards for the Interior Corporate Building category. Casa B + B and Casa C recently won the Best Project 2021 award. With “The Dome” project, in 2023 the firm has won several awards, including IN/ARCH Lazio, IN/ARCH Nazionale, and the Architecture MasterPrize. In addition to this, the studio won the Ischia International Architecture Award (PIDA) for Lifetime Achievement in 2022.
The office participated in the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2012, in 2016 and in the latest edition (2018) and was called upon by Italian Pavilion curator Mario Cucinella join the scientific committee to support the research and contribute to the exhibition with the Podernuovo Winery in Palazzone, Tuscany. Created for Giovanni and Paolo Bulgari, the project was a finalist for the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture (2015) and won the Plan International award (2015), the first edition of the Tuscany Architecture Award (2017) and Special Prize at the XII edition of the Fassa Bortolo International Sustainable Architecture Award (2017). In 2019 and 2023, the firm participated in the Biennale di Architettura di Pisa dedicated respectively to the themes of “The Time of Water” and “The Shared City”.
Alvisi Kirimoto’s works have been compiled in two monographs, published by The Plan/Maggioli (2023) and Hachette (2020) and widely published in national and international magazines. These include Architectural Record and The Plan, which respectively feature its project for the headquarters of a private client in Chicago on the cover of the September and December 2018 issues, Abitare, AD, Casabella, Domus, ELLE Decor, INTERNI, Living, Surface, The Plan, YAPI, Il Corriere della Sera, Il Messaggero, L’Espresso, and La Repubblica. The office is involved in various urban regeneration and restoration projects in and beyond Italy, including the redevelopment of the historic center of Hanoi and the strategic guidelines for the Battipaglia urban plan, the feasibility study and urban regeneration of Chianciano Terme in Tuscany.
Among the various works in progress we mention: a project, won following an international competition, of a kindergarten, civic center, library and park in Grottaperfetta, in the southern outskirts of Rome; the construction of a management complex in Via Laurentina in Rome; the construction of the Colosseum Service Center; the design of a stage for concerts and events in the Basilica of Maxentius and the construction of the information center of the Centocelle Park Enhancement of Roman Villas, also in the capital; the redevelopment of the entrance to the Archaeological Area of the Port of Trajan in the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica – Fiumicino; the consolidation, restoration and extraordinary maintenance works of the Cinema Massimo, L’Aquila; the construction of the IPSIA Renzo Frau professional institute in San Ginesio, Marche, and the ABF Educational Center pilot project within the Meyer Pediatric Hospital in Florence, both with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation; the urban regeneration project of the ex-Macrico area in Caserta; the redevelopment of the social housing complex in Via Castagna in Casoria, Naples; the masterplan of Montespaccato (Municipality XIII), Rome, within the urban regeneration program “15 municipalities, 15 projects for the “15-Minute City Project”; the Michelangelo Antonioni Space at the Pavilion of Contemporary Art in Ferrara; a research and development center in Oderzo in the province of Treviso; the refurbishment and expansion of the Vecchia Romagna cellars in San Lazzaro di Savena, in the province of Bologna.

MASSIMO ALVISI
Massimo Alvisi was born in Barletta in 1967 and graduated in Architecture from Florence University with honors in 1994, having undertaken an international thesis in collaboration with the École d’Architecture de La Villette. During his time at university he received a one-year scholarship to Darmstadt, Germany where he studied environmental sustainability with Thomas Herzog. Massimo Alvisi was Design Architect for the Renzo Piano Building Workshop from 1995 to 2002, through to the completion of the Parco della Musica Auditorium in Rome. In 2002, he founded Rome-based Alvisi Kirimoto together with Junko Kirimoto. Massimo Alvisi deals with architectural planning, paying particular attention to the urban and social spheres. He has been a technical consultant for Casa Italia and a tutor for the G124 Project dedicated to “the mending of the peripheries”. He taught in the Urban History course at the Faculty of Building Engineering and Architecture of the Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata (2014-2016), and in the “Architecture of Regeneration” course at the YACademy of Bologna (2018-2021). He has held seminars, workshops and lectures all over the world, including “Working in the Urban Periphery” at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (2018).
JUNKO KIRIMOTO
Junko Kirimoto was born in Japan in 1970 and graduated in Architecture from Kyoto Seika university in 1992. Her thesis earned her the Golden Thesis Award from the JIA – the Japan Institute of Architects. She has collaborated with several architects, including Shin Takamatsu, Kazuyo Sejima and Massimiliano Fuksas. In 2002, she founded Rome-based Alvisi Kirimoto together with Massimo Alvisi. Her cultural identity manifests in her attention to detail, design rigor and minimalist approach. She has led and still directs numerous projects, mainly related to the spheres of interior and industrial design. These include Whittle Studios in Nanjing and Shanghai, in collaboration with the Renzo Piano’s Building Workshop, and the Foldable Layers furniture design project.
Facts & Credits
Monograph Title Alvisi Kirimoto. Selected Architecture 2012-2025
Series Title Progressive. Sections on Italian Architecture
Typology Book presentation
Publisher Forma Edizioni, Florence 2024
Editions Italian and English (translation within the same volume)
Page number 168
Book Format 15,5 x 22,5 cm
Series Introduction Maurizio Carones
Texts (Main article and Project Data sheet) Valerio Paolo Mosco
Sponsors BUROMilan, Capoferri, Ecofast, Edilbari, Podernuovo a Palazzone by Giovanni Bulgari
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