Mirko Zardini
Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design
Department of Urban Planning and Design
Mirko Zardini is the director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), in Montreal, a post which he has occupied since 2005. An architect, his writings and design projects engage the transformation of contemporary architecture and its relationship with the city and landscape. Prominent themes in his work include sensorial conceptions of urbanism, the place of the individual with the city, and the often-ambiguous limits of technological progress and economic growth. Mirko Zardini received his degree in Architecture from the Instituto Universitario di Architettura di'Venezia in 1980, and worked in the office of Giancarlo DeCarlo. From 1990-2002, he practiced in Milan and Lugano with Lukas Meyer. In 2004, he won the international competition for the Giardini diPorta Nuova in Milan, with Petra Blaisse (Inside Outside), Michael Maltzan, Irma Boom, Piet Oudolf, and Rob Kustler. Between 1983 and 1999, Zardini served as editor of Casabella and Lotus International and authored a number of publications, including Annahernd perfekte Peripherie (An almost perfect periphery; 2001), and Paesaggi ibridi: Un viaggio nella citta contemporanea (1996). His articles have appeared in journals including Lotus International, Casabella, ANY, Archis, and El Croquis.. In 2003, Asfalto, the result of his research on the role of asphalt in the urban experience was published and exhibited at the Milan Triennalle. Under his direction, in collaboration with Giovanna Borasi, the CCA has undertaken a series of thematic exhibitions and publications which have explored topical economic, social and political issues related to architecture and urbanism, including Actions: What You Can Do with the City (2008-09), Sorry, Out of Gas: Architecture's Response to the 1973 Oil Crisis (2007-08), Sense of the City (2005-06), and Out of the Box: Price, Rossi, Stirling and Matta-Clark (2003-04).