Umberto Napolitano
LAN – Local Architecture Network, France
In 2002, Umberto Napolitano and his colleague Benoît Jallon founded the architectural firm LAN – Local Architecture Network. The basic principle of their practice is to explore architecture as a discipline at the intersection of several fields: social, urban, functional, and design. They have received numerous international awards for their work and innovative solutions in the field of sustainable urban development (International Architecture Awards Chicago Athenaeum 2014, 2009; Re-thinking the Future, 2014; BIGMAT 13, 2013; Architectural Review, 2010; Archi-Bau, 2009). Their projects were published this year in a separate monograph entitled Traces by the architectural publishing house Actar. They are guest lecturers at European architecture schools, including the Technical University of Graz, the University of Rome, and the Berlage Institute in Amsterdam.