The cathedrals of energy

With more than a hundred images the exhibition “The cathedrals of energy. Architecture, industry and landscape in the images by Francesco Radino and the Aem Historical Archives” describes the buildings, places and architectures of Aem, the energy company all dedicated to the production of energy in Italy from North to South. 

  The exhibition is devised and promoted by the Aem Foundation – A2A Group, and is curated by Francesco Radino and Fabrizio Trisoglio. It is laid out in two closely connected sections that highlight two views, two periods, and recall the history of the “energy cathedrals” from the early twentieth century until today.

Overall, the group of images shows a variety of buildings that are mostly characterized by historical or modern elements. For example, the hydroelectric plant of Raosco, designed by Piero Portaluppi, that reminds the viewer of a medieval castle, the power plants from Grosotto and Fraele, of a Neo-renaissance and a Neo-romantic kind. Also, we can find an obvious hint at the Gothic style in the thermal power plant of Monfalcone, with its wide naves, that brings up the theme of “cathedrals” from the title of the exhibition. More modern, geometrical – linked to an alternation between full and empty volumes – examples are the south transmission substation of Milan and the hydroelectric plant of Calusia in Calabria, designed by Giovanni Muzio. 

Francesco Radino in 2016, illustrates the iconic buildings of Aem, the new examples of the architecture of A2A Group, tracing the long path – testimony of contemporaneity – that goes from the power plants of Valtellina to Friuli and from the waste-to-energy plants of Lombardy to the splendid reservoirs of Calabria.

until 27 January 2017
The cathedrals of energy
curated by Francesco Radino and Fabrizio Trisoglio
Casa dell’Energia e dell’Ambiente
piazza Po 3, Milan, Italy