Career confidence: Giuila, the first Gloria e Marco scholar

The Gloria and Marco (GeM) Award is a three-month scholarship set up in memory of Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi, two young and talented Italian architects who tragically died in the fire at Grenfell Tower in London. Giulia Pannocchia, the first GeM scholar, updates us on the impact of the Award on her career so far. 

My terrific experience in the UK as the first Gloria and Marco Award scholar started in August 2018. Following the scholarship, I had the opportunity to spend a further three months in London working for Peregrine Bryant Architects (PBA), and as soon as I moved back to Italy, I attended the announcement of the GeM Scholar 2019 at the Palladio’s Villa Saraceno, one of the Italian properties belonging to the Landmark Trust.

During my short time in Italy wondering about my future as an architect, I worked on the conservation of a private apartment in my hometown. After that I felt ready to start a new adventure abroad, so last summer I moved to Berlin to work for an architectural office called Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, an international practice founded in 1984 by Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano in Madrid. I joined the team that is currently working on the restoration and extension of the Archaeological Museum in Munich, the central museum of prehistory of the State of Bavaria.

The Archäologischen Staatssammlung was designed between 1972 and 1975 by Helmut von Werz, Johann-Christoph Ottow, Erhard Bachmann and Michel Marx in reinforced concrete. Helmut von Werz is considered one of the great architects of the reconstruction of Munich after the Second World War and he left a lasting imprint on the city during his life. The existing museum complex hosts exhibition rooms, conservation workshops, administration areas and is composed of six cubes of different sizes, staggered in depth and height. Particularly impressive is the façade of the museum, made of Corten steel cladding panels, which over time have developed their matt brown patina. Nowadays, all facades of the existing building are in need of repair that will take into careful consideration the original ideas of Helmut von Werz.

Nieto Sobejano won the competition in 2014 with a hidden underground extension that consists of a 700 sqm annexe for temporary exhibitions, which aims to respect the original building. The architectonic composition of the existing volumes is further developed in the new building: the new exhibition hall will be constructed underneath the previously open space, emulating the structural scheme of the existing fabric but avoiding the use of columns. At the ground level, a garden will be created on the roof of the new exhibition space, where the only visible signs of the new underground addition will be the three skylight volumes to guarantee natural light. The cladding of the skylight cubes and the new entrance will use Corten steel, corresponding to the facades of the existing building.

Working on this project is a big challenge and I am trying to keep in mind all the things I learnt during my academic studies, during my conservation-focussed GeM scholarship and work experience in the UK. Both the Award and the time in the PBA office were extremely important to me for my professional development, and for that I am very grateful to PBA, the SPAB and all the professionals who decided to be part of the Award. Thanks to them I feel more confident and aware about architecture and I am glad to know that, through the Gloria e Marco Award, the same opportunity will be given to many other young Italian architects.

Images: GeM Scholars Giulia and Federica (credit PBA); Munich Archaeological Museum (credit Haag); scheme for Munich Archaeological Museum (credit Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos). 

To find out more and donate to the GeM award, visit our webpage. You can hear more from Guilia on her GeM experience and read our news piece on Federica's completion of the 2019 Award.