Bertoni & Associati

Riccardo Bertoni is the creator and principal of Bertoni & Associates, based in Florence, Italy. He established the firm in 1980. Immediately after, in 1981, he travelled widely in the United States and South America, to research design practices with Thomas Gordon Smith, Daniel Salomon, Oscar Niemeyer and at Skidmore Owings and Merrill. Bertoni & Associates have designed buildings in Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco and the United States. Completed works include interior design projects, new residences, renovations, office buildings and apartment complexes. He has also collaborated with Mario Botta and Paolo Portoghesi. From the beginning, Bertoni designs have been infuenced by three basic elements: context, proportion and materials. For context, Bertoni thoroughly analyzes the aesthetics and history of a building's site. His sense of proportion reflects his great love for the clean lines and spatial relationships developed in the Renaissance, particularly by Alberti and Brunelleschi. The materials favored by Bertoni are characteristic of local traditions and resources. To Bertoni, a successful design depends on the sensitive integration of these essential ingredients to create a sense of purity and strength. Bertoni has been a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore, and he has lectured at California State University and Syracuse University. He has been member of the examination commission at the Creapole architecture school of Paris. He has also taught at the University of Architecture in Florence.