location: Torino, IT
when: 2021
status: completed

A shaded colored wooden structure to accommodate the Casa del Quartiere activities, in San Salvario, Turin, Italy.

The project has taken care the various parameters necessary to respect the various associative, pedagogical, recreational and commercial activities present within the CdQ.

Realized through a workshop open to the population, the project was financed through public fundraising.

Project by GRRIZ / Luigi GRECO & Mattia Paco RIZZI with the precious help of Giulia CERRATO, Martina CAVIGGIOLO, Jacopo BERNATTI.

KAPIA is a micro-architecture designed to transform a simple point of passage into a space for pause, observation and reflection.
The installation is situated on the Sainte-Thérèse du Québec footbridge, along the Promenade du Thiou in Annecy, and was created within the framework of Annecy Paysages 2025.

The project emerged from an existing spatial condition: two fixed benches located at the centre of the bridge discreetly invited a moment of rest.
We chose to build upon this latent potential by designing an architectural structure that would frame the space, offer shelter, and heighten one’s perceptual engagement with the surrounding environment.

Entirely constructed in Douglas fir, the structure draws inspiration from the kapia found in traditional Ottoman bridges across the Balkans — small architectural pauses situated at the heart of bridges, historically conceived as places for dialogue, exchange, and temporary rest.

The canopy is fully clad in mirrored dibond, a reflective composite that captures and reprojects the colours of the sky, the ambient light, and the flowing waters of the Thiou river below.
These mirrored surfaces generate shifting, almost painterly reflections, responding to weather, light and movement, and introducing a kinetic, expressionist quality to the intervention.

The geometry of the structure is deliberately minimal and lightweight.
It rests delicately on the existing infrastructure, establishing a reversible relationship with the bridge, without compromising its formal clarity or circulatory function.
The choice of a coral-toned finish creates a subtle chromatic resonance with the surrounding natural and urban context, standing out without overpowering the site.

KAPIA is a functional sculpture — a suspended threshold, open to all, belonging to none.
It is a shared, in-between space for sitting, reading, and reconnecting with the landscape.
It invites passersby to slow down, to dwell, and to experience public space as something porous, generous, and alive.

The work was realised following an invitation from curator David Moinard, and with the production and organizational support of Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy, whom we thank for their trust and attentiveness throughout the process.

KAPIA is part of the Annecy Paysages 2025 programme — a festival that each summer reimagines the city as a living landscape, calling on artists, architects and designers to propose new ways of inhabiting the urban and the natural through sensitive, site-specific creation.

KAPIA
Annecy, 2025
Commissioned by: Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy
Festival: Annecy Paysages 2025
Curator: David Moinard
Location: Sainte-Thérèse du Québec footbridge, Promenade du Thiou, Annecy
Materials: Painted Douglas fir, mirrored dibond
Dimensions: 7.60 × 4 × 2.50 m
Photography: Wilfrid Bof
Design: GRRIZ
Building team : Alberto Osello, Mattia Paco Rizzi

Exhibition Design for the 25th Anniversary of UNIDEE Residency Programs

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of UNIDEE Residency Programs by Fondazione Pistoletto, GRRIZ Studio was commissioned to design and execute the exhibition layout. The project prioritized the use of reclaimed materials, sourced from Cittadellarte’s warehouse, such as wood and metal props. These elements were creatively repurposed into horizontal structures, designed to support the artworks and to construct a collective narrative about the diverse experiences of past residency participants.

GRRIZ’s approach is defined by the integration of sustainability and creative innovation. This exhibition design not only reflects the transformative journey of the artists involved in UNIDEE but also engages the audience in contemplating future possibilities for socially engaged art practices. The deliberate use of simple yet highly symbolic materials underscores the studio’s commitment to regeneration and reuse, values that resonate deeply with both GRRIZ and the residency program's ethos.

This design reinforces the idea that sustainable architecture and art can serve as both functional and symbolic platforms for social transformation.

Credits:
Photo: Laurent Barnavon
Team: Giulia Cerrato, Maddalena Pornaro, Mattia Paco Rizzi, Luigi Greco

The Reperti Erratici - Erratic Artifacts - project stems from the need to integrate urban furniture into the Archaeological Park of Siponto in a way that respects its historical and cultural context. Drawing inspiration from the early Christian architecture of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, we chose to use reconstructed stone for the furniture, allowing the renowned artistic intervention by Edoardo Tresoldi to remain the central focus of the space.

Our reflection focused on temporality: we asked ourselves how our furniture will be perceived in 1000 years, when it too becomes part of the archaeological artifacts. From this perspective, elements such as capital-shaped benches, arches, apses, columns, and bike racks were conceived, inspired by archetypes of early Christian architecture but reinterpreted in a contemporary way. Just like erratic artifacts, which are fragments displaced from their original context, our design pieces aim to engage with the landscape, creating new connections between history and the present.

These pieces not only enhance the current visitor experience but are also designed to adapt to potential future expansions of the park. Our aim is for visitors, as they interact with the space, to reflect on the value of historical continuity and the blending of past and present, encouraging them to question the durability and evolution of our intervention.

Client: Direzione regionale Musei Puglia
Location: Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto
Implementation: Viscio Urban Design
Local Architect: Mariangela Bruno

As part of the Erasmus+ BIP program, involving the Polytechnic University of Turin, Elisava School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona, and Strate School of Design in Paris, we at GRRIZ are thrilled to present Tetto al Biranco. This bivouac-belvedere, located at 1450 meters in the Ligurian Alps, Ormea, Cuneo, was constructed in one week by 20 students under our coordination.

Tetto al Biranco is a pentagonal structure made of spruce and chestnut wood, designed to withstand extreme weather conditions. It provides hikers with an 8 sqm shelter, combining traditional vernacular architecture with contemporary design.

The project also includes the exhibition "OB-SERVING THE LANDSCAPES," showcasing the results of the photography workshop "Here there is no sea." This exhibition explores the relationship between humans and nature, time, and the local community of Ormea.

At GRRIZ, we spearheaded the project development and site coordination. The design highlights the supporting frame structure, consistent with our architectural style, as seen in our previous project, Archibüse, in Garessio for the Petites Folies School in 2021.

The Erasmus+ BIP OB-SERVING THE LANDSCAPES program, a hybrid educational initiative, was split into online activities and a field workshop in Ormea. We collaborated with students and faculty from PoliTo, Elisava, and Strate, transforming student proposals into a tangible micro architecture.

plug-in and Petites Folies School

In collaboration with the cultural association plug-in and Emanuele Piccardo, we co-founded the Petites Folies School. This initiative focuses on creating micro architectures in public spaces across Italy through workshops involving residents and students.

This project was made possible with the support of:

Polytechnic University of Turin
Elisava School of Design and Engineering, Barcelona
Strate School of Design, Paris
CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) - Ormea Section

Sponsorship:

CRC Foundation
Municipality of Ormea

Patronage

Riabitare l’Italia

location: Agrigento
when: 08.2019
status: completed

xXx is a site-specific art installation that mix sculpture and light design. The project was designed as the main stage for the Electro FestiValle 2019 and stems from the collaboration between GRRIZ studio, who designed the architecture and built the wooden structure, and ZMBT studio, who took care of the Visual design and Light engineering.

The installation is inspired by the reflections and night glows of the sea, natural scenography that gently host and embrace the event. Thanks to the light visuals, the structure becomes alive in a plastic weave of broken lines that deconstruct the main frame into a multitude of geometric possibilities creating a deep symbiosis between the music and the surrounding environment.

Project team

design and construction / grriz
light and visuals / zmbt

Construction team

GRRIZ
luca zambuto
cristiano pesca
aron piraneo

with:
MAA Atelier, Loxia Socia, Le Nid Poule.

Common space for experimentation and sharing of knowledge and know-how within the Gratte-Ciel Outdoor Laboratory in Villeurbanne, FR.

Meta: a place of knowledge.
Gathering around the will to make live other ways of constituting the public space, we also wish to make of this space a place of transmission of knowledge: we thus planned events on social questions like the manufacture of the City, the self-construction, the re-use of building materials, the place of the living and the Nature in the City and many other questions still!

This place of knowledge will also be a space of experimentation of all kinds: artistic, cultural, social, scientific for example.

Meta: a place of know-how.
The workshop space is organized around two containers to store and secure materials and an outdoor space for making, building and creating.

The containers will house the Loxia Socia association's bricothèque and the Mattia Paco Rizzi Workshop's (AMPR) prototyping equipment. By joining the association, you will have access to tools and materials according to the solidarity rates that we are setting up.

It is a space open to the public where you will be able to benefit from advice in architecture by professionals and/or experienced builders.

Here too, it is a space of transmissions since the competences of each are put at the service of all.

https://www.assometa.fr/

Within the context of the "Abitare la vacanza" Architecture Festival and the Petites Folies School, we had the privilege of intervening in the magical territory of Colletta di Castelbianco in the province of Savona, Italy.

In Colletta, the design process focused on engaging with the existing village and deciding whether to embrace or challenge it. Following Giancarlo De Carlo's spirit, we chose to adopt an anarchic approach and develop an autonomous language starting from the form. The triangular shape, contrasting with De Carlo's rectangular housing units, was selected to reclaim the vertical dimension. Although the Genoese architect referred to the village's structure as a "carapace," it is undeniably composed of vertical towers that horizontally spread, akin to an organism, colonizing the rock. Building upon this archetype, we designed three wooden towers, each serving a distinct function, defining an intimate space from which to catch glimpses of the surrounding landscape and emphasizing the concept of a hearth as a communal space for gathering. The three variations on the same theme also provide new panoramic viewpoints towards Colletta. Thus, "3Torri" (Three Towers) becomes a tangible symbol in the territory, offering the local and temporary community a public space fully immersed in nature.

The project, entirely constructed using locally sourced chestnut wood, was conceived and realized in collaboration with students from design, architecture, and engineering backgrounds hailing from both France and Italy.

The black elements that characterize parts of the intervention were achieved entirely through a magical chemical process called wood ebonization, using natural methods.

Design and build:

Juliette Beuzon, Célestine Labrousse, Jade Turzo, Francesca Viani, Olivia Travers, Solène Vandeplanque Nils Freyermuth, Aliénor Morel, Sara Grandi, Théodore Divine and GRRIZ ( Luigi Greco + Mattia Paco Rizzi ).

CATASTA aims to highlight the crucial importance of forests for our planet. Acting as the lungs of our environment, they absorb CO2, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change, and transform it into oxygen, a vital element for our survival. Every growing tree sequesters CO2, storing it in its wood, making forests indispensable allies in the fight against climate change.

The amount of wood used corresponds exactly to that needed to neutralize the annual CO2 emissions of an average French family. The Douglas fir wood employed has been carefully arranged, stacked, and fastened with wood screws to ensure its reusability in its second life cycle and to guarantee structural safety during the installation period. Moreover, the various lengths of the wooden components of the installation have been calculated with a zero-waste objective.

The installation goes beyond its visual dimension. It incorporates an educational aspect, offering a unique opportunity to raise public awareness about the impact of our actions on the planet.

Two profiles define the plasticity of the installation: on one hand, Catasta resembles a stylized house, echoing the concept of family (hence the calculation of the CO2 amount), and on the other hand, it evokes human lungs, thus emphasizing the importance of forests.

Additionally, at the end of the exhibition, this work is designed to be reused in workshops for creating furniture intended for public spaces.

Project proposal created for Forêt Monumentale 2023

location: Lyon, France
when: 2021
status: completed

Mattia Paco Rizzi from GRRIZ and twelve students from Strate École de Design have designed this urban conviviality device.

Seeking to encourage the practice of teleworking and to develop its anchoring in the public space, this structure is part of the dynamic of experimentation of new uses of the Cité des Halles, tending to prefigure the city of tomorrow.

Realized through a workshop of self-building lasting 6 days, the installation was completely made by the students themselves.

The project was designed to allow participants to understand by doing the various steps that make up a micro architectural structure.

project: GRRIZ
construction team: Mattia Paco RIZZI, ANDO Shunji , MONCENIS Anthelme, NICOLAS Erwann, BLANC Lola, ROURE Lucile , FRANCISCO Juliette, VALLAT Maxime, MEASSON Martin, IMBERT Thalia, DESJOBERT Théophile, JEAN-PROST Clara, BALMES Thomas

location: Matera, Italy
when: 07.2017
status: completed

materials: glued laminated timber GL24, fiberglass roof panels
dimensions: covered surface 100 square meters

Origagri is a pavilion to host the activities of the Agoragri association in a public urban park in Matera, South Italy, with a synergic vegetable garden, a straw theater, family gardens. The design of the pavilion is based on the origami technique, optimizing constructional phases and assembling on only human strength. The hexagonal plant opens outwards with 6 timpani which allow to create a large and bright space. The pavilion is made of laminated wood of fir and fir boards. The design of the structure is rigorous and geometric and follows the star shape that generates the construction of the hex.

Project team: GRRIZ, agrinetural with the support of fondazione Matera 2019

Construction team: GRRIZ, Agrinetural, Lorenzo Mancini, Mauro Bissi, Riccardo Ripanucci

project: Luigi Greco e Mattia Paco Rizzi - GRRIZ with :
Jacopo Bernatti, Simone Bianchi, Simone Bianco, Michelangelo Bielli, Martina Caviggiolo, Bastien De Simone, Justine Lenoble, Alessandro Livraghi, Anna Gloria Moschetti, Tommaso Pannunzio, Alessia Rapetti, Sofia Signorotti, Luca Vincenzi.

where: Castello di Garessio, Garessio (Cuneo), Italia - GMaps here

when: 31 luglio 2021

Archibüse was born within the Petites Folies Summer School curated by Emanuele Piccardo with the purpose of revitalizing the area of the Castle of Garessio (CN). Realized in one week by 13 European students, in the mode of the self-building workshop, Archibüse has created a panoramic point on the Ligurian Alps and redesigned the surrounding space with special furniture. The use of local wood, together with dry assembly, make this microarchitecture a sustainable and reversible project.

photo credits : Emanuele Piccardo, Marco Introini, Alessandro Livraghi

location: San Cataldo ( Lecce )
when: 07.2019
status: completed

Lumia is an urban regeneration device that investigates the relationship between water and sea and the use of the pier as a natural extension of the waterfront. Lumia is a space for aggregation, reflection and meditation.

Arranged along the pier line, the installation consists of a series of wooden elements, arranged circularly towards a single axis. The installation aggregates and multiplies the points of view and observation of the landscape.
The installation is also a tribute to the fishermen, as Lumia with its ropes and shape is reminiscent of an instrument they like best: the fishing trap.
Seen from above, the installation simulates a star, a natural symbol of the straight path.

Builders: Sahraoui Wassim, Eleni Zografini, Eleonora Giannetti, Francesco Pileri, Tala Sayssa, Mafalda Matos ,Urša Rot, Simone Bianco, Gaia Agozzino Tutors: Mattia Paco Rizzi – Grriz, Roberto Ubaldi – Archistart team

location: Thuin, Belgium
when: 09.2018
status: completed,accessible until 2033

curators: Pascal Marlier , Dorothée Duvivier

materials: Glued laminated timber, marine plywood panels, local slate tiles .
dimensions: covered surface 25 square meters

We were invited by FLUIDE-PUBLIC ART FESTIVAL 2018 to conceive a permanent intervention in one of the suspended gardens of the city of Thuin in Belgium.
The suspended gardens are a system of terraces created in the Middle Ages by the citizens of the city, who have satisfied the need for arable land around the fortified city, creating massive retaining walls and transporting sandy material from the river bed. Orientation is a presence of the river contribution for centuries to the creation of an ideal microclimate for the cultivation of vines and fruit trees. Our intervention is located in the suspended gardens owned by the Cultural Center of Thuin Alta Sambre, the venue of the FLUIDE festival which each year proposes the creation of public art works and performances in Thuin.

The sculpture, designed to be inhabited by up to two people at a time, offers the artists invited to the festival the opportunity to stop, rest and meditate suspended on two terraces, with a breathtaking view of the valley.
The intervention was carried out without the use of mechanical means, it was designed for the construction process. The sculpture has three levels of finish that accompany visitors from outside the gardens to the private interior space. The large beams visible from the outside are a strongly expressive skin and simulate an archaic and decisive language. the larch cladding instead is a squared, monolithic volume, a rough-hewn stone that protects the artists.

The interior space, all in white, offers tranquility and serenity, for the study and creation of beneficial works the whole community. The wood will tend to gray because of the oxidation and its color will approach the surrounding stones to reach in a few months the perfect fusion with the surrounding anthropic landscape.

For the realization of the work materials (beams and slate in coverage) were used, recovered from the demolition of the old casino of the city.

project team : GRRIZ

construction team: GRRIZ, Sylvain Masson, Fabien Decoucut, Benoît Laurent,

location: Italian Pavilion, XV Venice Architecture Biennale
when: 2016
status: completed

A garden, a need, a material. This is the source of the installation by Luigi Greco & Mattia Paco Rizzi / GRRIZ. Set on the edge of the Italian Pavilion, the Giardino delle Vergini is the natural focus of the exhibition layout at the Biennale. Hence the need to create a restful, reflective place and offer it to visitors. The material absorbs the effects of this attitude. Wood, recycled from the dismantling of Expo 2015, is placed here in a state of momentary stillness, worked and altered as little as possible in order to meet the future needs of those it is offered to. When the event ends, the material will gain a third life.

project team: GRRIZ
construction team: GRRIZ, Giulia Cerrato

special thanks to ReBiennale for the logistic support.

Location: Rho, Milan, IT
When: 09/2021
Status: completed

WOODHENGE, located in Sunset Park in Via Deledda, Rho - Milan, enhances material from the dismantling of International Milan EXPO 2015: 16 large laminated wood columns with a characteristic lenticular shape recovered from the demolition of small kiosks near Pavilion Zero designed by architect Michele De Lucchi.

A project made possible thanks to the collaboration between public and private, between the Municipality of Rho and Arexpo, MIND, Lendlease, DESPE and the creative studio GRRIZ.

Project design team: GRRIZ + Abril Pollack
Project construction team: Luigi Greco, Abril Pollack, Claudio Abaca

Location: Valle dei Tempi, Agrigento, Sicily, IT
When: 08/2021
Status: completed

For the third year in a row, we designed the set for the main stage of the festival.
Festivalle is a music festival that takes place in the fabulous setting of the Valley of the Temples, in Agrigento, Sicily.
A wooden structure animated by led.

location: Paris, france
when: 2017
status: completed

materials: larch wood boards, waterproofing with Shou Sugi Ban's technique, hops cultivation
dimensions: 4x40x3m

Creation of an artistic wooden structure to be used as a support for hops cultivation for handmade beer production. All this, on rooftop of a 4-story building, in the north western suburbs of Paris.A project entirely made of douglas and larch wood, with Shou-sugi-ban treatment for plants wooden box and organic linseed oil wood protection. Project realized in collaboration with TOPAGER for KEYS Asset Management

project team: GRRIZ. Topager

construction team: Mattia Paco Rizzi

location: parco Europa, corso Europa, Rho
client: Municipality of Rho
when: 2020
status: completed

CATASTA arose from a single observation: our planet is in difficulty and each one of us is duty bound to make our everyday lives sustainable. The work expresses a need to place architectural practice centre stage, with design, materials, place and function all being accorded the same importance.

Thus, the timber used to build the project came from dismantling the larch boards of the Pavilion Zero façade, designed by architect Michele De Lucchi for EXPO 2015.

Straightforward, effective work on the timber gave CATASTA value added by changing it from a mere wall surface to a true public amenity at the service of the community of Rho. The plastic shaping of the individual elements was inspired by the traditional technique involving allowing timber to dry naturally, which envisages the overlapping of linear elements to create large self-supporting volumes. The organic, insistent movement provided by this overlapping allows CATASTA to invade the Parco Europa space.

The work explores the opportunities offered by various levels of relationships with the park’s tree trunks and bushes and above all with the human body, by developing intuitive ergonomics, always open to new interpretations. In profound respect and homage to Genius Materiae, the wood was used in its original dimensions, retaining its physical and mechanical features, and only cutting away the parts of the reclaimed boards that were unusable.

The installation consists of 25 parts, which overlap and slot together to create spaces in which to rest and chat, to take exercise in and any other use the public may wish to experiment. CATASTA is a platform of possibilities: all and nothing at the same time. It morphs instantly in accordance with the public’s sense of responsibility and the use made of it.

GRRIZ e TAMassociati

construction team: GRRIZ, Andrea Vittone, Asmir Lalic, Sofia Couscous

location: Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark
when: 2016
status: completed

materials: timber structure in fir wood
dimensions: 7x12x8 meters

For the 2016 edition the Roskilde Art Zone is enriched with an entrance gate, whose wild mode of expression and black and gold colours makes it function as a visual marker for the shift from Art Zone and the rest of the festival area. The gate is called: Grosse Fatigue. The gate to Art Zone will work as a visual magnet that will draw in festivalgoers through its strong and overwhelming design. At the same time, the gate creates a holistic experience, as the design is connected to Art Zone’s overall visual identity with black and gold as theme colours. 

A special thanks to Martha Cooper for the amazing photo.

[First photo by © Martha Cooper, all the rest by © GRRIZ ]

project team: GRRIZ

construction team: grriz with: Kristoffer Codam, Jens Vium Skaarup, Johan Mumm Sylvest, Thea Orderud, Rasmus Svane Høj, Mette Lind Østergaard, Rikke helbo, Victor Ohn, Asger Aagesen, Johnny Nors, Mikkel Hansen, John Gmelin, Kirsten David, Clara Dale, Emilie Gad

location: sicily, agrigento, beach of San Leone
when: 2018
status: completed

materials: fir boards, water based ink,
dimensions: 10x8x4 meters

Festivalle is the first Music & Digital Arts Festival in the Valley of the Temples, near Agrigento, Sicily. Grriz was responsible for the stage design that hosted DJs in concerts on the magical San Leone beach. The structure is inspired by the geometry of spiny plants that are born spontaneously in the Sicilian dunes. The localization of the concert, facing the south-west Mediterranean sea, gave its name to the artistic installation.

project team: grriz
curator: Fausto Savatteri

construction team: Luigi Greco, Antonio Greco, Marco Mannacio, Andrea Vittone

location: Catanzaro, IT
when: 2015
status: completed

materials: Boards of fir
dimensions: 110 sqm

The furnishing of the living room was inserted inside a wooden vortex inspired by the chaotic overlays of spontaneous and organic architecture. The structure and trim are followed by precise directions that give tension to the salon spaces and envelop the customers. "Catanzaro pulled the wind strong" is a tribute to the imperfection, to a windy city, to the chaos of nature and the wind that breaks the hair.

design: GRRIZ with the collaboration of Marco Bencivenga
customer: Antonella Hair Diffusion / Catanzaro

Photos of: Angelo Jaroszuk Bogasz and Mattia Paco Rizzi