Antonio Scarponi

Antonio Scarponi
Born1974 (age 51–52)
Rimini, Italy
CitizenshipItalian
Alma materUniversità Iuav di Venezia
The Cooper Union
OccupationsArchitect, designer, educator, researcher
Known forConceptual Devices
Urban agriculture and participatory design

Antonio Scarponi (born 1974) is an Italian architect, designer, educator and researcher based in Zurich, Switzerland.[1][2] He is the founder of the research-based studio Conceptual Devices and co-founder of the Institute for Spatial Thinking.[3][4] Scarponi's work spans drawing, installation, architectural design and social design.[5]

Early life and education

Scarponi was born in Rimini, Italy.[6] He trained as an architect at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV) and studied as a visiting student at The Cooper Union in New York City. He completed a PhD in Urbanism at Università Iuav di Venezia.[7]

Career

Scarponi's early work focused on information design, demographic cartography and the emergence of digital networks as spatial infrastructures.[8] In 2001 he created a demographic cartogram of Internet users, which evolved into the Human World series (2001–2007) of population-scaled cartograms.[9]

His practice later emphasized design as a form of knowledge production, employing "as found" objects, instruction manuals and participatory self-production strategies, often addressing sustainability and resource scarcity.[10]

Notable projects include Re-Use (2004), RIKEA (2008), Wired Unplugged (2009), Just Undo It (2009) and Readykea (2011).[11]

Urban agriculture and self-production

Building on his earlier research into demographic growth, resource scarcity and distributed design, Scarponi has explored soilless urban agriculture and vertical farming using hydroponic and aquaponic cultivation systems.

Key projects in this area include:

  • Malthus: A Meal a Day (2011), an aquaponic installation named after Thomas Malthus, investigating food production and domestic cultivation in the context of population growth and resource limits.[12]
  • ELIOOO (2013), an open-source hydroponic device for domestic food production assembled from commercially available IKEA components, accompanied by instruction manuals published in multiple languages.[13]
  • UF-01 (2011), a proof-of-concept urban rooftop aquaponic farm in Basel, Switzerland.[14]
  • Hedron (2012), a modular aquaponic system featuring a geodesic icosahedral structure designed to address structural and environmental challenges of rooftop farming.[15]
  • Farm-X (2014), a project exploring scalable urban farming systems and vertically integrated food production infrastructures.[16][17]

Urban devices and spatial interventions

Scarponi often conceives spatial interventions as devices or dispositives. His notable projects in this area include:

  • Hotello. Somnia et Labora (2013), a portable, modular room-in-a-trunk system designed in collaboration with visual artist Roberto de Luca and the Swiss firm Das Konzept. First showcased at Fabbrica del Vapore during Milan Design Week, the project explores the concept of "minimum habitat" in response to the increasing mobility of the workforce and the availability of vacant urban spaces.[18]
  • Campo Libero / The Innocent House (2016), an off-grid pavilion commissioned for the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The project investigated the integration of cultivation systems, domestic functions and temporary structures for collective use, developed in relation to agricultural lands confiscated from organized crime in southern Italy in collaboration with the association Libera.[19]
  • La Città Libera (2018), a project extending earlier investigations into collective inhabitation, self-organized urban systems and temporary public infrastructures through exhibitions, workshops and public programs. It received a nomination for the Swiss Art Awards.[20]
  • Jungfrau Pavilion (2018), a temporary architectural installation for the Art Container festival in Stelisburg, Switzerland. The pavilion served as a public gathering space and translated the silhouette of the Jungfrau mountain chain into a habitable geometric structure.[21]

Teaching and research

Since 2013 Scarponi has taught at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), developing the Art and Space programme and co-directing the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Transforming Space.[4][a] He co-developed the Hic et Nunc project (2015–2019) addressing spatial interventions in temporary asylum seeker camps.[4] Since 2024, Scarponi has also taught Exhibition Design in the Master's programme in Cultural Critique and Curatorial Studies at the Zurich University of the Arts, directed by Anselm Franke.[22]

Exhibitions

Books

  • Scarponi, Antonio. La Sedia Innocente e Altre Storie di Vita, Libertà e Design. Zurich: 3rdO Books, 2022. ISBN 978-3-9525635-1-9
  • Scarponi, Antonio. ELIOOOO. Wie Du mithilfe von IKEA® ein Gerät baust, um zuhause Essen anzupflanzen. Zurich: 3rdO Books, 2016. ISBN 978-3-9524132-0-3
  • Scarponi, Antonio. ЭЛИООО. Как из предметов IKEA® соорудить устройство для выращивания продуктов питания у себя дома. Zurich: 3rdO Books, 2015. ISBN 978-3-9524132-7-2
  • Scarponi, Antonio. ELIOOO. IKEA®製品を使った自家栽培装置の作り方. Zurich: 3rdO Books, 2014. ISBN 978-3-9524132-4-1
  • Scarponi, Antonio. ELIOOO. How to go to IKEA® and build a device to grow food in your apartment. Zurich: 3rdO Books, 2013. ISBN 978-3-9524132-0-3

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑ Antonio Scarponi, "The Knowledge of the Form", in Art, Self & System, edited by Donatella Bernardi, Sternberg Press, 2019, chapter 1 , pp. 37–58. ISBN 978-3-95679-488-9

References

  1. ↑ O'Loghlin, Libby (28 November 2014). "In Conversation: Antonio Scarponi". The Woolf. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Antonio Scarponi Bio". Curry Stone Foundation. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Naidoo, Ridhika (12 October 2009). "antonio scarponi and marco lampugnani: reikea". designboom. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Dr. phil. Antonio Scarponi | ZHdK.ch". ZHdK (in German). Zurich University of the Arts. 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Antonio Scarponi | Design Principles & Practices Research Network". designprinciplesandpractices.com. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  6. ↑ Zanelli, Rossella (22 October 2020). "Le confessioni di Cagliostro". Moleskine Foundation Collection (in Italian). Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Mazzeo, Arianna (31 July 2018). "IMPACT THROUGH DESIGN: interview to Antonio Scarponi". SocialFare. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  8. ↑ McGrath, Brian; Shane, David Grahame (2005). McGrath, Brian; Shane, David Grahame (eds.). "Sensing the 21st Century City: Close-up and Remote". Architectural Design. 76 (3). Wiley: 48. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Branzi, Andrea (2006). Modernità debole e diffusa: il mondo del progetto all'inizio del XXI secolo (in Italian). Milano: Skira. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9788876246500. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Fulco, Elissa (14 November 2016). "Take Care: istruzioni per l'uso. Il metodo Scarponi". Il Giornale delle Fondazioni (in Italian). Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Boer, Joop de (9 January 2012). "READYKEA: A Modular Exhibition System Made From IKEA Products". Pop-Up City. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Ajantriks (25 September 2012). "A Recipe Book For DIY Urban Farming". Pop-Up City. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Peters, Adele (7 February 2014). "These Clever Gardens For Your Apartment Are Built From Ikea Parts". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Peters, Adele (19 June 2014). "Build Your Own Full-Scale Rooftop Farming Operation, With This Easy Kit". Fast Company. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Furuto, Alison (21 June 2012). "Globe/Hedron Rooftop Farm / Conceptual Devices". ArchDaily. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Testado, Justine (18 May 2015). "FARM-X shares its modular vertical farming approach, pilot project nears completion". Archinect. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  17. ↑ Brink, Nick (18 March 2015). "Conceptual devices unveils farm-x modular vertical farm". Designboom. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Patel, Riya (30 March 2013). "Hotello by Roberto de Luca and Antonio Scarponi for Das Konzept". frameweb.com. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  19. ↑ Bordone, Simona (19 October 2016). "The Common Good". Domus. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Swiss Art Awards 2018" (pdf). Swiss Art Awards (in German). 2018. p. 43. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Antonio Scarponi / Conceptual Devices · The Jungfrau Pavilion an Architectonic Tribute the Bernese Iconographic Tradition". Divisare. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Dozierende | ZHdK.ch". ZHdK (in German). 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
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