The Milan-based architecture studio Piuarch, in collaboration with architect Andrea Palaia, unveils the project of the new Congress Complex and Theater in Riva del Garda, Italy, scheduled for completion in 2026.

Located on the shores of Lake Garda and just steps from the historic city centre, the complex will contribute to enhancing the territory by creating a juncture between landscape and urban system, welcoming the flows from the nearby historic centre and offering a new cultural and business hub open to residents and tourists.

The project envisages the creation of an architectural complex that unwinds in a fluid manner, delineating the edges of a new public square.

There are two main functions integrated into the building: the renewed Conference Centre, that includes a hall that seats 1,200 and a second multi-use hall connected by a scenic foyer on two levels, and the new Public Theatre that seats 600.

The design interprets the urban space in relation to the natural elements, to the green and the lake. The layout of the pathways, with the visual cones and pre-existing spaces, seeks to construct a homogeneous set of visual interest and various perspectives.

“Intervening in a context like Riva del Garda means addressing an already strongly characterised landscape as well as the expectations of the community. Our objective was not to simply design a functional building, but to create a new urban landscape in which people can recognise themselves and live a collective experience. Seeing the design take form today is an exciting step: the architecture starts to truly dialogue with those who will live it”, affirms Germán Fuenmayor, founding partner of Piuarch.

The volume of the building plays with full and empty spaces, alternating transparency and tactile surfaces and associating urban and natural elements. It develops on the basis of a sequence of strongly recognisable elements, starting from the body of the theatre that puts itself into relation with the large spaces of the medieval fortress and the central church. The entire building develops through inclined planes that evoke the lines of the surrounding mountains, culminating in a panoramic space suspended towards the lake, conceived as a true telescope, a privileged observation point favoured from the inside to the outside in the foyer of the Conference Centre.