Art and emotions nourish the approach to architecture of Davide Macullo, award-winning architect and Founder of the design and architecture atelier Davide Macullo Architects. Among the major researchers of space psychology – a field perhaps recent for us but certainly not for him – Davide Macullo realizes with his studio in-depth research before undertaking any project. The relationship between man and space, the history of the place and the real understanding of the needs of those who live there are the basis of the philosophy of Davide Macullo Architects. Such an approach to architecture does not consider art as the icing on the cake of the project, but as a factor to be integrated as soon as the foundation stone is laid.

As a young student, I wanted to become a conceptual artist. Thus, I undertook art studies and only at a later stage I studied interior design and architecture. In this context, I have always been interested in the psychology of space. When I was given the opportunity to work with Mario Botta I saw it as a chance to understand how an office of a certain dimension and complexity really worked. I had planned to spend 6 months there in order to fully comprehend the operating system. Eventually, 20 years and 200 projects passed.

Given my artistic preparation, what this first experience gave me has been the understanding of the craft. At Mario Botta’s atelier I learned the profession of the architect and I believe that, being a craftsman of architecture, there was no better place where to learn to start using the tools of the trade.

I am personally interested in what is placed at the top of the architecture production chain, that is to put the human being at ease in his space. In order to do this it is necessary to understand that in a few generations being at ease will not mean having a space, but realizing that the human being himself represents his own space. This applies as a discourse in the absolute sense.

Going into details, architecture has the great potential to influence the states of the soul. Our job is to find the keys to positively influence humans’ emotions, always in compliance with the functions and parameters of the given area. This is where the charm of my profession lies. Then, we have to consider two, so to speak, ecologies.

One, intended in a broad sense, includes the history, economy, politics, geography, biodiversity, structure and the whole palimpsest of the construction of human habitation – that is to say all those studies aimed at avoiding the mistakes made in the past. The other is human ecology, which requires working on emotions, feelings and the genuine needs of human psychology.

We live in an increasingly fragile society from a psychological point of view and architecture, having the extraordinary power to affect us, can also be an important medicine, a way to indicate a way, to draw a direction to follow. Among the tools we can make use of, in addition to the mentioned ecologies, time is fundamental. By this, I mean designing having in mind the time necessary to move from one area to the other, the approaching time, the time of crossing the threshold and the time of staying in a place. Therefore, time is one of the essential tools in the work of the architect.

Drawing is part of a man's need to express himself. Studies have shown that men have an extraordinary ability to adapt, and yet there is one thing he cannot adapt to, that is not expressing themselves. When a man is prevented from expressing himself, he necessarily rebels. Everyone has a personal way of telling about himself. Drawing is the form that suits me. I have drawn every day of my life since I was a boy and I am fascinated by any line. To me, drawing is a living condition. I could live locked in one tiny space, as long as you give me a pencil and a piece of paper.