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Weiss/Manfredi: Projects and Provocations was the title of the opening conference that launched the 2025 edition of Perspective Europe, the international by-invitation-only forum dedicated to architecture, interior design, real estate, and contract, organized by THE PLAN at the Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido. Starting with the keynote speech by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, held on the afternoon of Monday, May 5, the event unfolded over three days of professional one-to-one business meetings, workshops, and high-level networking opportunities.
With over 1,000 business meetings and 50 work sessions including workshops, panel discussions, and lectures, the 2025 edition kicked off with a plenary session featuring Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, founding partners of the U.S.-based architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi. They shared their vision of architecture by presenting some of their most iconic projects and illustrating the challenges and inspirations that drive their creative process.
© Fabio Delfino
Founded in 1993 in New York by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, Weiss/Manfredi is a point of reference in contemporary architecture. Their approach blends nature and urban life, emphasizing transparency, spatial fluidity, and integration into the environment. Each project is designed to be unique while maintaining a consistent design philosophy that defines the studio’s identity. Their architectural vision is known for its ability to reinterpret both public and private spaces – such as parks, academic buildings, and research facilities – with a strong focus on sustainability and innovation.
Over the years, Weiss/Manfredi has completed notable projects including the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center, the Tata Innovation Center and Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park in New York, the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale, the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology and Longwood Gardens Reimagined in Pennsylvania, the Kent State Center for Architecture and Environmental Design in Kent, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus in Toronto, and the Nelson-Atkins Cultural Arts District in Kansas City.
Built on a former industrial site, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center harmoniously integrates into its environment, almost appearing to emerge from the ground. Conceived as an extension of the landscape and its pathways, its 2,000-sq. m volume make it a prominent, accessible landmark connecting the garden to the city, blending culture and nature. Located along Washington Avenue, the structure acts as a threshold between exterior and interior, with exhibition galleries and an event space leading to a terraced patio.
The LEED Gold center features a curvilinear green roof that adopts four distinct identities, changing with the seasons, as well as a geothermal system and rain gardens, making it a showcase for environmental education and innovation in the relationship between visitors and landscape.
Covering 1,170 sq. m, Yale’s Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking serves as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration. The elliptical glass-walled building is located in a central courtyard, encouraging circulation and public engagement. Inside, open spaces and continuous sightlines facilitate dialogue among students from various disciplines, promoting innovation and creativity.
The LEED Gold project also includes a sustainable garden that replaces the old paved plaza, improving stormwater management and encouraging year-round activity. The combination of connectivity, sustainability, and collaborative spaces transforms the existing courtyard into a center of learning and innovation.
Courtesy of Weiss/Manfredi
The Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania is a state-of-the-art research facility with advanced laboratories and public spaces. Located at the eastern edge of the Philadelphia campus, it is the first major academic building in West Philadelphia and the university’s first cross-disciplinary facility, fostering collaboration between the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the School of Arts and Sciences.
The building features a central green courtyard and a spiral gesture culminating in a forum offering views of the city and campus. It opens the sciences to the University landscape through shared indoor and outdoor spaces.
© Albert Vecerka/Esto, courtesy of Weiss/Manfredi
The “Design Loft” of Kent State Center for Architecture and Environmental Design, with 10,900 sq. m and LEED Platinum certification, brings together all programs of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design into one unified 650-seat studio. A continuous gallery links all public spaces, creating a permeable environment. The ground floor hosts an ascending sequence of spaces comprising a café, gallery, lecture hall, library, classrooms, and reading areas that encourage interdisciplinary discourse.
The building features glass walls that allow natural light in and provide views of the campus and city. Its façade, made with locally-fired bricks, reflects the surrounding context. Strategically located between the campus and downtown Kent, the building acts as an innovative bridge between university and community.
Rendering courtesy of Weiss/Manfredi
The U.S. Embassy project in New Delhi aims to honor the site’s historic legacy while modernizing it for the future of Indian-American diplomacy. It restores the early-modernist Chancery Building and transforms the entire 11-ha complex into a multifunctional campus that integrates architectural and landscape elements.
Architectural details are inspired by Indian traditions, with stone screens and garden walls. Nearly 60 years after Edward Durell Stone designed the original embassy, this renovation symbolizes the values of American diplomacy, promoting environmental stewardship and strengthening the Country's democratic presence in India.
Located on the new Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, New York, the Tata Innovation Center is a seven-story building designed to foster innovation and collaboration between academia and global tech companies. With 21,800 sq. m of space, it houses labs, classrooms, event venues, and areas for startups and companies, all with shared environments and panoramic skyline views.
The exterior “wings” create open-air social spaces. Sustainable features include solar panels and an elevated entry level to address flood risk. The building, LEED Gold certified, exemplifies a commitment to sustainability and innovation.
Located near the University of Toronto, the 13-story Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus is designed to integrate academic research with entrepreneurial initiatives. It unites leading partners like the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and various startup companies, offering flexible spaces such as offices, labs, classrooms, and conference rooms arranged along a vertical social circuit.
The building features light-filled winter gardens and public outdoor spaces, including a lively plaza on College Street and terraces with city views. The project aims to create a dynamic and open environment, becoming a reference point for research, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas.
The Olympic Sculpture Park was conceived as a Z-shaped “green platform” rising over key road and rail lines. Located on a former industrial waterfront site, it connects downtown Seattle to a revitalized shoreline, descending 12 m toward the water and offering views of the skyline and Elliott Bay. A 1,600-sq. m pavilion within the park provide spaces for art, performances, and educational programs, while a pedestrian path winds through three archetypal Northwest landscapes: a temperate forest, a deciduous forest, and a shoreline garden.
Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park transforms 12 ha of post-industrial waterfront in New York into a multifunctional public space that serves both as a recreational destination and as a protective barrier for nearby residential communities. Conceived as an international model of urban ecology and sustainable innovation, the project is a collaboration between SWA/Balsley, Weiss/Manfredi, and consultant ARUP.
It enhances a unique site with water access, panoramic Manhattan views, and spaces supporting diverse activities. Completed in two phases, the park features event areas, urban beaches, gardens, dog parks, and playgrounds, all connected by a riverside promenade. The project responds to the needs of a fast-growing neighborhood and emphasizes local topography with scenic viewpoints.
Weiss/Manfredi was recently selected by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art as the lead architect for its expansion and transformation. The studio’s proposal reflects the institution’s mission to foster cultural, social, and educational initiatives that engage the community in Kansas City, Missouri. Central to the plan for the Cultural Arts District is an arts route connecting the Nelson-Atkins Museum with neighboring institutions and communities – facilitating partnerships, energizing cultural activity, linking communities, and showcasing the creative potential of Kansas City’s emerging arts district.
Longwood Gardens Reimagined is a revitalization project for the renowned Longwood Gardens in Burnham, Pennsylvania, expanding public spaces with a unified path from east to west that moves from formal gardens to views of the Brandywine Valley. Based on a 2010 master plan by West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture and Weiss/Manfredi, the two firms collaborated with Reed Hilderbrand as lead designers.
At the heart of the project is a new 3,000-sq. m glasshouse designed by Weiss/Manfredi, with gardens and pools by Reed Hilderbrand. The West Conservatory rises from the valley hills and reflects in a rectangular pool of water. Its pleated glass roof blends the legacy of Burnham’s historic conservatories with innovative design. Replacing outdated structures, the new greenhouse offers an accessible and engaging experience for all visitors.
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Cover image © Fabio Delfino
