Stefano Boeri banned from competition judging but "relieved" at avoiding house arrest

Italian architects Stefano Boeri and Cino Zucchi, who were under investigation for alleged collusion in the commissioning of a major library in Milan, have been spared from house arrest but banned from judging competitions.

The investigating judge, Luigi Iannelli, said Boeri and Zucchi would not "either in the capacity of university professor or external professional, compose judging commissions in the context of procedures for the awarding of public contracts", reported Italian newspaper La Stampa.

The two architects were under investigation for their role in the awarding of the Biblioteca Europea di Informazione e Cultura (BEIC) commission to a team led by Italian studio Onsitestudio.

Both were commissioners for the international design competition, and Boeri was the chair of the panel. Boeri has now been banned from judging competitions for one year and Zucchi for eight months.

Accusations did "irreversible damage" said Boeri

However, the two architects were not sentenced to house arrest, which the prosecutors had originally requested.

The judge stated that this would have been "excessively burdensome" and said the ban on sitting on juries that assign public tenders is sufficient.

"I am extremely relieved with the decision taken by judge Iannelli to deny the request for me to be placed under house arrest," Boeri told Dezeen.

"This decision means that I will be able to continue my work as an architect and also to complete both my duties as president of the Triennale and as a professor at the Milan Politecnico," he added.

"I would like to express once again my complete confidence in the judiciary and I look forward to being able to further clarify my position. However, I am unable to hide my considerable concern regarding everything that I have suffered in recent weeks, not to mention the irreversible damage that has and is being done to both my private and professional life."

Principal from winning team "repeatedly came into contact" with commissioners

The competition was for the BEIC library, set to be built in the Porta Vittoria area of Milan. A design by Onsitestudio with Italian studios Baukuh, Yellow Office, SCE Project, Studio Mistretta, Starching, Stain Engineering, Dotdotdot, (ab)Normala and Atmos Lab, was announced as the winner of an international competition in 2022. The winning team was selected from 44 bids.

According to Milan's Public Prosecutor's Office, there had been "collusions" between the winning team and the commissioners. This was centred on contact made between Boeri and Zucchi, and Italian architect Pier Paolo Tamburelli, who is a principal at Baukuh.

Tamburelli "violated the anonymity provided for by the notice" of the bid tender and "repeatedly came into contact with commissioners Zucchi and Boeri", according to the prosecutors, reported newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Boeri and Zucchi have both denied the allegations and said they did not know in advance who had presented the winning project, reported Rai News.

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