Prominent architect Stefano Boeri has publicly defended his reputation following involvement in an urban development investigation, declaring on social media: “I love this city. I am an architect, not a ‘concrete speculator,’ and I trust the judiciary’s work.” The Triennale design museum president, famed for Milan’s Vertical Forest, addressed what he termed a “violent defamatory campaign” against him, sparked by leaked fragments of private messages distributed to media before reaching his lawyers.
Boeri condemned the “deplorable situation” – noting its recurrence in Italy – where preliminary investigations trigger “media trials” that presume guilt. He initially refrained from public commentary, believing judicial proceedings “belong solely in court,” but broke his silence to counter “malicious interpretations” of his stance. The architect accused media of “pretextually splicing” message excerpts to distort his professional and private life, stripping them of context.
Crucially, Boeri clarified that his past communication with Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala constituted “not a threat, but an urgent alarm” regarding the city’s Landscape Commission. He asserted the commission repeatedly rejected his “Botanical Tower” project on non-germane grounds, forcing his team to abandon the original “experimental, advanced” design after a year of negotiations. The approved alternative for Via Pirelli 39, he noted, sacrificed a concept that would have brought Milan “significant international recognition.”
Amid the probe, Boeri argued Italy must preserve Milan’s “urban complexity governance model,” crediting it with generating national wealth for 25 years through “extraordinary accelerations.” While acknowledging Milan requires “sharper wealth redistribution policies” to combat exclusivity, he insisted dismantling this framework would harm Italy – pending investigations into potential illegality.
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