Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, who are highly regarded for the award-winning Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, recently completed the second phase of Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park on the East River in Queens. The project won a 2018 Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Award for public landscape. The pair are partners at the firm Weiss/Manfredi as well as academics. Weiss is Graham Chair Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and Manfredi—who was born in Trieste and grew up in Rome—is senior design critic at Harvard University.

Weiss and Manfredi expressed their interest in “exploring the intersection of topography, movement, and art in the context of the Rome’s rich urban fabric. From the Gardens of Villa Giulia to the Spanish Steps, the sectional identity of the city has been inspirational to our work.” The residency affords both Weiss, who visited Rome as a student, and Manfredi to opportunity to see the city through new lenses, “to enjoy a sustained stay and to be inspired by the city’s urban gifts.”