Mirko Zardini

Mirko Zardini
Born	1955 (age 62–63)
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Museum Director, Curator, Editor, Architect
Title	Director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture

Mirko Zardini (born 1955) is the current Director and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is an architect who teaches, curates exhibitions, and writes about contemporary architecture and urban issues. Zardini is an active member and former trustee of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), is on the Executive Committee of the International Confederation of Architectural Museums (ICAM), and a member of the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization (CAMDO).

Zardini was Senior Consulting Curator of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) from 2003-2005 and was appointed Director and Chief Curator in 2005. He has shaped the institution's collection, research, exhibitions, programs and publications to emphasize the CCA’s role as a venue for critical discourse about contemporary culture and the relationship of architecture to politics and society. His thematic approach often juxtaposes contradictory ideas to highlight the complexity of social and urban issues.

The CCA’s collection of international architectural archives has received significant additions during Zardini’s tenure, most notably those of Pritzker-prize-winner Álvaro Siza Vieira,Abalos & Herreros and Foreign Office Architects. A research project on the early application of digital tools in architectural design developed in collaboration with architect Greg Lynn resulted in the exhibition series "Archaeology of the Digital" and also led to the acquisition of digital project archives by the featured architects including Chuck Hoberman, Shoei Yoh, and others.

The exhibition program developed under Zardini has been recognized internationally. Design Observer named “Imperfect Health: The Medicalization of Architecture” the best exhibition of 2012 and published a review stating “it is worth noting that this show is just the latest in a series of inventive exhibitions that engage in social themes (energy consumption, proactive urbanism, war) undertaken by the CCA under Zardini, shows that together reassert that institution’s place as a center of architectural culture.” About the exhibition “Architecture in Uniform: Designing and Building for the Second World War”, curated by Jean-Louis Cohen, The New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff wrote “Simply put, it’s one of the most important architecture exhibitions I’ve seen in years.”The Globe and Mail described Zardini's exhibitions as "suggestive, poetic", and "fascinating", noting their role in critically examining architecture's relationship to the environment.

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