Benedetta Tagliabue (born 23 June 1963) is an Italian architect based in Barcelona. Along with Spanish architect Enric Miralles, the pair co-founded EMBT Architects, an international studio, where she is currently the principal and director. Several prominent projects of the firm include the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh and the Gas Natural Building in Barcelona. Tagliabue is also the president of the Enric Miralles Foundation (Fundació Eric Miralles), an architectural research center in Miralles's honor.
Early life and education Tagliabue was born in Milan, Lombardy, to a family originally from Monza. During her youth, Tagliabue spent her time between Italy and Spain. Tagliabue started her architectural studies at the Università Iuav di Venezia in 1981. In 1988, she began to collaborate professionally with the architectural firms Transbuilding and Agrest-Gandelsonas in New York City. Tagliabue eventually graduated from the Università Iuav di Venezia in 1989.
Career In 1991, Tagliabue won first prize with her thesis in the "Biennal Joves de Barcelona". In the following year, before the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, she started a relationship with Enric Miralles (1955–2000).
EMBT In 1994, Tagliabue and Miralles formed the Barcelona-based architecture firm Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, later renamed Benedetta Tagliabue - EMBT. In 1995, the firm won the National Architecture Award of Spain for a boarding school in Morella. Miralles' most important projects, the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh and the multi-storied Gas Natural building in Barcelona, were finished by Tagliabue after his death in 2000, along with the remodelling of Barcelona's Santa Caterina market.Miralles Tagliabue EMBT bio. Retrieved 24 August 2024.Tagliabue worked on the Spanish Pavilion completed for the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
In 2022, Tagliabue's home featured in Apple TV's Home in season 2, where she detailed the construction and renovation of her and her late husband's Barcelona gothic villa.
Academic career In 2004, Tagliabue received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Napier University and she is a member of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. Tagliabue teaches at the University of Architecture ETSAB (Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona) in Barcelona and lectures regularly in architectural forums.
Awards judge Benedetta has been a juror in the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Princesa de Asturias de las Artes, Loewe Craft Prize, RIBA Jencks Awards, and the 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize.
Selected work
The Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (1999; completed 2004) House at La Clota, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (1999) Six houses, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2000) Utrecht City Hall extension, Netherlands (1996–2000) Extension of the Music School, Hamburg, Germany (1997–2000) Set design for the opera "Don Quijote", Liceu Theatre, Barcelona, Spain (2000) Hafen City public spaces in Hamburg, Germany (2002) Parc de Diagonal Mar, Barcelona, Spain (1997–2002) Vigo University Campus, Vigo, Spain (2003) Santa Caterina Market, Barcelona, Spain (1996–2005) Principal Building University Campus at Vigo (2006) Gas Natural Building (1999–2006) Palafolls Public Library, Palafolls, Spain (2007) Acoustic panels for Gran Via traffic way renovation in Barcelona (2007) Social housing in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain (2007) Scenery for Merce Cunningham Dance Company (2009) Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010 (RIBA Best International Building 2011 Award.) Plaza Ricard Viñes, Lleida, Spain (2010) Fudan University Business School in Shanghai, China. Clichy-Montfermeil metro station in Paris, France (2014) Office towers in Taichung, Taiwan (2019) The Church and Parish Complex San Giacomo Apóstolo in Ferrara (2022), awarded the Dedalo Minosse International Prize. Centro Direzionale station in Naples, Italy (2025)
Awards and honours
Architectural and design awards 1996: Special Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture (6th International Architecture Exhibition: Sensors of the Future – The Architect as Seismograph, directed by Hans Hollein) for the Sports Hall of Huesca (awarded to Enric Miralles / EMBT) 2001: Rietveldprijs for the restoration and extension of the Utrecht City Hall (with Enric Miralles) 2001: Premi Nacional de Patrimoni Cultural from the Generalitat de Catalunya for the rehabilitation of the Santa Caterina Market in Barcelona (shared posthumously with Enric Miralles) 2002: BDA Hamburg Architektur Preis (Citation) by the Association of German Architects (BDA) for the Staatliche Jugendmusikschule Hamburg (Miralles-Saal) 2004: Premio FAD de Arquitectura (ex aequo) for the University Campus of Vigo (Aulario) 2005: RIBA Stirling Prize for the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh (awarded to EMBT / RMJM) 2005: Honor Award in General Design from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for the Parc de Diagonal Mar in Barcelona 2005: Premio Manuel de la Dehesa at the VIII Bienal Española de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (BEAU) for the Scottish Parliament Building 2006: Premio de Arquitectura Española by the Consejo Superior de Colegios de Arquitectos de España (CSCAE) for the rehabilitation of the Santa Caterina Market, Barcelona 2009: Premi Ciutat de Barcelona (Category: International Projection) from the Barcelona City Council for the Spanish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo 2010–2011: RIBA International Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects for the Spanish Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai 2013: RIBA Charles Jencks Award 2020–2021: Piranesi Prix de Rome Career Achievement Award (Premio alla Carriera) by the Accademia Adrianea di Architettura e Archeologia in Rome 2021: Leadership Award at the Smart City Expo World Congress (World Smart City Awards), awarded ex aequo with Carlos Moreno 2022: Dedalo Minosse International Prize (Special Commendation / Segnalazione Laboratorio Morseletto) for the Church and Parish Complex of San Giacomo Apóstolo in Ferrara 2022: Médaille d'Architecture Fondation Le Soufaché awarded by the Académie d'architecture in Paris 2023: Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, under the patronage of UNESCO and the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine
State, academic and career honours 2004: Honorary Doctorate of Arts (Hon. D.Art) from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland 2009: International Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Int. FRIBA) 2019: Creu de Sant Jordi awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya 2022: Ordinary Member (Academician) of the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi al Pantheon, appointed by Pope Francis
Publications Selected monographs and major publications authored, edited, or co-produced by Benedetta Tagliabue and Miralles Tagliabue EMBT:
External links Interview with architect Benedetta Tagliabue of EMBT
References