Tragedy of Italian architects believed to have died in Grenfell fire

Two young Italian conservation architects working for London practices are among those believed to have died in the Grenfell Tower blaze.

Gloria Trevisan, 26, and her partner Marco Gottardi had recently moved to London and were living on the 23^rd floor of the 24-storey block.

Their deaths have not been confirmed but a lawyer for the family said there was “no hope” of finding the couple alive.

According to heartbreaking accounts in the Italian media they made a series of phone calls to Ms Trevisan’s parents in Italy as the fire took hold. In the final call Ms Trevisan is reported to have said goodbye to her mother and said: “I had my whole life before me. I don’t want to die.”

Ms Trevisan, a talented designer with a particular interest in the conservation of historic buildings, worked for Peregrine Bryant Architecture and Building Conservation which is based at Fulham Palace in west London.

She studied architecture at the IUAV University of Venice where her interests included urban regeneration. She graduated from the university’s masters programme with the highest possible marks in October.

After struggling to find suitable work in Italy, where the economy is in decline, she came to London with Mr Gottardi, who graduated from the Venice masters programme at the same time.

Last month he started work as an architectural assistant at the London office of Anglo-Italian practice CIAO – Creative Ideas & Architecture Office near St Paul’s Cathedral. There his work included the design and planning of flats and building refurbishments.

A gifted modelmaker and designer, he initially graduated as a surveyor in 2008 before switching to architecture. His main interest was in the reuse of rural and contemporary buildings and his portfolio is filled with drawings, plans and photographs of models for schemes including a church damaged in an earthquake.

Before coming to London Ms Trevisan did an internship with Negri & Fauro Architects in Padua where the projects she worked on included the restoration of a Venetian palazzo.

Her thesis was on the conservation and reuse of a 1930s settlement overlooking the Venice lagoon.

In her portfolio, which contains beautiful images, she described her “passion for freehand drawing and graphic design”.

BD has tried to contact both their employers.

Meanwhile, the Guardian is reporting that the manufacturer of the cladding panels has confirmed it was the cheaper, non-fire retardant version that was used in the Grenfell refurbishment.

The paper quoted John Cowley, director of Omnis Exteriors which manufactured the aluminium composite material (ACM) used in the cladding, and installer Harley Facades.

Harley and contractor Rydon Maintenance have both issued statements saying they will co-operate fully with the public inquiry.

Robert Bond, Rydon’s chief executive, said the work, completed last year for the Kensington & Chelsea TMO, was compliant with all building regs.

Communities secretary Sajid Javid said today that safety checks would be carried out on all similar residential towers in the UK.

He said the government would do whatever fire investigators told them was necessary to make them safe – whether this was stripping the cladding from them or rehousing residents.