Chiara
Ciccarelli
Architect
About
Architect and designer based in Rome, with 5+ years of international experience, between Amsterdam, Barcelona and Milan. Holding an Executive Master in Strategic Design for Innovation and Trasformation , I am currently exploring how AI-driven methods can enhance architectural workflows.
Strong specialization in project coordination, concept storytelling and installation-based experimentation.
Work
Currently @MAD Architects
2020 @AlvisiKirimoto, Rome IT
2019 @CivicArchitects, Amsterdam NL
Education
Currently @MAD Architects
2020 @AlvisiKirimoto, Rome IT
2019 @CivicArchitects, Amsterdam NL
Education
2024 EMBA/Executive Master in Strategic Design for Innovation and Trasformation @Graduate School of Management POLIMI
MSc in Architecture @Politecnico Milano
BSc in Architectural Science @Roma Tre University
By
Studio Superfluo | Chiara Ciccarelli
The installation explores light pollution, a widespread global phenomenon that remains largely underestimated.
Today, around 80% of the world’s population lives under skyglow—the artificial brightness that alters the night sky—and more than one third can no longer see the Milky Way. Light pollution disrupts the circadian rhythms of living organisms and disorients nocturnal fauna, threatening darkness as an ecological, cultural, and perceptual resource.
Historically conceived as a space of quiet, the night has been progressively dominated by luminous devices, becoming a condition of permanent hyper-exposure. In contemporary cities, artificial light operates as both an economic and media infrastructure, turning urban space into a continuous marketplace. Times Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Shibuya exemplify this condition: screens, signage, and advertising saturate space with images and visual stimuli, establishing a model of hyper-illumination that has been replicated globally. Darkness is often perceived as failure or danger, yet more light does not necessarily mean greater safety: excessive illumination can actually reduce visibility. A responsible approach to lighting design instead suggests illuminating only when necessary, limiting glare and avoiding excess.
The installation unfolds as a pathway that stages a tension between light and darkness. The exterior is dominated by an excess of artificial light, evoking the overexposed urban night. Inside, darkness becomes a perceptual threshold. A mobile LED guides visitors along the path; as it switches off, a message emerges, readable only after the eye has adapted to darkness, accompanied by an immersive nocturnal soundscape.
Milan Design Week 2026
20-26 April
Part of “Hello, Darkness. We Will Design”
BASE Milano
MSc in Architecture @Politecnico Milano
BSc in Architectural Science @Roma Tre University
By
Studio Superfluo | Chiara Ciccarelli
The installation explores light pollution, a widespread global phenomenon that remains largely underestimated.
Today, around 80% of the world’s population lives under skyglow—the artificial brightness that alters the night sky—and more than one third can no longer see the Milky Way. Light pollution disrupts the circadian rhythms of living organisms and disorients nocturnal fauna, threatening darkness as an ecological, cultural, and perceptual resource.
Historically conceived as a space of quiet, the night has been progressively dominated by luminous devices, becoming a condition of permanent hyper-exposure. In contemporary cities, artificial light operates as both an economic and media infrastructure, turning urban space into a continuous marketplace. Times Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Shibuya exemplify this condition: screens, signage, and advertising saturate space with images and visual stimuli, establishing a model of hyper-illumination that has been replicated globally. Darkness is often perceived as failure or danger, yet more light does not necessarily mean greater safety: excessive illumination can actually reduce visibility. A responsible approach to lighting design instead suggests illuminating only when necessary, limiting glare and avoiding excess.
The installation unfolds as a pathway that stages a tension between light and darkness. The exterior is dominated by an excess of artificial light, evoking the overexposed urban night. Inside, darkness becomes a perceptual threshold. A mobile LED guides visitors along the path; as it switches off, a message emerges, readable only after the eye has adapted to darkness, accompanied by an immersive nocturnal soundscape.
Milan Design Week 2026
20-26 April
Part of “Hello, Darkness. We Will Design”
BASE Milano