Carlo Ratti reveals mobile mini cauldron for Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games

Italian architect Carlo Ratti has created a "mobile relay cauldron" to accompany the torches for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, which have been showcased in front of iconic Milan landmarks ahead of the games.

Designed and produced by Ratti's studio Carlo Ratti Associati, the mini cauldron will accompany the torch relay during about 80 public events in selected cities.

Commissioned by energy company Eni, and developed together with its subsidiary Versalis, the "mobile relay cauldron" has a physical vapour deposition (PVD) finish that matches the torches.

The mini cauldron is comprised of thin, sculpted blades that surround a central flame. This arrangement "creates a Venturi effect that shapes the flame into a vertical vortex, elongating and stabilizing it without increasing gas consumption," the studio said.

According to Carlo Ratti Associati, this system will stay functional in temperatures down to -20 Celsius.

"We wanted to strip away the superfluous," Carlo Ratti Associati founder Ratti said. "The brief was clear: the flame had to be the protagonist."

The studio also revealed new images that showcase its iridescent Olympic torches in front of a number of well-known landmarks in Milan, including architect Stefano Boeri's Bosco Verticale building and Milan's Duomo cathedral.

The Olympic and Paralympic torches, which were first unveiled in April last year, each weigh around one kilogram – excluding the fuel canister – and are composed of recycled materials, including an aluminium and brass alloy.

According to Carlo Ratti Associati, they mark the first time in Olympic design that the flame has been made visible. Each torch has a longitudinal opening that runs along its body, so that the audience can see the burner and the flame.

The burner is powered by bio-LPG produced from renewable feedstocks, including used cooking oils and agro-industrial residues, and creates a "warm, yellow flame".

"The biggest challenge was designing not just an object, but a phenomenon," Ratti explained.

"Fire changes with motion, wind, altitude, and temperature. We had to start from that instability and work backwards, designing from the inside out around something alive, while ensuring it performs flawlessly when the world is watching."

Yesterday, we revealed images of British studio David Chipperfield Architects and Arup's Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which was built for the Olympics.

Earlier this month, a duo of expanding cauldrons that will be used for the games were also unveiled.

The photography is courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati.

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