Sampo Ruoppila and Panu Lehtovuori discuss the project and controversy surrounding the recent proposal to build a Guggenheim museum in Helsinki, and our Salone del Mobile 2012 previews continue, with Ludovica and Roberto Palomba's Sunrise outdoor furniture collection for Driade.
Fourth Plinth Commission: Powerless Structures, Fig. 101
An interview from London by Elias Redstone
The Northwest Plinth in Trafalgar Square was built in 1841 for a statue of King William IV on his horse that was never realised. The empty "Fourth Plinth" has since become the site for a series of ambitious temporary public art commissions, backed by the Mayor of London. The current resident is Powerless Structures, Fig. 101, a 4.11-metre tall bronze statue of a boy playing on a rocking horse by the artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. Appearing golden in the sunlight, the boy is a symbol of youth, innocence and modern masculinity next to his neighbouring statues of kings and military men. Meeting after the launch in February, Michael Elmgreen discussed some of the ideas behind his golden boy.
[Read the complete article]
An interview from Palo Alto by Dan Hill
Accompanying our review of Facebook Timeline, Domus interviews lead designer Nicholas Felton about filtering the noise of social media and mirroring personal memory. Features exclusive early sketches of Timeline.
[Read the complete article]
Building as icon
An architecture report from Dallas by Danielle Rago
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge's design is most obviously evocative of Eero Saarinen's famed engineering feat — the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. While Saarinen's footprint is heavier-handed, Calatrava's curvilinear form is lighter in gesture and form. Like St. Louis' Arch, which was built as a monument to westward expansion, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was built as a connector to encourage development and expansion into satellite neighborhoods of the city.
[Read the complete article]
An op-ed from Helsinki by Sampo Ruoppila, Panu Lehtovuori In January 2012, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation proposed to expand its museum network by establishing a new Guggenheim museum in Helsinki. The conditions, guidelines and expected costs were presented in a 186-page report "Concept and Development Study for a Guggenheim Helsinki". The release of the report has caused a vivid debate on the advantages and concerns regarding the project. The future plans are not yet known: the political decision on whether Helsinki will proceed with it is due in late March 2012.
[Read the complete article]
Ludovica + Roberto Palomba: Sunrise
A news report from Milan
Italian designers Ludovica and Roberto Palomba will present the Sunrise outdoor furniture collection for furniture company Driade at the Salone del Mobile 2012.
The lacquered aluminum collection includes a chair, an easy chair, stool, armchair, sofa — all equipped with a removable white cushion — and several tables. [Read the complete article]
