
Time Space Existence: the Future of Architecture In Venice
Until November 23, 2025, Venice is the global hub for architectural discussion with "Time Space Existence." This biennial exhibition, spearheaded by the European Cultural Centre, features projects from 52 countries, all focused on "Repairing, Regenerating, and Reusing" for a more sustainable future.
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Ever thought of a house built during the real estate boom as a historical document? Architect Lluís Alexandre Casanovas Blanco approached the house Bellavista 21 in Cardedeu, Barcelona, as if it was a ruin.
The frenzied economic growth of Spain in the mid 1980s caused an unprecedented increase of the construction industry. In those years, the purchase of property along with construction of housing was encouraged to the recently enriched middle-class by both public and private policies as it was considered the safest investment. With the 2008 financial crisis this phenomenon stopped but has left an extensive heritage that must be addressed as such.





















As Casanovas Blanco suggests, the project is a case study to investigate the aesthetics of opulence of the housing outburst, directly connected to the socio-economical context that enabled the appearance of these dynamics. The house owned by Jaume and Maria Luisa is – in the architect’s words – “paradigmatic of the aesthetic fostered by this financial phenomenon” for three main reasons: firstly, materials are mostly prefabricated but combined to form a pastiche of stylistic references. Secondly, the views of the surrounding field from the back façade of the house are endangered as they will probably soon be urbanised; third, the presence of radically different tastes in the same environment, of the owners with their sons’.






The domestic design is permeated with the architect’s vindication of experimentation at a small scale, relating his architectural production to research in the fields of performance, criticism and curatorial work. The project features punctual interventions dealing with the three points mentioned above: it operates a transformation of the views and redefines space with colour as well as with elements reminiscing of traditional crafts. A textile inspired by “encaje de bolillos” – a traditional bobbin lace technique for the manufacturing of the mantles of Baroque Virgin statues – has been used in the soft filters of the curtains to gently modify the space of the house.
- Project:
- Bellavista 21
- Program:
- apartment
- Architect:
- Lluís Alexandre Casanovas Blanco
- Collaborators:
- Álvaro Carrillo, Paula Currás, Mireia Gallego, Miquel de Mas Alted, Laura Migueláñez, Matthew Weir
- Gardening:
- Calypsos – Álvaro Carrillo, Paula Currás
- Completion:
- 2018

Design and ceramics renew a shopping center
FMG Fabbrica Marmi and architect Paolo Gianfrancesco, of THG Arkitektar Studio, have designed the restyling of the third floor of Reykjavik's largest shopping center. Ceramic, the central element of the project, covers floors, walls and furniture with versatile solutions and distinctive character.
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