Editorial. Domus 1028
On the October 2018 issue, Michele De Lucchi describes poverty as a noble vitrue that guides us to the depths of things, revealing their true essence.
In this issue
Domus 1028
Cover illustration: The Blue Chemist
Archaeology
Vera Icona. True image
“To thine own self be true.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act-1, Scene-III. Presented by Adam Lowe & Charlotte Skene Catling
Portfolio
Filippo Romano, Water tanks, Mathare
In Mathare ghetto, Nairobi, where a litre
of water costs twice as much as in the rich Westlands district, the concrete sheds of the water tanks become gathering places, small squares
Studio visit
Alexander Brodsky
Informal organisation and a cross-territorial combination of elements characterise the studio of the Russian architect
Institution
Kengo Kuma, V&A
Kuma’s architecture creates relationships, flows and circulation. The V&A Dundee acts like a gate between river and city. Presented by Paola Nicolin
Economy
Robust growth has to be inclusive
In Italy, absolute poverty mainly concerns young people and must be confronted with determination. Text by Linda Laura Sabbadini
Archive
Ingenuity
Minimum Cost Housing Group sulphur concrete blocks. Presented by the Canadian Centre for Architecture
Cara Domus
Valerio Recchioni
Dear Michele, I am a student of architecture and a regular reader of Domus. I learned about your “Dear Domus” initiative and I would like to take part in it with my series of architectural collages ironically called Genius Disloci.
Essay
Deyan Sudjic, What’s luxury?
Luxury embodies a paradox, of the ordinary made special, and the special become ordinary
Authenticity
Michele De Lucchi, Poverty
The shift of poverty from a condition of material difficulty to a terrain of authenticity and simplicity of form
Architecture
Franco Raggi, Alejandro Aravena. Practice as theory
From conflicts to proposals. From urban “density” to urban “intensity”. From differences to incremental scarcity. Alejandro Aravena and his idea of architecture focused squarely on the quality of life
Architecture
Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo, Two houses in Sicily
Conservative restoration as design practice. Text by Pippo Ciorra
Architecture
Imparare dalla povertà
Service architectures in emerging countries are becoming a terrain and ideal training ground for design experimentation
Architecture
El Equipo Mazzanti, Marinilla Educational Park, Colombia
The project confirms El Equipo Mazzanti’s flair for designing architecture that becomes a valued public space
Architecture
Cherubino Gambardella, Vocational school, Kelle sur Mer, Senegal
A vocational school recalls the first elementary and mysterious project for Casa Malaparte on the island of Capri. Text by Maria Gelvi
Architecture
Matra Architects, Casa in legno, Satkol, Nanital, India
The Indian studio breathes life into a series of domestic, intimate and traditional interiors immersed in the mountain landscape of the Himalayas
Architecture
David Chipperfield Architects Milan, SSENSE, Montreal, Canada
When everything is empty, pure and essential, even the poorest and most banal material can be sumptuous and precious
Essay
Paolo Gasparoli, Crisis is a time of great opportunity
We need to change the paradigm: passing from restoration once the damage has occurred, to maintenance and prevention with simple technologies
Design
Kristel Peters, Growing shoes
Mycelium cultivation offer the footwear industry a simple and sustainable alternative. Text by Filip Bullens
Strategic Design
Liveinslums
A social farm utopia in Mathare surrounded by waste and garbage. Text by Elisabetta Bianchessi
Fashion
Maria Luisa Frisa, Aesthetics of poverty
Can we speak of poor fashion? Yes, if it’s understood as the work of designers who break the rules, reasserting fashion’s role in the formation of our values of reference
Art
Authenticity is vital. A conversation with Francesco Arena
Francesco Arena (Torre Santa Susanna, Brindisi, 1978) has the gift of clarity. His sculptures and installations comprise basic geometric forms and everyday objects organised within simple actions
Best of
Poverty
“The intersection of poverty and architecture, and the role of architecture in addressing poverty and social exclusion, are widely misunderstood.” Alan Mallach
Cinema
Robin Hood Gardens. Disappearing worlds
The film by Urban-Think Tank reminds us that the Smithsons’s ideas about the ties between buildings, users and architectural sites no longer have the value they once did. Presented by Piero Golia
On the couch
The chef Massimo Bottura talks about his battle against waste, the product of a world that no longer recognises quality, restraint and beauty. Presented by
Walter Mariotti
Meteorology
Architecture’s grandeur is linked to the amount of energy mobilised: the architecture of the Early Middle Ages was built with human muscle suffering. Twentieth century architecture is boosted by carbon energies and cranes. Presented by Philippe Rahm
Travel
Djibouti. Flexibility and tribal values
In the Horn of Africa, the idea of the home often takes the form of an open space; the house is a place of collective appropriation. Text and photos by
Ilaria Bollati
Rassegna
The poetry of Tadao Ando’s raw concrete
Luigi Cocco, the engineer who has always worked alongside Ando in his Italian projects, guides us in a close-up look at the construction techniques used by the Japanese master. Edited by Giulia Guzzini
Auction
Technology ages fast, because lifestyles change and progress never stops. However, exceptions to this rule are the essential, beautiful and authentic objects designed by Dieter Rams for Braun