Domus visits Colorado to see the first private residence built by Renzo Piano, that resembles a small village; goes to Rio de Janeiro to look at the Cidade das Artes by Christian de Portzamparc, a place for people to gather and a local landmark for the district of Barra da Tijuca, and then to Naples where Francesco Venezia discovers the underground spaces beneath the cathedral at Caserta. Jonathan Sergison talks about his suburban housing scheme, taking a stand against the housing speculation carried out at the present time.

Two very different exhibitions provoke thought about architecture: one on Renaissance painter Paolo Veronese for whom architecture is more than set design and one on Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo, an Italian architect showing at AUT in Austria who talks about her interventions in the exhibition space. On display at MoMA in New York are recent acquisitions by the Department of Architecture and Design and curator Pedro Gadanho explains his point of view concerning the contemporary notion of space. Finally, the opinions of critics, architects, curators and students who examine the Venice Biennale from different points of view.

This month Domus looks at FAUP, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto where architecture is considered as art, service and product of a social and cultural character and Slovakian designer Tomas Kral, who teaches at ECAL and whose course focuses on the development of ideas in collaboration with businesses and international institutions. Switzerland is featured in feedback with Zurich seen through the eyes of Ruggero Tropeano.

Marco d’Eramo discusses the UNESCO "world heritage site" label, that when applied to cities or portions of them, freezes them for ever.