Domus 1044 on newsstands: “The ecology of protection, memory, reuse”

This month we consider attitudes towards the protection of heritage and the implications for our identity and sense of place in light of current social, cultural and environmental dissonance.

This month we consider attitudes towards the protection of heritage and the implications for our identity and sense of place in light of current social, cultural and environmental dissonance.

This month we consider attitudes towards the protection of heritage and the implications for our identity and sense of place in light of current social, cultural and environmental dissonance.

Continuing the monthly exploration of good architectural practice, Francis Kéré explains his remarkable journey into architecture, starting in Burkina Faso and leading to his studio in Berlin today.

Niger-born Mariam Kamara explores the affinities between two exemplary projects by architects working in the Global South: a photographer’s studio in Mexico and a school in India, designed by Taller Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo and Samira Rathod Design Associates respectively.

Iturbide Studio, Coyoacán, Mexico City/ Taller |Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo|

School of Dancing Arches, Bhadran, India/ Samira Rathod Design Associates

In Tilburg, Christian Kieckens reviews the LocHal project – a former industrial building that now houses several public functions for the city, including a library and co-working space. Led by Civic Architecture, the highly collaborative project sees the city drawing on its industrial identity to establish a new economic future.

What is design? According to the British graphic designer John Morgan it is invisible, just as a clear crystal glass is the best vessel from which to drink a fine wine. Good typography should not interfere with the contents.

Meanwhile, the unexpected and fresh approach to design adopted by Axel Einar Hjorth (1888-1959) has fascinated Jasper Morrison and Francesca Picchi. Together with Christian Björk, they rediscover the career path of this Swedish designer who, despite conceiving timeless furniture, was unjustly forgotten outside his home country.

With a jump in scale, Jane Withers outlines what is emerging as the most serious social crisis of the 21st century – cities without water – and explains Ooze Architects’ idea for Chennai: a “sponge city” that introduces porous surfaces into the urban environment.

Lastly, the architect Philippe Christou went to meet the artist Do Ho Suh in his London studio to find out about his upbringing in South Korea, the teachings of his father, who was also an artist, and his view of clothing as architectural space.

“I carried the drawing back and forth with me to the site – which is why the sheets are all creased,” says Alberto Ponis about the drawings for the Palau Yacht Club Path (1965) project, which reveal his intimate familiarity with the topography of the site.

On the subject of Making architecture, Mariana Popescu, Tom Van Mele and Philippe Block explore new-generation concrete formworks, inspired both by the daring works of old masters and the need for a sensible environmental approach to building.

Looking to the issue of reclaiming public space in our cities, Alex Hochuli observes the pedestrianisation of the raised Minhocão highway that snakes through the city of São Paulo.

Exploring the archives, Fulvio Irace revisits a project where the ancient was incorporated as a “living memory of the past” – the Terme Regina Isabella on the island of Ischia by Ignazio Gardella, published by Gio Ponti in Domus 268 (March 1952).

Sustainable, interactive, intelligent, interconnected but above all original in terms of the way form is developed. Latest generation light fittings, that we review over the next few pages, all have as their lowest common denominator the search for energy efficiency, sustainability and cost reduction – an essential challenge for a light fitting.