15 great stories to read during the holidays

Cofounder of Gramazio Kohler Research, one of the globe’s leading robotic architecture labs at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, or ETH) Zurich, Gramazio recalls that later, when NASA started launching test flights of its Ingenuity helicopter gliding above the orange-red dunes of Mars, he was struck by an epiphany: his aero-robots might one day help build the first human havens on the still-frozen Red Planet. By Kevin Holden Platt

We propose exclusively for Domus, divided into four episodes, a debate that took place in the form of an exchange of letters between Marco Petroni, Ani Liu, Giovanni Innella and Emanuele Quinz on the future of design, entitled Black Box Design. Here the third article written by Emanuele Quinz. Criticism has infiltrated design. Although very often theoretical infiltrations from other disciplinary fields such as philosophy, anthropology and the humanities remain superficial and instead of provoking in-depth discussion, they remain in a state of undiluted suspension, like foreign bodies. By Emanuele Quinz

The authors of Vari-età (Variety/Various ages), the first book on Remo Buti’s universe, one of the most interesting figures of the Italian radical movement, and not only, speak. And in a totally radical spirit, where the collective was a value, the three authors answer our questions together. Buti, born in 1932, is an architect and designer as well as a great teacher at the University of Florence, where he graduated after attending the legendary Leonardo Ricci and Leonardo Savioli’s courses (later becoming their assistant). His passionate fervour in giving himself to his students can be considered one of his greatest works – in 1973, along with his radical friends, he was one of the founders of the Global Tools counter-school of design. By Maria Cristina Didero

Frederic Migayrou, curator of the exhibition “Aerodream” at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, tells us the aesthetic and social evolution of these majestic inflatable structures, from Second World War until today. We spoke to Frédéric Migayrou, head curator of Architecture and Design and deputy director of the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou, as well as lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture, London, who curated the exhibition alongside Valentina Moimas. By Emanuele Quinz

The career of Paul Rudolph (1918-1997) follows quite an unfortunate trajectory. His rise is tremendous, projecting him from his modest background (as the son of a reverend from Kentucky) to the role of chair of Yale University’s School of Architecture, since 1958, and the designer of its famous building (1958-1964). His decline is just as rapid, starting from approximately a decade later. The most powerful of American architects sees its commissions rapidly shrink, for an ill-fated combination of taste evolution and biographic complications. By Alessandro Benetti

Among the giants that are now working on the construction of a metaverse, however, we find Facebook/Meta and Microsoft, but also some protagonists of the world of video games such as Epic Games (which with Fortnite is creating a sort of metaverse dedicated to entertainment only), the Roblox platform, the Chinese Tencent and even apparently unrelated realities such as Tinder. By Andrea Daniele Signorelli

Surrounded by white ceramics, neon lights and synthetic fur, her alienating and futuristic interiors have enriched many films, including a seminal Italian horror. A retrospective in Milan and a compilation of soundtracks celebrate this legacy. “A beetle under a leaf: we can seriously talk of architecture even adopting this language, because if architecture is serious, precise, functional it opens up a discourse on the freedom of images […] The woman to whom this house project is dedicated has kindly agreed for everybody to use it, so as to share her joy with everyone.” With these words published on Domus 414 from May 1964. By Lorenzo Ottone

After months of isolation and remote lectures, the university world finally seems ready to reclaim its physical spaces, repopulating classrooms and laboratories. The world of education is certainly taking home a wealth of digital wisdom while coming to terms with a real metamorphosis of the university’s language. We asked Harriet Harriss, Dean of the Pratt School of Architecture, and Quilian Riano, Assistant Dean, about the visions of the New York-based Institute, scattered between technological hybridization and eco-political engagement. By Romina Totaro

On the continent and especially in Austria, the Basement is a place for obsessions, from the very private and secretive to the benign and utilitarian. Some dwellers spend most of their free time (Freizeit) in the basement rather than in their above-the-earth living rooms, exchanging the dream of socio-cultural conformity for the gritty reality of obsession and darkness. While European trends point toward a sustainable wood construction movement that can rise into the clouds, the Californian subcontinent is increasing its reliability on concrete to go more underground. By Mark Mack

The reconstruction that followed the Second World War, born out of necessity and as a result of the economic policies implemented by the newly-established Republic, saw a violent acceleration in the construction sector and a rapid development of the urban fabric of Italian cities. The modern architecture of post-war Milan was able to combine regulations, technological innovations and formal quality with a cultured approach, grounded in concreteness and technical knowledge, as the example of Gigi Gho’ teaches us. By Marco Ornella

As a consequence of hundreds of years of colonisation, globalisation and never-ending economic extraction and expansionism, we have remade the world from the scale of the cell to the tectonic plate. But what would happen if we managed to radically reverse this planetary sprawl? What if it were possible to reach a global consensus to relinquish our vast network of cities and entangled supply chains and retreat into one hyper-dense metropolis housing every single human being on the planet? By Liam Young

Italy is an extraordinary and complex ecosystem where flatlands, large urban areas, valleys and mountains, cities, towns and villages alternate. In this unique dimension, there are extraordinary and fragile places that require special care. The most urgent and complex issues to address are depopulation and the effects of climate change. One of the most emblematic situations is represented by Civita di Bagnoregio, in the province of Viterbo. By Marco Petroni

In the 50s, following his experience with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West, Italian architect Paolo  Soleri developed Arcology, a new theory merging architecture and ecology: this theory achieved its first material expression when Cosanti (cosa-anti, anti-thing) in the outskirts of  Phoenix. In 1970 then, on top of a mesa in the Arizona desert, Soleri started the still ongoing Arcosanti open community project. Photographers Emanuele Piccardo and Filippo Romano investigate the shape and life of the communities created in Arizona by Paolo Soleri, years after their first discovery trip. By Giovanni Comoglio

In the 1970s, the southern part of Cali, Colombia, far from the urban blight of the overpopulated, congested, crime-ridden neighborhoods in the low rent areas of the city, became the most sought-after residential areas. The architecture in these exclusive neighborhoods, however, designed as defensive structures against the lower classes (electric fences, high gates and security outposts), is inevitably offensive. By Kurt Hollander

The Giambellino-Lorenteggio regeneration plan was launched in April. It is the result of the €100 million programme agreement signed by the City of Milan and ALER (Azienda Lombarda di Edilizia Residenziale) in 2016 and co-financed by European funds. The station coincides with the last stop of the new metro line (M4), which will serve the neighbourhood with two stops. The project by OMA and Laboratorio Permanente, winners of the international competition (2018), will transform the former railway yard into a linear water park. By Marta Bravi