Allegro Giusto - Works from the BSI Art Collection - Preparations for a new building

A special exhibition in Rome – displaying the great international artists in the BSI Art Collection – gives the opportunity to visit and discover the wonderful and centrally-located Istituto Svizzero in Rome at the charming Villa Maraini.

The works by some of the great international artists in the BSI Art Collection are in Rome for the first time. They may be viewed by the public until 20 June 2015 in the charming surroundings of Istituto Svizzero di Roma at Villa Maraini. This exhibition originates from an important refurbishment project on the Villa planned for 2016. The remodel will significantly transform the spaces inside the building based on the plan by the Bosshard Vaquer architecture studio in Zurich, winner of the international design competition for this very project.

Before implementing this significant project, with Allegro Giusto – Works from the BSI Art Collection – Preparations for a new building the same architects – who are familiar with projects focusing on the redefinition and development of pre-existing structures, including public tenders – are redesigning the spaces shared by Istituto Svizzero di Roma. They will be putting those spaces into dialogue with a selection of contemporary artworks from the BSI Art Collection, using a system of bookcases containing artworks and a part of the Institute’s library collection. This is not merely a decorative installation, but rather an exercise in reconfiguration and transformation of the function of a place and a work of art, where the artworks will be able to dialogue with their environment starting from their day-to-day existence.

This is why the works in the BSI Art Collection – which was created in 2000 with the intention of connecting the financial institution to the world of contemporary art – have been chosen based on both the spaces in Istituto Svizzero and to provide a representation of the double nature of the collection, in a constant dialogue between past and present, which simultaneously reflects the aims of the new installation at Villa Maraini. On the one hand, there are some artists who have been historically associated with BSI, such as Armleder, Barry, Buren and Halley – who have created site-specific artworks for some bank offices – or also, Melotti, Paolini, Merz, Cragg, Boetti, Chamberlain and Carroll. On the other hand, young, internationally renowned artists were also selected, such as Vo, Kuri and Epaminonda, along with the so-called post web generation artists such as Price and Domanovic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Info and images courtesy of ddl studio

Allegro Giusto - Works from the BSI Art Collection - Preparations for a new building

Combining the rural and the urban lifestyle: House JA in Guarda by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa

Located on the north-center of Portugal, the house was meant to combine the rural and the urban lifestyle. The lot is surrounded by different types of constructions, consequence of the informal settlements, characteristics of most Portuguese cities neighbourhoods. The existent stone ruins, vestige of a traditional house and the lot’s configuration, were the main aspects for the new project. The program requirements, a family house, have led to an almost total land occupation.

The first principle was to separate the new and the old construction, even if they are connected inside. A stone volume represents the existent building; a concrete volume the new one. The second principle was to introduce light in the middle of the house. Two different empty spaces were generated: the entrance, and the heart of the house – the courtyard. The courtyard and the stairs are the center of the house and its living. These are the key elements for the spatial relationships between the different parts of the house, the interior and the exterior.

The program was divided in two levels: the living room, the kitchen and the garage were positioned on the ground floor; the bedrooms and the library at the first floor. The suite was placed in a privileged point – the memory of the old house. The scale and the site identity were always present on the construction details and material choices: stone, concrete, steel and oak wood. Inside the white and the wood comfort. Outside a granitic and a new concrete mass were sculpted on the same way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Info and images courtesy of Joao Morgado – Fotografia de Arquitectura

Combining the rural and the urban lifestyle: House JA in Guarda by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa

Fondation Louis Vuitton by Gehry Partners

The design responds to the setting of the Jardin d’Acclimatation, evoking the tradition of 19th-century glass garden buildings, the role of the Jardin in cultural memory (especially the work of Marcel Proust) and the desire to create a contemporary art museum that will be attractive and welcoming to the children and families who frequent the Jardin.

Constructed on the edge of a water garden created especially for the project, the building comprises an assemblage of white blocks (known as “the icebergs”) clad in panels of fiber-reinforced concrete, surrounded by twelve immense glass “sails” supported by wooden beams. The sails give Fondation Louis Vuitton its transparency and sense of movement, while allowing the building to reflect the water, woods and garden and continually change with the light.

The ground-level entrance hall serves as the entry to both the museum and the Jardin. It is designed as an active social space, featuring a restaurant and bookstore. The large, multi-purpose space directly adjacent to the entrance hall may be used as an auditorium accommodating 350 persons, an exhibition space, or event venue.

As visitors move from gallery to gallery within the building, the large expanses of glass provide picturesque views of the gardens, integrating the landscape into the experience of the museum. Visitors are able to climb exterior stairways underneath the glass sails to reach roof-top gardens and exhibitions.

The project has been a catalyst internationally for innovation in digital design and construction, setting a new standard for the use of advanced digital and fabrication technologies. More than 400 people contributed design models, engineering rules and assembly constraints to a common web-hosted 3D digital model, which intelligently adapted itself to design requirements. More than 3,600 glass panels and 19,000 concrete panels that form the façade were simulated using mathematical techniques and molded using advanced industrial robots, all automated from the shared 3D model. New software was developed specifically for sharing and working with the complex design.

The structure of the glass roof allows the building to collect and reuse rain water and improves its geothermal power. Besides, the Fondation has attained its overall goal to reach HQE (Haute Qualité Environmentale) certification noted as Très Performant. The steps taken to achieve this level of certification could be considered equivalent to LEED Gold.

 

 

 

Info and images © Gehry Partners

Fondation Louis Vuitton by Gehry Partners

Inspirationist Interview: Pierluigi Di Giacomo & Tommaso Raffa of Wolf-VA

Architecture meets technical skill and imaginative vision in Italy: Wolf-VA has been bringing their service to architectural companies throughout Italy for years with a tailor made service ranging from creation to post-production of rendering images, 3D video animations, 3D schemes, attractive graphical drawings and web design. Now in a new venture, founders Pierluigi Di Giacomo and Tommaso Raffa strive to bring the tradition of high Italian quality and design to more international clients.

When Pierluigi and Tommaso gave life to Wolf-VA years ago, they ventured into an area that brought them above and beyond traditional architectural projects in terms of visualization. As seen in the name, VA stands for Visualizing Architecture, a term that grew out of their desire to exploit the graphic and creative element that is often missing from conventional architectural projects, making Wolf a high-level competitor in Italy, and now they’re hoping, at a global level as well.

“We’ll offer the same professional services abroad, but there’s a bigger market. In Italy the companies and opportunities are limited,” explains Tommaso. “We need to venture out of Italy and push the fact that we offer a service that is ‘Made in Italy’ but that is customized to match our specific skills to the needs of the client.”

These services include an in-depth analysis of ideas followed by project board layout designs and graphic post-production of technical drawings, all suited to guarantee an effective presentation of the project, focusing on images to ensure the perfect balance between passion and narration. Wolf has always prided themselves on their post-production techniques, producing perfect, clear images that are able to emphasize the features of the original project ideas. Thanks to these skills, Wolf-VA also produces video presentations that are conceptual, functional and emotional in order to convey their message, something that has always captured the interest of the public.

In an exclusive interview, founders Tommaso Raffa and Pierluigi Di Giacomo talk about the birth of their venture created to optimize the presentation of professional architectural projects and what lies ahead for 3D image rendering in the architectural world.

INSPIRATIONIST: How did the project for Wolf-VA come to life? What is your background?

Tommaso Raffa: We met working side by side in an architectural studio where we were both project managers for architectural competitions; the many sleepless nights we spent during this time to deliver the projects and rush to meet the deadlines allowed us to develop a particular awareness and perception towards the communication of the architectural project and to master all of the instruments with great ease. The idea blossomed from here, to offer these specific skills to those who needed to represent with clarity and intensity, the idea behind the project.

Pierluigi Di Giacomo: The fact that we were architects and not only “technicians” allowed us to have an approach that was more aware of the representation of the projects. In the same respect, we employ a critical reading to be able to emphasize the prominent aspects and contents of every action we take.

I: What has your sector’s experience been like in this period of crisis? Which would be the right direction for the future, according to you?

P: To set ourselves apart from the competitors, we need to stress professionalism and competence, and in this aspect, we are always seeking to set the bar higher on all fronts. We’re very demanding with ourselves, continually keeping up to date, experimenting and looking to give the maximum amount of effort to every visualization project. The passion for our work is, in my opinion, the real key to overcome the unfavourable economic circumstance.

T: To be optimistic, which I am, I believe that the current conditions push those who offer exceptional quality in their services and field even more. It is because of this we strive for exceptional quality and aim everything towards this theme. Our clients share this same approach with us; they fully perceive the value of our support and they want to present their work and their ideas in the best way possible.

 I: What type of services do you offer and who are your usual clients?

T: Our services are geared towards those involved in architecture, design studies, contractors and real estate, and whoever needs to communicate architectural projects that have not yet been built.

P: Our idea is to provide the quality and the effectiveness typical of representations for architectural competitions in those sectors where usually, the quality is a lacking a bit. “Telling the story” of a project through realistic and captivating images can truly facilitate the processes of marketing and sales, and our work is exactly that: to transmit the contents of the project to the public in the most effective way.

I: Describe us your vision: what influence do you think the visual element has in the presentation of the project?

T: The images, graphic schemes and 3D video presentations are always the most important instruments for the communication of the project. The technical designs will always remain a fundamental part of architecture, but in a world where the image always obtains more importance, this, also in our field, becomes essential for the communication of the project’s contents to those who don’t work in the architectural field and aren’t well versed on the subject. Those people are then the principal actors that give meaning to the whole process, like the clients of the architectural studio or the potential buyers of a new residential operation.

P: We are constantly bombarded by images of every kind, in a landscape so chaotic we need to distinguish ourselves in order to be able to emerge. Only the images with a soul can provoke an emotion and leave an impression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspirationist Interview: Pierluigi Di Giacomo & Tommaso Raffa of Wolf-VA