Salone del Mobile 2008
Prada/OMA collaboration
Salone del Mobile 2008
There really couldn't be a more suitable time for the Prada Foundation and OMA, to unveil their joint plans, than the bustling annual Milan fair.
The Fondazione Prada, established in 1995, has owned the location, an early 20th-century distillery at Largo Isarco No2, for quite a while now; and the Fondazione's ever-expanding and increasingly sophisticated plans made the need for extra space hard to ignore. The transformation of the old industrial site in South Milan was appointed to OMA, lead by Rem Koohlaas, which will provide the Fondazione with a refined and skilful architectural touch to match the company's high profile and ambition.
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The scheme, unveiled yesterday, is designed as an organic expansion of the collection, taking into account the historical context, and includes adding an exhibition building, an auditorium and a tower to the existing complex. 'Doing new things becomes harder and harder' says Koolhaas, who sees the project as an encounter of the foundation's collection of artefacts, with the building's 'collection of architectural typologies'.
After the transformation, the complex will be able to house a selection of works from the collection, as well as temporary shows; the new facilities will also allow the opening of both the Prada and Lune Rossa's archives, as well as a permanent space showcasing the foundation's 15-years' worth of activities, in large-scale installations.
The Fondazione's curatiorial work already includes art, architecture, philosophy, science, design and cinema, but there are big plans to work even more closely with museums like the Tate, as well as hosting various festivals, performances, symposia and lectures in the new spaces, covering all disciplines.
The Fondazione Prada currently features the solo exhibition 'Turn into Me', by Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg; visit it at the Fondazione's current address, via Fogazzaro 36.
