Vicenza show salutes David Chipperfield Architects’ four studios

The newly opened ‘David Chipperfield Architects Works 2018’ show in Vicenza is neither a retrospective nor an architect’s vanity project. It is rather a multi-leveled and carefully orchestrated exhibition that celebrates the genius and talent of a single architect – David Chipperfield – through select works from the practice’s four different studios in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai; and through those studios’ individual interpretations of the principal architect’s vision.
The show is made up of 17 projects that are either recently completed, or currently in progress, and subtly outline the practice’s methods and approach, as well as the range of possibilities these create. The work is not anchored in a particular, obvious style, but instead embodies a language that is able to rethink the ordinary and push the boundaries of what is possible.
It is evident through his work that for Chipperfield, it is important to restore public interest in architecture. Through the show we also see the return of that ‘common ground’ that the architect talked about in his statement as curator of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennial. This is an exhibition that highlights the importance of teamwork – it is a sort of manifesto, signed by all the members of all the Chipperfield studios.
Delicate lighting creates focal points exploring models, photographs, documents and technical drawings. Each of the studios has interpreted the architect’s design concepts using the tools and nuances that distinguishes them from their counterparts.
The Milanese studio presents the flagship stores for Maison Valentino complete with models and a selection of materials, while the Shanghai studio offers the Zhejang Museum of Natural History in Anji through large-scale drawings and video documentary. The Berlin studio shows studies and models of the extension of Zurich’s Kunsthaus on a shelving installation with large compartments to clearly demonstrate each separate phase in the creative process. Finally, to illustrate the Hoxton Press Headquarters, the London office works with models of the scheme’s two towers and the technical and photographic descriptions of how the project was translated from drawings to reality.
Another key qualities of the show is the dialogue it opens up with the building in which it is hosted, Vicenza’s Basilica Palladiana. Using both vertical and horizontal space, the displays honour and complement their surroundings. Video projections that highlight the scale of the buildings represented make the most of the basilica’s full height, while the entire width of the large hall is used in an installation that forms three aisles, punctuated by displays of individual architectural projects.
See all the latest news and stories from Venice Architecture Biennale here
The show is held at Vicenza’s Basilica Palladiana.
Cava Arcari, Zovencedo, Italy.
Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Amorepacific headquarters, Seoul, South Korea.
Inagawa Cemetery chapel and visitor centre, Hyogo, Japan.
Brioni store concept.
SSENSE, Montréal, Canada.
INFORMATION
’David Chipperfield Architects Works 2018’ will run at the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza until the 2 September 2018. For more information visit the David Chipperfield Architects website
ADDRESS
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
David Chipperfield Architects Works 2018
Basilica Palladiana Piazza dei Signori
36100 Vicenza
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Jnane Rumi: clarity, reflection and connection
In the quiet tranquillity of Marrakech’s Palmeraie, Jnane Rumi evokes a rich and colourful tapestry of Moroccan art, craftsmanship and design
-
Cindy Sherman in Menorca: ‘She's decades ahead of social media and the construction of identity for the camera’
‘Cindy Sherman: The Women’, its title a nod to an image-conscious 1930s Broadway hit, takes the American artist's carefully constructed, highly performative works to Hauser & Wirth Menorca
-
A Rancho Mirage home is in tune with its location and its architect-owners' passions
Architect Steven Harris and his collaborator and husband, designer Lucien Rees Roberts have built a home in Rancho Mirage, surrounded by some of America’s most iconic mid-century modern works; they invited us on a tour
-
A guide to Renzo Piano’s magic touch for balancing scale and craft in architecture
Prolific and innovative, Renzo Piano has earned a place among the 20th century's most important architects; we delve into his life and career in this ultimate guide to his work
-
How was Carlo Ratti’s ‘Intelligens’? Wallpaper* editors discuss the 19th Venice Biennale
Having visited ‘Intelligens’, the 19th Venice Biennale's main show by curator Carlo Ratti, the Wallpaper* editors discuss what they saw at the world's biggest global architecture festival
-
Discover architect Ico Parisi’s modernist sanctuaries on the banks of Lake Como
A string of sculptural sanctuaries by architect Ico Parisi on the banks of Lake Como helped cement the area as the heartland of Italian modernism; we explore his work in an article from the Wallpaper* archives
-
Explore this new Lake Como villa and its powerful, cinematic views
A Lake Como villa by Tuckey Design Studio celebrates the history of its site and references the surrounding landscape through materiality
-
2026 Olympic and Paralympic Torches: in Carlo Ratti's minimalism ‘the flame is the protagonist’
The 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Torches for the upcoming Milano Cortina Games have been revealed, designed by architect Carlo Ratti to highlight the Olympic flame
-
Anni Albers' weaving magic offers a delightful 2-in-1 modernist showcase in Milan
A Milan Design Week showcase of Anni Albers’ weaving work, brought to life by Dedar with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, brings visitors to modernist icon, the BBPR-designed Torre Velasca
-
Milan Design Week: ‘A Beat of Water’ highlights the power of the precious natural resource
‘A Beat of Water’ by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group and Roca zooms in on water and its power – from natural element to valuable resource, touching on sustainability and consumption
-
This Milan Design Week installation invites you to tread barefoot inside a palazzo
At Palazzo Litta, Moscapartners and Byoung Cho launch a contemplative installation on the theme of migration