Completed late last year, the Bulbo Gallery in Milan is a private underground art space by Attilio Stocchi with Gino Guarnieri. Located in the client's back garden, the structure's multi-faceted form is deceptive; rather than exist as a spiky suburban intervention, it is actually buried out of sight, with only the upper portions of the seven light cones poking up above the ground.
Armed with this knowledge, the multi-faceted interior walls is rather claustrophobic, dark and perverse, with cinematic shafts of light rippling off the angled walls. The apparently random form was derived from the constraints placed by the site – a tree root here, a water tank there, as well as existing foundations scattered around.
Faced with an unruly, awkward plan, Guarnieri and Stocchi simply continued to eat into the space with angles and twists. The result is a mysterious little monument to culture, a secular space with a sacred feel, in line with Stocchi's aim of creating a living, breathing atmosphere. 'In architecture, restraint is always a close friend,' the 44-year old architect says.
-
Hella Jongerius named Honorary Royal Designer for Industry 2023The Dutch designer received the Honorary Royal Designer for Industry 2023 accolade alongside creatives from different disciplines
-
London restaurant and tequila bar Ixchel brings Mexico’s timeless flavour to every sip and bite
On London’s King’s Road, Ixchel offers an unmissable fusion of Mexican art, cuisine and atmosphere
-
Matthew M Williams is leaving Givenchy
American designer Matthew M Williams is set to exit his role as creative director of Givenchy after a three-year tenure
-
Floating infinity pool by Herzog & De Meuron at Lake Como is largest of its kind
Herzog & de Meuron creates the largest floating infinity pool in the world for Mandarin Oriental in Lake Como
-
Freddy Mamani on Neo-Andean architecture and bringing a cruise ship to Bolivia
We catch up with Bolivian architect Freddy Mamani at Focus: Radical Repair, the conference curated by The World Around and Fondation Cartier in Milan, to talk about Neo-Andean architecture and his latest project, el Crucero de los Andes
-
Best of brutalist Italian architecture chronicled in new book
Brutalist Italian architecture enthusiasts and concrete completists will be spoilt for choice by Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego’s pictorial tour
-
Studio Tropicana, Switzerland and Italy: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
Based in Switzerland and Italy, Studio Tropicana is part of the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
-
WeWork Meravigli blends past and present in a 21st-century office space
WeWork Meravigli launches in Milan, bringing its ornate, historical new home to the 21st century
-
In memoriam: Paolo Portoghesi (1931 - 2023)
Postmodernist Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi has died; writer David Plaisant celebrates his life and legacy, recalling his visit to Calcata for a feature in the Wallpaper* April 2021 issue
-
V&A's Tropical Modernism: a vivid look at architecture culture in newly independent Ghana
Subtitled ‘Architecture and Power in West Africa’, V&A's 'Tropical Modernism' is a richly historical show at the 2023 Venice Biennale, perfectly aligned with the overarching theme of inclusion and exploration of modernism’s overlooked cultural impact
-
Venice Architecture Biennale 2023: the ultimate guide
As the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 opens, we explore the offerings at the world’s famous celebration of building design
