At the summit of Plan de Corones in the Kronplatz region of South Tyrol, the Lumen Museum celebrates the history and present of mountain photography. Designed by architect Gerhard Mahlknecht of EM2 architects, the building cantilevers out over the Italian Dolomites creating quite the photo opportunity in itself.
The new volume in the landscape communicates with the modern form of the nearby former mountain station of the Kronplatz funicular and the Zaha Hadid-designed Messner Mountain Museum – Reinhold Messner, a renowned climber and mountain pioneer, is also celebrated at Lumen with a permanent exhibition on his work protecting the Alps.
Exploring the breadth of mountain culture from alpinism and tourism, to politics, spirituality and history, Lumen is set across four floors. A journey through the gallery involves climbing staircases that cut through the heart of the building, into spaces of varying ceiling heights that prescribe the function of space from stepped seating areas to long walls displaying photographs. The layered experience of space is echoed in the galleries, each designed for different uses from permanent and temporary exhibitions, to a mirror room that seeks to capture the poetic atmosphere of the mountains.
RELATED STORY
Exhibition design by GiòForma and graphics by zukunvt, help educate vistors on the photographic pioneers of the mountains across a ‘wall of fame’ including insights into the lives and work of the Tairraz brothers, Bernhard Johannes, Jules Beck and Vittorio Sella considered the first photo-alpinist.
As well as a gallery, Lumen is set to become a cultural establishment and social destination. A new restaurant with views across the Dolomites, AlpiNN, features food by chef Norbert Niederkofler who seeks to capture mountain culture and traditions through local seasonal ingredients, while an event venue with a 200 capacity will create a creative hub for live happenings and culture.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Lumen Museum website and the EM2 website
-
Lito’s ‘Paris 1925’ jewellery collection lightens strict art-deco codes with a shimmer of sensualityAthens designer Lito Karakostanoglou adds a modern dimension with dancing chainmail earrings, tactile gold layers and an all-round deft touch
-
Introducing Flora Danica, a new Danish perfume house bottling the philosophy of hyggeFlora Danica is a newly launched fragrance house rooted in Danish culture both past and present
-
The future of Salone del Mobile: new report quantifies impact of the world's biggest furniture fairFor the first time, Salone del Mobile reports on its size and impact. ‘Milan Design (Eco) System’ puts Salone into numbers, allowing its future and challenges to be addressed
-
‘I just don't like eggs!’: Andrea Fraser unpacks the art marketArtist Andrea Fraser’s retrospective ‘I just don't like eggs!’ at Fondazione Antonio dalle Nogare, Italy, explores what really makes the art market tick
-
Triennale Milano exhibition spotlights contemporary Italian artThe latest Triennale Milano exhibition, ‘Italian Painting Today’, is a showcase of artworks from the last three years
-
Walls, Windows and Blood: Catherine Opie in NaplesCatherine Opie's new exhibition ‘Walls, Windows and Blood’ is now on view at Thomas Dane Gallery, Naples
-
Raffaele Salvoldi stacks hundreds of marble blocks for dazzling Milan installationFor a Milan Design Week 2023 installation, Italian artist Raffaele Salvoldi teams up with marble brand Salvatori to create architectural sculptures comprising hundreds of marble blocks
-
Remote Antarctica research base now houses a striking new art installationIn Antarctica, Kyiv-based architecture studio Balbek Bureau has unveiled ‘Home. Memories’, a poignant art installation at the remote, penguin-inhabited Vernadsky Research Base
-
Royal College of Physicians Museum presents its archives in a glowing new lightLondon photography exhibition ‘Unfamiliar’, at the Royal College of Physicians Museum (23 January – 28 July 2023), presents clinical tools as you’ve never seen them before
-
Museum of Sex to open Miami outpost in spring 2023The Museum of Sex will expand with a new Miami outpost in spring 2023, housed in a former warehouse reimagined by Snøhetta and inaugurated with an exhibition by Hajime Sorayama
-
Venice Biennale 2022 closing review: who, how and what on earth?As the sun sets on the 59th Venice Art Biennale (until 27 November), we look back on an edition filled with resilience, female power and unsurprisingly, lots of surprises
