The Maxxi Museum celebrates the international builds of Italian architects abroad
![Maxxi Museum entrance hall](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NuC4uo9x25pnMuk6WfLsVM-415-80.jpg)
Rome’s Maxxi Museum had a troubled gestation, taking its time and courting controversy before ultimately emerging triumphant as a Stirling Prize winner in 2010, one of Zaha Hadid’s best works of the past five years. Now a new show hopes to build on the Maxxi’s archi-credentials by presenting a cavalcade of well-known Italian architects who have built internationally to great acclaim. The show, designed the New York/Naples firm of Lot-Ek, set up in 1993 by Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, snakes through the galleries of the National Museum of the 21st Century Arts, encompassing a broad range of styles, periods and locations.
That breadth of content is unsurprising when you consider the exhibitors. The curators have cast the net wide, taking in the work of such well-known expatriates as the late Pietro Belluschi, Lina Bo Bardi and Paolo Soleri, all responsible, in their own singular ways, for diversifying, fragmenting and exploring different aspects of inter-war modernism in their new-found milieus of big business Manhattan, high culture South America and west coast desert subcultures respectively.
Others include current contemporary favourites Renzo Piano and Studio Fuksas (and the exhibit nods to Richard Rogers’ Italian ancestry as well), while studios as diverse as Delugan Meissl, Djuric-Tardio Architectes, Benedetta Tagliabue and Correia/Ragazzi Arquitectos highlight the global impact and diversity of Italian design talent. The accompanying catalogue includes contributions from journalists, educators and practitioners around the world, including Peter Eisenman, Shumi Bose and Hans Ibelings.
The curators have cast the net wide, taking in the work of such well-known expatriates as the late Pietro Belluschi, Lina Bo Bardi and Paolo Soleri as well as current contemporary favourites like Renzo Piano and Studio Fuksas.
Designed by the New York/Naples firm of Lot-Ek, the exhibition presents videos of key works by a slew of architects in modified industrial shipping containers, with architectural models also on show and a timeline graphic along one wall
Others include studios as diverse as Delugan Meissl, Djuric-Tardio Architectes, Benedetta Tagliabue and Correia/Ragazzi Arquitectos, highlighting the global impact and diversity of Italian design talent
Highlights from the exhibition include the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil, by Lina Bo Bardi, 1957-1968.
Pompidou Centre, Paris, France, by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, 1971-1977
Karri Loop House, Margaret River, Australia, by Morq Architecture, 2007-2013
AWP office for territorial reconfiguration, Norway, by The Lantern, 2006-2008.
Maison des Arts, Université Michel De Montaigne, Bordeaux, France, by Studio Fuksas, 1992-1995.
Vocational Training Centre SSIC, by Durisch + Nolli, Gordola, Switzerland, 2004-2010.
Centre d’archives EDF, France, by LAN Architecture, 2008.
Drive-In Automobile Museum, Nanjing, China, by 3Gatti, 2009
Multi-purpose Hall, Lisieux, France, by B+C Architectes, 2011.
MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), Chengdu, China, by Studio Ramoprimo, 2008
Black & White, Brescia, Italy, by PiSaA, 2010
ADDRESS
MAXXI Museum
Via Guido Reni, 4A
Rome
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is an essential tour of the Italian master’s works
‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is the perfect book for architecture enthusiasts
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
New Aesop Milan store is a haven of beauty and tranquillity
The latest Aesop Milan store to open is a hub of wellness, beauty and tranquillity in the Italian metropolis
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A new water mirror casts a misty veil over ancient Roman baths
Architect Hannes Peer reveals a water mirror in Rome – an immersive architectural installation at the heart of the ancient Baths of Caracalla
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Giovanni Michelucci’s dramatic concrete church in the Italian Dolomites
Giovanni Michelucci’s concrete Church of Santa Maria Immacolata in the Italian Dolomites is a reverently uplifting memorial to the victims of a local disaster
By Jonathan Glancey Published
-
Milan’s 10 Corso Como revamp nods to the concept store’s industrial character
Milanese concept store 10 Corso Como unveils its new look by 2050+, a stripped-back design that nods to its 20th-century character
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Carlo Ratti announced curator of Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
Carlo Ratti has been revealed as the Director of the Architecture Department at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, with the specific task of curating the 19th International Architecture Exhibition
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Richard Rogers exhibition delves into the architect’s ideas at Chateau La Coste
A new Richard Rogers exhibition created by Ab Rogers opens at the late architect’s final design, the Drawing Gallery at Chateau La Coste in France
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
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
By Lauren Ho Published