THE PLAN 141, the sixth issue for 2022

The cover of THE PLAN 141 is dedicated to the Casa El Claro project, a residence designed by Raúl Herrera Daniel in Maitencillo, Chile, characterized by its essential geometries. Spanning residential complexes to museums, installations to villas, the October issue has plenty to inspire.

Opening the issue is the editorial “Sensory Details: Our Ongoing Methodical Research” by Huang Wenjing, co-founder and partner of OPEN Architecture. The article examines the importance of the relationship between humans and architecture, which needs to include a sensorial element made up of stimuli and exchange, emotions and harmony. The author takes a critical look at the metaverse and all things immaterial.

In the Highlights column, Michael Webb looks at Escher GuneWardena Architecture. Taking the restoration of Greene House as his starting point, Webb examines the hallmarks of the studio’s design approach in projects that are often highly varied, such as small, conceptually rigorous designs and urban planning projects.

The Viaggio in Italia column returns with a piece by Valerio Paolo Mosco. The featured studio is AMDL CIRCLE, founded by Michele De Lucchi. The human-centric approach of this studio has made it one of the most recognized names in architecture in the world. The article reveals some of its design secrets by examining its Novartis Pavilion project in Basel.

Staged at the Triennale di Milano, Forest Tales was an exhibition curated by the American Hardwood Export Council featuring furniture created during the pandemic by designers from all over the world, all of it linked by the use of three different sustainable hardwoods. The article is accompanied by an interview with designer Ini Archibong about his work The Kadamba Gate.

From design to architecture, Casa El Claro, a project by Raúl Herrera Daniel, is also made entirely of wood. Located in Central Chile, the home has large windows designed to enhance the minimalist interiors. Its sculptural simplicity is in complete harmony with the surrounding landscape, which descends from the Cordillera della Costa towards wide beaches. Flat Rock House, a residence designed by Billy Maynard in Australia, resembles a Roman domus, with the impluvium replaced by a deliberately wild garden. As well as these single homes, we look at two residential complexes: 8ème Art in Marseille, which also includes offices, designed by Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia and Carta Associés; and the Ex Boero social housing development in Genoa, by Barreca & La Varra, a project created after a historic paint factory was decommissioned.

Besides residential buildings, in this issue we look at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. The work of Rocco Design Architects, this new center for Chinese art and antiquities simultaneously establishes a dialogue with the modern city and traditional Chinese architecture.

THE PLAN 141 closes with an interview with the founder of UNStudio, Ben Van Berkel. In it, he talks about Transform, an artbook put together with the Zumtobel Group that examines the last 30 years of the studio’s work as well as its future, including the strategies the studio has in place to anticipate change.