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THE PLAN 146, the third issue for 2023, opens with an editorial by Patkau Architects entitled “Making a Difference.” The article highlights a series of points in which the three authors – John Patkau, Greg Boothroyd, and Peter Wenger – use their own projects to illustrate how a difference can be made by focusing on a set of recurring elements: scale, context, space and form, materials, and practice. This set of factors follow through to the act of construction to help make a difference.
The focus of the Viaggio in Italia column is the Gambardellarchitetti architecture studio, which Valerio Paolo Mosco describes through its most important projects. One of the examples used of the Naples-based studio’s work is the new rectorate of Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” in Caserta, a renovation project that transformed an unremarkable existing building into architecture with a strong and surprising personality.
Some buildings are born to become symbols of their city, while others have their own distinct architectural character unto themselves. The Houston Endowment Headquarters, designed by Kevin Daly Architects and Productora, is an example of the second type of building. Raymund Ryan talks about the project the Letters from America column.
From Texas, we travel to California and the (W)Rapper Office Tower in Los Angeles. Designed by Eric Owen Moss Architects, the project is distinguished by a dualism between the lightness of its glass and the solidity of its structure. And it’s this contrast that underscores the tower’s sculpture-like appearance in this redeveloped urban area.
Still in the United States, we look at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, designed by starchitect Santiago Calatrava. Located between the World Trade Center and the Oculus in New York, the church stands out for its contrasting stone and glass surfaces. With the lights on at night, it takes on the appearance of a glowing lantern.
In Stockholm, Giorgio Palù – Arkpabi has designed the Queen Silvia Concert Hall, named after Queen Silvia of Sweden, wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. What sets this project apart is its curving, light shapes – a fluidity that breathes life into a harmonious space in which architecture and acoustics seem to be perfectly in tune.
In a village a few miles from Bangalore, India, A Threshold has created Subterranean Ruins, a community building whose exposed brick walls stand out against the dense vegetation of mango, banana, and coconut trees, creating the appearance of ancient ruins.
On Mayne Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Measured Architecture has restored an existing home and, following the client’s brief, reinterpreted it through a contemporary and sophisticated lens. Named Raven House, the home is marked by its strong relationship with its natural setting. It’s a living space in which architecture, design, and art combine to reveal their human dimension.
THE PLAN 146 closes with a look at Sesto Palazzo Eni, a project by Morphosis and Nemesi Architects. This new complex has integrated an existing building into a ring of four buildings, each connected to the next by suspended walkways. At the center of the composition is a public square on several levels, surrounded by restaurants, bars, and places for socializing. The project features on the cover of this issue.
THE PLAN 146, the third issue for 2023, opens with the editorial “Making a Difference” by Patkau Architects. It also includes regular columns Viaggio in Italia, by Valerio Paolo Mosco, and Letters from America, by Raymund Ryan.... Read More
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