Issues
What Norman Foster told me about designing joy into our lives
“Everything is designed,” Norman Foster tells me, sitting in a Venetian Palazzo that’s flooded with natural light. “This means that nothing happens by chance. A building or infrastructure is either designed badly and without too much thought, or it’s designed well.” I’m speaking to the Pritzker Prize winning architect at the Venice Biennale and we’re discussing the link between the built environment and quality of life.
It’s a topic that Monocle has always dedicated its July/August issue to and 2025 is no different. Our approach to the subject differs slightly from other media outlets and research institutions, which tend to focus on hard metrics: average income or crime rates. These are important but we’re also interested in how architecture and infrastructure change how we feel about ourselves and our cities. We seek to answer questions such as: does the local library lift our spirits? Or, is public housing not only available but of a quality that makes people proud to live in it? As Foster says, “We know that we can improve the quality of all our lives through design. We can do this by designing for our pleasure and enjoyment.”
Case in point is the project that Foster is presenting at the biennale in partnership with German automaker Porsche: a floating bridge and pontoon, with a shimmering shell enclosing a dock for water bikes and motorboats. Both the kinetic nature of the structure and the novel form of transport are intended to bring a sense of play to the lagoon city’s infrastructure.
It reflects an ethos that can be found across Foster’s portfolio which, despite being exceptionally functional, expresses much novelty. There is London’s 30 St Mary Axe, known as The Gherkin, which challenged the convention of office buildings; and his Reichstag renovation in Berlin, with a glass roof on which the public can walk – a masterstroke of democratic symbolism. All are much celebrated and a reminder that quality of life is about more than economic policy and statistical indicators. It’s also about looking at how we can bring moments of joy and pleasure into our lives.
Meet the team behind The Marbella Club, the Costa del Sol’s most illustrious hotel
The Marbella Club, the Costa del Sol’s first luxury hotel, was largely responsible for the Andalusian city’s transition from sleepy fishing town to glitzy enclave. But the hotel retains an air of quiet elegance that can be traced back to its origins as a farmhouse, which prince and businessman Alfonso Hohenlohe bought in 1947.
Here, at the tip of southern Europe, 700 members of staff look after 131 rooms, 16 villas, nine restaurants, three swimming pools, 13 boutiques, a spa, a beach club and a kids’ club, among four hectares of lush gardens. “Much more than in any other business, it’s all about the people in a luxury hotel,” says the hotel’s general manager, Julián Cabanillas. The hotel’s 6:1 staff-to-guest ratio is meant to provide gentle support rather than a smothering presence. “Our team has got to know the clients over the years,” says Cabanillas. “We have a 40 per cent return rate.”
In his view, there’s a link between good staff retention and the warm hospitality that guests reconnect with every time they return to the Marbella Club. This harks back to the standard of service established by Hohenlohe, who converted his rural residence into a hotel in 1954. During his tenure he recreated the elegance and intimacy of his family’s former home, fostering an exclusive atmosphere that attracted fellow aristocrats as well as high-profile jet-setters including film stars Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn.
For the past 71 years the Marbella Club has set the benchmark for elevated Spanish hospitality. For Cabanillas, maintaining a space that reflects the surrounding landscape and local traditions is key to its success. “I want guests to feel that they are in an authentic place,” he says. As such, El Patio restaurant has interiors with décor by regional artisans, the gastronomy is decidedly Mediterranean and indigo mosaics evoke the area’s Islamic heritage. Thanks to this dedication to an Andalusian experience, most diners at the Marbella Club are residents of the area. “If you listen to the guests’ needs, it becomes an easy job,” says Cabanillas.
marbellaclub.com
Julián Cabanillas
General manager
Originally from Barcelona, Cabanillas has been the general manager of the Marbella Club for 10 years. He is also responsible for managing several new Spanish properties under the hotel’s umbrella and bringing them up to the Marbella’s standards. His 26 years of experience in the hotel business has given him a well-rounded understanding of what makes the high-end leisure market tick.
1.
Francisco Santiago Corrale, Maintenance, “Ensures facility structures and day-to-day operations run smoothly.”
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Cristina Vázquez, Housekeeper, “Third-generation staffer who is proud to keep guest spaces sparkling clean.”
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Francisco Javier Fernández Piña, Gardening team manager, “Leads the maintenance of more than 300 plant species.”
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Eduardo Martín, Accountant, “Balances thousands of suppliers to keep everyone happy.”
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Ángel González, Head sommelier, “One of Spain’s top ambassadors of wine culture.”
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Pilar León, Head of retail and brand relationships, “Develops strategy for heritage brands such as Chanel to establish on-site boutiques.”
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Santiago Guerrero, Executive chef, “Brings life and individual personality to each restaurant.”
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Marta Arrese, Kids’ club director, “Creates experiences for children that are on a par with those of their parents.”
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José Luis Calatayud, Concierge, “Manages the arrival team, which provides guests with their first impressions of the resort.”
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Leigh Barrett, Head of sustainability, “Oversees our sustainability levels to help us achieve renewable certifications, such as the Butterfly Mark.”
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Daniel Jiménez, Villa host, “Customises the experience of guests staying in the villas – the hotels within the hotel.”
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Raquel Peña, Director of wellness, “Connects the dots between fitness, the spa and meditation.”
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Miguel Rodríguez, Gardener, “Looks after the hotel’s botanical legacy with a smile.”
Five chic fashion and hospitality collaborations to add to your travel list
High-pressure design studios in Milan and Paris are at the heart of the fashion industry. But when temperatures rise, even the busiest designers choose to slow down, don swimwear and decamp to the Mediterranean – a pause very much encouraged by luxury Italian manufacturers’ religious commitment to the extended August break.
Brands have also been discovering that there are new ways to meet clients while lounging by the beach and have been embarking on a series of less expected, sunny collaborations with their favourite beach clubs, seaside hotels and even restaurants. Designers aren’t just creating exclusive summer collections for these destinations – they are now also custom-making parasols and sunloungers in their favourite shades or adding cocktails to a hotel’s menu. We round up some of our favourite fashion and hospitality tie-ins.
1.
Zeus+Dione
Lake Vouliagmeni
Athens
Legend has it that nymphs once inhabited the waters of Athens’ Lake Vouliagmeni, drawing unsuspecting men beneath its serene surface. A quiet pull endures today – one glance at the lake’s majestic landscape, framed by a large rock formation, lush greenery and glassy waters, is enough to lure you in. “When we visited the lake we saw the dramatic rock and the beautiful still waters,” says Dimitra Kolotoura, co-founder of Zeus+Dione, Athens’ flagship fashion label. “It started a fascinating design process for our creative director, Marios Schwab.”
Recently, the popular summer destination has become accessible again having been given a fresh look by creative consultant Athan Mytilinaios. Naturally, the Zeus+Dione team started spending more time in this corner of the Athenian Riviera, swimming in the clear waters or feasting on the seafood at Abra Ovata, the site’s Mediterranean restaurant. As a result, Kolotoura, Schwab and Mytilinaios joined forces to custom-design sunbeds, loungers, umbrellas and cushions for both the beach club and the restaurant. “Zeus+Dione is a custodian of Greek craftsmanship and a fantastic ambassador of Greek culture,” says Mytilinaios, explaining why it made sense to bring a fashion label on board.
Kolotoura is adamant that Zeus+Dione has never been a traditional fashion label so working with new mediums was part of the appeal. She tapped wood engraver Pantazis Tselios to create a one- of-a-kind motif that was printed on the sunloungers and umbrellas all around Lake Vouliagmeni’s beach club. “We’re used to working with people who have an ability to create with their hands,” she says, pointing to the intricate pattern, which pays homage to Byzantine art as well as the lake’s natural landscape. A closer look reveals details including rock, seaweed and Mediterranean flora carved into the wood. The finished pattern was then printed on durable technical fabric, used to upholster the club’s furniture. Lake Vouliagmeni formed naturally some 2,000 years ago when a cavern collapsed following an earthquake. It is now protected under the Natura 2000 network of conservation areas across Europe and its beach club differs from the traditional approach. “The place is about Zen and wellness, which is why we wanted to work with a brand that understands that good things take time,” says Mytilinaios.
For Zeus+Dione, the partnership offered a chance to tell its story away from the shop floor. “When someone visits the venue, they can discover how it aligns with our values and what we stand for,” says Kolotoura, who plans to unveil new phases of the collaboration next year. “Fashion wants to sell experience,” says Mytilinaios. “But there’s a limited number of experiences that you can offer if you only stay within your own realm.”
zeusndione.com; lakevouliagmeni.gr
2.
Louis Vuitton
Taormina cocktail bar
Sicily & Saint-Tropez
This summer, Louis Vuitton is diving deeper into hospitality by opening a series of culinary outposts around the Med. In the Sicilian town of Taormina, the French luxury house’s shop on Corso Umberto is opening its rooftop for guests to enjoy a cocktail at the new Le Bar Louis Vuitton. With views of the sea and the medieval town, the venue also offers contemporary takes on Sicilian classics courtesy of chef Dionisio Randazzo, who heads the nearby Nunziatina restaurant.
Meanwhile, in Saint-Tropez, the brand is once again taking over the White 1921 hotel. For the third year in a row chefs Maxime Frédéric and Arnaud Donckele are working together to infuse different cultural flavours in the menus. “Louis Vuitton is all about travel so the dishes have touches of Bangkok, France and Italy,” says Donckele. The result is a sun-soaked atmosphere in which French culinary excellence meets Mediterranean flavours, just a few steps away from the Louis Vuitton shop. “It’s a vibe: gastronomy with friendly service and music,” says Donckele. “We’re thinking about a lifestyle.”
louisvuitton.com
3.
CDLP
Hotel Passalacqua
Lake Como
When Andreas Palm, co-founder of essentials and resort-wear label CDLP, first met Valentina de Santis, the CEO of Hotel Passalacqua, the pair were still students in Minneapolis. They couldn’t have predicted that, 20 years later, they would be sitting by Lake Como, orchestrating fashion and hospitality projects together.
Palm, who is based in Stockholm, began his career in hospitality and spent a few years organising guests’ trips to the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, the second Como hotel property belonging to De Santis and her family. When CDLP first ventured into swim and resort wear, it designed an exclusive capsule for the hotel. “This was before collaborations between fashion brands and hotels were so common,” says De Santis. “But we had so much fun. Andreas is so creative so I just follow his process.”
This summer the duo decided to continue the fun – and think bigger – with a fully fledged swim and resort-wear collection for men, which will be sold at the hotel’s boutique and on its e-commerce site, Sense of Lake. There’s also a sleek campaign featuring celebrated menswear stylist Robert Rabensteiner sporting the line. Think printed shirts inspired by vintage postcards, tailored swimming trunks made from recycled ocean waste and pool sets that can be worn for a relaxed sunset dinner. “If someone loses their luggage, they’ll find everything they need in this collection,” says Palm.
This type of tie-in might now be a lot more common in the worlds of fashion and hospitality but, for De Santis, there needs to be a personal story behind each project for it to be successful. “There isn’t really a strategy behind these collaborations, if I’m honest,” she says. “But each one has a lot of heart in it and, in this case, there’s a friendship behind it all. We don’t want to follow trends or create something according to guests’ expectations. The hotels are also our homes so we do what we love and aim to surprise our visitors. Giving a personality to a hotel and making people dream is important.”
Palm echoes her ideas, stressing that cultural value outweighs commercial motivation. “People are tired of collaborations that are just meant to drive sales,” he says. “It’s getting a bit boring. We want to work with people who we feel that we are aligned with in terms of values and aesthetics, and build something that will stand the test of time.” The eye-catching prints featured on some of the shirts and scarves in the collection are inspired by vintage postcards and represent quite a departure for the Swedish label, which is known for its understated aesthetic and monochromatic colour palettes. But to capture the visual richness of the Hotel Passalacqua, it was worth veering into new territory. “We always want to take things to a new level with this type of collaboration,” says Palm. “People are ready to go a little wild on holiday. You’re in a different mood if you’re in the Amalfi or Lake Como, rather than spending a regular Tuesday at home. It’s like stepping into a role – the holiday version of yourself.”
Our holiday selves also happen to be more willing to splurge, creating fertile ground for brands to meet new customers and encourage them to take sartorial risks. “A hotel director who I was speaking to called holiday spending ‘funny money’,” says Palm, who plans to celebrate the summer season and the launch of the collection with boat rides and long lunches with friends at the Passalacqua garden. “I think this is the most beautiful hotel in the world,” he says.
cdlp.com; senseoflake.com
4.
Jacquemus Jondal beach club
Ibiza
Born and raised in the south of France, designer Simon Porte Jacquemus is the fashion industry’s resident Mediterranean: always in favour of breezy linens, sunny stripes and dance parties that end at sunrise. The sun is inscribed in his eponymous label’s DNA and over time he has perfected the summer uniform with signature striped shirts, lightweight dresses and raffia handbags.
This year, to celebrate the arrival of warmer days, the Paris-based brand is leaving its home turf and flying to Ibiza – more specifically, to Casa Jondal on the island’s rocky southern coast. As part of a new, hospitality-focused collaboration, Jacquemus is fitting out the chic beach club with banana-yellow parasols and sunloungers that have playful polka-dot details echoing the brand’s spring/summer 2025 collection. Our favourite addition? An area reserved for playing pétanque, the French summer ball game par excellence.
Since founding his business in 2009, the French designer has been cleverly tapping into the power of sunny locations for his runway shows, inviting guests to Provençal lavender fields, modernist houses in Capri or art museums in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Extending this approach beyond the runway and into the realm of hospitality offers an opportunity to experience the label’s Mediterranean charm off-season too.
At Casa Jondal, you can spend the day under the club’s bright-yellow parasols, settle in for a sundowner with a tequila-based cocktail or enjoy signature seafood dishes such as fried squid, red prawn carpaccio and caviar.
You can also visit the temporary boutique on the beach and browse an exclusive resort collection of menswear, womenswear and accessories, including raffia hats and shirts featuring the same banana-yellow shade as the sunloungers. A series of novelty items including caps, keyrings and mugs double up as souvenirs of a beach holiday well spent.
jacquemus.com
5.
Ulla Johnson
Quinta da Comporta Carvalhal
New York-based designer Ulla Johnson has always embraced a sunny, bohemian spirit, no matter which season she is designing for. Her summer ranges in particular are filled with breezy dresses, lightweight broderie anglaise fabrics and elegant swimwear, inspired by Johnson’s travels and the artisan communities that she works with across the globe, in countries from Peru and Brazil to the Philippines.
This summer the designer is indulging her love of travel even further with a takeover that is soon to come to wellness resort Quinta da Comporta in Portugal during the first two weeks of July. The project includes ikat-print and hand-loomed robes and towels, which will be available for guests to use around the hotel and purchase at its boutique, alongside Ulla Johnson’s ready-to-wear range.
There’s also a new cocktail and health tonic concocted by Johnson – ideal for enjoying after a visit to the Oryza Spa or following a dip in the infinity pool.
ullajohnson.com; quintadacomporta.com
Three beautiful new hotels to unwind in: From a homage to Palm Springs on Ibiza to a striking hotel in Amsterdam
1.
Rosewood Amsterdam
Amsterdam
What took 10 years to build but 10 minutes to become the most talked-about opening of 2025 (so far)? The Rosewood Amsterdam, of course. Extending across a city-block-sized building on Prinsengracht, the striking hotel, which was once an orphanage and then a courthouse, was reworked by Studio Piet Boon for its spring opening. Current city regulations suggest that this will be the last new hotel to be developed within the capital and it could hardly have picked a finer establishment: think coffered ceilings, velvety nooks and a rich palette of warm bronzes, greys and inky blues across the 134 guest rooms and the Asaya Spa.
For those planning a longer stay, there’s a set of five vast canal-side residences. The Netherlands’ favourite garden designer, Piet Oudolf, has rolled up his sleeves to plant the courtyard garden, while drinks and dinner are covered by the Advocatuur bar and Eeuwen restaurant. Is Rosewood resting on its laurels and taking a well-earned break? Not quite: all eyes are already on London for the slated September opening of The Chancery in the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square.
rosewoodhotels.com
2.
Los Felices
Ibiza
Tucked away in Ibiza’s Cala de Bou, The Concept Hotels Los Felices is a technicolour homage to the glamour of Palm Springs. The 113-key property is the inspiration of Diego Calvo, an Ibiza native who feels that hospitality can sometimes be too conservative (you could probably glean this from the colour scheme that he has chosen). “I see myself as a rebel,” he tells Monocle. “I wanted to create a hotel that is a destination in itself.”
Los Felices is certainly that. It’s a riot of colour and playful nostalgia, designed by Il Mio Design, an Italian studio based in Madrid that has collaborated with Calvo on all of his projects to date. Here, 1960s motifs are combined with the world of high fashion; each of the guest rooms is named after a designer and decked out with photos from their campaigns, as well as a piece created by them.
The pool area is the hotel’s pièce de resistance, a space that is as inviting as it is photogenic. Bespoke flooring, parasol collections created exclusively for Los Felices and floating sunbeds by Canacana Design add vibrant Mediterranean flair that is a world away from whitewashed Ibiza minimalism. And it’s all the more summery and fun for it.
theconcepthotels.com
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Taberna Bask
Ghent
In a fast-changing corner of Ghent’s green belt – a bucolic network of open nature and canals – Belgian restaurateurs Sam D’Huyvetter and Nina de Cuyper are channelling the spirit of San Sebastián’s pintxos bars at Taberna Bask. “We saw it as a challenge to create a space where neighbours, families and curious passers-by alike feel welcome without the fuss of having to book ahead,” says D’Huyvetter.
Applying Basque thinking to the Belgian terroir, the couple serve homemade morcilla, chorizo and coppa made from family-owned pigs, daily sourdough and imaginative creations including guinea fowl croquetas and red mullet with chipirón squid. Built with vintage finds, this corner spot strikes a balance between Belgian conviviality and soft ochre walls and warm lighting which evoke a Spanish late afternoon.
tabernabask.be
Images: Louise De Groote
10 transformative ideas from the Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale’s International Architecture Exhibition is the world’s most significant showcase dedicated to the discipline. Its 19th edition, running until November, sees more than 750 participants present projects and research inside the Arsenale – a cavernous renaissance-era former shipyard, housing multiple displays – and the historic Giardini della Biennale (Biennale Gardens). Here, in their country’s respective pavilions, national delegations share innovations and ideas that respond to pressing regional concerns.
The resulting showcase is a global collection of work from the industry’s leading lights, offering a glimpse into the architectural paradigms that could potentially shape our built world for decades to come. Monocle picks 10 proposals on show, from the simple to the radical, that illustrate how we might all build – and live – better.
1.
Confound expectations
‘Porch: An Architecture of Generosity’, USA
Giardini della Biennale
Given its current administration’s stance on immigration and international imports, the US contribution to the Biennale raised a few eyebrows with its themes of openness and generosity. “The timing is coincidental but this type of architecture rises above the historical moment,” says co-curator Peter MacKeith, an Arkansas-based architect. The exhibition is an ode to the porch, a design feature that bridges public and private spaces. The US’s neoclassical pavilion has been extended with a timber porch of its own. “A porch is a liminal space,” says MacKeith. “It’s in between absolute privacy and the public world. This is where encounters can occur, formal or serendipitous. The porch as a concept has value on the civic scale.”
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Make space for conversation
‘Traces’, Oman
Arsenale di Venezia
As it makes its debut at the International Architecture Exhibition, Oman puts the focus on conversation. Led by architect and designer Majeda Alhinai, an exhibition titled Traces draws on the principles of the sablah, a traditional and informal gathering space found across Oman. A modern iteration of this communal setting, with perforated panels of raw aluminium that have been cut and folded to resemble woven palm leaves, takes centre stage. “We wanted to create a space that was open and inviting so there are no fixed interior or exterior elements,” says Alhinai. “It’s a space where people can congregate and hold more intimate conversations.” The result is a debut that proudly explores how tradition can inform the architecture of our time.
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Sometimes the answer already exists
‘(Re)Invention’, Brazil
Giardini della Biennale
Why not reinvent the wheel? This year’s Brazilian contribution to the biennale explores how ancient solutions could help to cure our contemporary urban ailments. Curated by Brasília-based collective Plano Coletivo, the South American country’s exhibition is aptly entitled (Re)Invention. It includes new archaeological findings of Indigenous infrastructure in the Amazon, as well as 12 different case studies on how this new-found-yet-foregone knowledge can be applied to improve urban environments, from water drainage in favelas to the use of native plants in architectural contexts. “The new findings on the Amazon show that human occupation can be balanced [with nature],” says co-curator Matheus Seco. “This idea of a symbiosis between nature, humans and cities is possible.”
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Develop a metabolism
‘Build of Site’, Denmark
Giardini della Biennale
It’s no secret that new construction is a significant source of carbon emissions. It’s appropriate, then, that the Danish Pavilion, which is currently undergoing renovation, is looking at ways to address the issue. For the duration of the biennale, the space will become a paused construction site, with its displaced materials used to provide temporary walls, furniture and flooring in the pavilion. “I think there’s a future where buildings start to reconfigure themselves in a metabolic process, using their own materials for renovations,” says curator Søren Pihlmann. “This isn’t just about being more resource-aware, it’s also about amplifying some of their past qualities of an architecture in new future configurations.” In short, the Danes see reuse as not only a question about sustainability but also one about retaining a sense of place.
5.
Feel the heat
‘Stresstest’, Germany
Giardini della Biennale
Germany’s Venice Architecture Biennale pavilion tackles urban climate change head-on with contrasting “stress” and “de-stress” rooms. In the former, a sweaty, claustrophobic atmosphere is created by artificially heated, ceiling-mounted mats, replicating the unpleasant nature of an urban heat wave.
Directly opposite, the curators offer respite in a bright “de-stress” room with three resilient common hornbeam trees standing in large burlap pots as a reminder of simple strategies available for urban cooling. “We wanted to create an uncomfortable atmosphere to elicit emotion,” says co-curator Nicola Borgmann. “We know that there’s a problem but we think that you can only connect with this if you really feel the effect of rising temperatures. There is a gap between knowledge and emotion and if you don’t bring both together, we won’t take action.”
6.
Find the fun
Gateway to Venice’s Waterway
Arsenale di Venezia
It can be a challenge to walk across Venice, with only a few bridges spanning its Grand Canal. It’s something that the Norman Foster Foundation has addressed in partnership with German automaker Porsche. Together, they have collaborated on a shimmering 37-metre-long bridge on the edge of the Arsenale that extends to a floating pontoon, which is currently being used as a mooring point for water bikes. “It’s about showing people that exploring new forms of mobility can be fun and enjoyable,” says Norman Foster, the UK-born architect and president of his namesake foundation. “If you get on one of these water bikes and start to pedal across the lagoon, you’ll find yourself smiling.” The Foster and Porsche collaboration is a reminder that we can – and should – find simple ways to bring joy into our built environment.
7.
Get hands on
‘Master Builders’, Slovenia
Arsenale di Venezia
Can everything be automated? The commissioners of Slovenia’s pavilion don’t think so. Its showcase, Master Builders, is a celebration of the bond between architect and craftsman. Curated by Ana Kosi and Ognen Arsov, it features four symbolic totems, made from materials as varied as tiles, air-conditioning ducts and lighting, which represent specific techniques and knowledge employed by Slovenian construction workers. “Not all construction sites are new, and the best way to work with old buildings is with skilled human labour,” says Arsov. “It’s about the head and hand coming together. We need intelligence on a construction site.” By putting construction workers on a pedestal, Slovenia reminds us of the human ingenuity and material intelligence, even as technologies evolve, that craftsmen bring to architecture.
8.
Novel interventions
The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain by Jean Nouvel
Fondazione Giorgio Cini
Opening this autumn, the Fondation Cartier’s second Paris location by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel is a masterclass in how to contrast the old with the new. A 19th-century Haussmannian building next to the Louvre is being modernised through Nouvel’s distinctive steel-and-glass style and the addition of five mobile platforms that can modify the enormous surface area of the exhibition space. “Any commission for culture in Paris is a challenge,” Nouvel tells Monocle when we meet at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, where an exhibition that delves into the intricacies of the project is taking place alongside the biennale. “The vision was to pierce through the Haussmannian shell of the building to create an invitation to come inside.” The project, combined with Nouvel’s vision, is a prime example of how building interiors can be given new life through novel additions.
9.
Time and place
‘Migrating Modernism: The Architecture of Harry Seidler’
San Marco Art Centre (SMAC)
Co-organised by the San Marco Art Centre (SMAC) and the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum, this retrospective honours the late modernist architect Harry Seidler. The exhibition traces Seidler’s life, from fleeing Nazi-ruled Vienna and his studies in the US under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, to his relocation to Australia, where his bold geometric forms, clean lines and honest expression of structure – often utilising glass and concrete for a sense of lightness and transparency – defined Australia’s mid-century modernism. The showcase features architectural drawings, sun-soaked photos and handwritten correspondences between Seidler and his collaborators. “What’s intriguing is that this work took place before the internet or even fax: everything was conducted through letters,” says architect Penelope Seidler, Harry Seidler’s widow, who now runs the family firm. “He designed buildings that were of the time.” And maybe that’s the lesson here: Seidler’s timeless work shows that buildings with longevity can still bear the mark of their era.
10.
Talk more
‘Home’, Australia
Giardini della Biennale
The Australian Pavilion draws inspiration from the knowledge-sharing traditions, known as “yarning”, of its Aboriginal people. Featuring a curving earth and plaster wall and bench – a physical form that encourages dialogue – it incites visitors to look at ways in which an Indigenous understanding of landscape can be shared with Western approaches to architecture. “It’s about coming together and telling stories about who you are and what’s important to you,” says Michael Mossman, one of the Australian exhibition’s seven First Nation co-curators. “If architects can develop a deeper relationship with the client by doing this, then we can connect with culture and really bind people together.” The effect, believes Mossman, could be architecture that people feel strongly attached to as well.
Hot property: The best of this summer’s cultural releases
Film
This summer marks 50 years since the release of Jaws and with it the birth of the summer blockbuster. While a rewatch of the sharp-toothed classic is never a bad idea, here are three new films well worth your time.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’
Gareth Edwards
After the lumbering missteps of Colin Trevorrow’s increasingly intolerable sequels, Jurassic World Rebirth promises to be a sleeker, grander soulful beast with director Gareth Edwards’ knack for tension and spectacle.With Scarlett Johansson fronting a cast that features Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey, it’s finally time to recapture the magic of Spielberg’s original.
‘JurassicWorld Rebirth’ is released on 2 July. To read more about it, turn to page 49
‘The Shrouds’
David Cronenberg
Elegant, eerie and intimate, this macabre tech-noir lingers in the mind like grief itself. Vincent Cassel gives an understated performance as Karsh, a bereaved widower whose invention lets the living survey the dead’s rotting bodies. With sterile spaces, a haunting Howard Shore score and an intriguing central mystery, all contained within Cronenberg’s obsession with flesh and metal, it’s an elegant meditation on love and decay.
‘The Shrouds’ is released on 4 July
‘Materialists’
Celine Song
Song follows up her charming love triangle Past Lives with another look at a woman caught between two romantic prospects. Dakota Johnson stars as Lucy, a New York matchmaker torn between Pedro Pascal’s dashing wealthy suitor and Chris Evans’s emotionally raw ex. Song’s script skewers the transactional nature of dating while honouring the highs and lows of genuine connection. With its gauzy A24 polish and Song in both writer and director mode, this is the thinking romantic’s summer must-see.
‘Materialists’ is released on 16 August
Books
With the lazier schedule of the summer months – and the possibility of time to get away and reset – comes the prospect of unencumbered hours to get stuck into a great book. From chefs and politicians to fashion designers and authors, we asked 10 interesting people which book they’d encourage others to pack for a holiday. These novels, short stories and non fiction reads offer entertainment, escapism and, in many cases, fresh perspectives on life. A visit to the beach can expand your horizons in more ways than one.
1.
‘Dead Wake’ by Erik Larson
Selected by Gabrielius Landsbergis
Larson’s non-fiction account of passenger ship Lusitania is a beautifully rendered picture of war, trauma and hope. This thriller is told from multiple vantage points. Though I knew the ending, I still hoped against history that the protagonists survived. Beyond the human story, it’s a political meditation on how long it took the US to act and at what cost. It resonates today. How many lives could have been saved if America chose to lead when it mattered most?
Landsbergis is the former foreign minister of Lithuania
2.
‘Os Sertões’ by Euclides da Cunha
Selected by Tomás Biagi Carvalho
Os Sertões (or Rebellion in the Backlands) recounts the War of Canudos, a civil conflict that took place in northeast Brazil five years before this book’s publication in 1902. The story combines poetic beauty and emotion with the precision and rigour of science. The descriptions of the backlands, climate, fauna and flora, the rivers that flow into the sea and the favelas always endear me to my country.
Biagi Carvalho is editor and founder of ‘Amarello’ magazine
3.
‘Garden Bulbs in Color’ by J Horace McFarland LHD, R Marion Hatton and Daniel J Foley
Selected by Cecilie Bahnsen
I found this 1938 book in a vintage bookshop. It is made for amateur gardeners, like me and my son. I’ve enjoyed reading the tips and the history of bulbs, as well as the charts for size and planting depth, as we have spent the spring planting tulips. The most inspiring parts are the illustrations. The flowers bloom outside their frames like floral collages of inspiration.
Bahnsen is a Danish fashion designer
4.
‘The Political Thought of Xi Jinping’ by Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung
Selected by Benedetta Berti
I found this book compelling, insightful and highly educational. Ideology is certainly not the
only factor shaping political behaviour, yet underestimating its importance comes at great risk. In a world of growing strategic competition, which is underpinned by markedly distinct views of global order, this book sheds light on the evolving “Xi Thought” and its influence on both the People’s Republic of China and the rest of the world.
Berti is the director of policy planning at Nato
5.
‘The Chronology of Water’ by LidiaYuknavitch
Selected by Aline Asmar d’Amman
Books are the foundation of my architecture practice; necessary to the mental construction of every project narrative and space. Sometimes, a book is such a magical encounter that its resonance inspires a dedicated space, floor to ceiling, walls to textures. Case in point: this memoir. I know that there will be many readers looking to outswim pain or traumatic experiences this summer, just as Yuknavitch did.
Asmar d’Amman is an architect and the founder of Culture in Architecture
6.
‘River Spirit’ by Leila Aboulela
Selected by Yassmin Abdel-Magied
This historical fiction about Sudan mirrors the current moment in many ways. It is beautifully written and, for readers who might not know a lot about the country, it’s a wonderful entry point. It has nuanced characters and, though it’s historical, it feels very contemporary.
Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese- Australian media presenter and writer
7.
‘The Story of San Michele’ by Axel Munthe
Selected by Amy Poon
This extraordinary book is composed of vignettes that span the author’s experiences as a society physician, an animal lover and a doctor during cholera outbreaks. He ultimately rebuilds the ruined Tiberian villa of San Michele, perched high above the shimmering Bay of Naples on Capri. Full of charm, wit and wisdom worn lightly, it’s a mesmerising read. I came across it more than 20 years ago; it made me believe in magic.
Poon is the founder of Poon’s London
8.
‘Sixty Stories’ by Donald Barthelme
Selected by David Shrigley
I was introduced to Barthelme’s short stories when I was about 17 years old. They challenged what I understood to be literary conventions in a way that was tremendously exciting.They were punk rock but at the same time clever and strange. I later heard people call this style “postmodern”. Whatever postmodernism is or was, there was something about this version of it that moved me. Start with “On Angels” and maybe you’ll see what I mean.
Shrigley is a visual artist
9. ‘Spent Light’ by Lara Pawson
Selected by Vijay Khurana
This is an exquisitely written flight through a woman’s mind, as she considers the objects in her life: a second-hand toaster, an egg timer, a collection of dog fur. This is a book about noticing, a book that shows how the mundane things we surround ourselves with connect us to structures of cruelty but also to love and each other.
Khurana is an Australian writer and author of ‘The Passenger Seat’
10. ‘The Third Plate’ by Dan Barber
Selected by Brad Carter
This book looks at farming that’s sustainably minded and produces delicious seasonal food. It hit me hard at the time as everything I was applying to my restaurant was in this book. Barber shows why good practices make a good dinner.
Carter is a celebrated chef
11. ‘Monsoon’ by Asma Khan
Selected by Fadi Kattan
Monsoon is the ideal cookbook for summer. Khan’s magical writing takes us on a journey into the depths of her native Bengal. The aromas of the kitchen are mesmerising. Be it at home or on holiday, this book is an invitation to enjoy Indian cuisine at a leisurely pace and in any mood. I can already imagine the crispy crack of the lentil fritters or the cooling kaddu ka raita (pumpkin raita) on a sunny day.
Kattan is a chef and the co-owner of restaurant Akub
12. ‘The Book of Tea’ by Kakuzō Okakura
Selected by Charlie Casely-Hayford
Okakura’s exploration of the tea ceremony as an art form deeply resonated with me. It illuminated how simplicity and imperfection can be celebrated. The book’s meditation on the West’s pursuit of dominance over nature and the East’s reverence for its subtle rhythms continually informs my creative process. It reminds me to appreciate the profound in the everyday.
Casely-Hayford is a menswear designer
Exhibitions
The airy rooms of a gallery provide escape and inspiration on a hot summer’s day. Here, we pick the best exhibitions this summer to capture your imagination. They might even help you cool off.
‘Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting’
National Portrait Gallery, London
Stare at a Jenny Saville portrait and you’ll swear the subject is alive under those luscious strokes of paint, such is the clarity and visceral power of her craft. With Saville’s brush, eyes pierce, blood pulses and skin reveals gorgeous, bruised hues. More humane than Lucian Freud’s, her work is a celebration of flesh in all its ungainly forms. Anyone doubting the power of 21st-century figurative art should prepare to dissect the work of one of Britain’s greatest living painters.
‘The Anatomy of Painting’ runs from 20 June to 7 September
‘The Magical City: George Morrison’s New York’
TheMetFifthAvenue, NewYork
A Native American who grew up in rural Minnesota during the Great Depression before later training as a painter in Paris and Antibes, George Morrison’s path to Manhattan was not a well-trodden one. With 25 large-scale paintings and archive materials, this exhibition will celebrate his loose connections to mid-century icons such as Willem de Kooning. It
will also explore Morrison’s fondness for Fauvist-like colour combinations and map-like dissections of the landscape, revealing a singular talent.
‘The Magical City: George Morrison’s New York’ runs from 17 July to 31 May 2026
‘The Architecture of Sou Fujimoto: Primordial Future Forest’
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
In the past 25 years, Hokkaido born Sou Fujimoto has developed into one of Japan’s leading architects and most influential thinkers. Respectful of nature and the built environment, his designs play with semi-open spaces and encourage us to rethink how we interact with the world. Through photos, plans and scale models, this first major gallery survey will ask big questions while laying out Fujimoto’s stimulating answers.
‘Primordial Future Forest’ runs from 2 July to 9 November
The affairs agenda: Clean ports in Baltimore, Ukraine’s evolving rave scene and a Q&A with Sadiq Khan
Environment: USA
Deep cleaning
Many US coastal cities have had their post-industrial harboursides repurposed to great effect. But while getting people next to the water has proved easy, getting them into it is more of a challenge. Industrial run-off has polluted waterways, preventing wild swimming. One city changing that is Baltimore; the Maryland port has plunged $1.6bn (€1.4bn) into upgrading its storm water and sewage infrastructure. And this summer, the second Harbor Splash will reprise 2024’s mass swim but with 50 more people than last year’s 150.
This is a significant achievement considering the legacy of Baltimore’s heavy industry, which left high levels of toxic pollutants in the water. “The perception was that the water in the harbour would melt the skin off your hand,” says Adam Lindquist, vice-president of the Waterfront Partnership, an organisation founded in 2010 by a group of business, non-profit and government leaders with the goal of making the harbour swimmable. The group has revived aquatic habitats with floating wetlands and oyster farming, providing natural filters for pollutants, while city government has repaired pipes and built storage tanks to prevent sewage entering the waterways.
The amount of sewage discharged into the harbour fell by 97 per cent between 2018 and 2022. The water is tested five days a week and people are advised against swimming outside of organised events due to boat traffic. “It’s early days but we think that a permanent swim spot is the future for Baltimore,” says Lindquist.
Politics: UK
Q&A
Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan believes that his city is poised for a pivotal moment of opportunity and growth. He is urging the world to take note.
Why is this year important for London?
We’ve got a new national government whose number-one mission is growth. The stars have aligned in terms of certainty and stability, which is what stakeholders and contractors are looking for.
There’s a tension now between liveability and economic viability. Do you think that people are wary of rapid urbanism?
We need to grow sustainable, green, human-oriented cities. Our plan for London prioritises public transport, cycling, walkability, no car parks near stations, green roofs and walls, and rewilding urban spaces. We’ve brought back bats, bees and beavers to the city – Justin and Sigourney Beaver, to be precise – and we’ll clean up the Thames so that residents can swim safely.
What keeps you up at night?
Street crime remains a concern but we have made progress. We currently have the lowest rate of teenage homicides in 13 years. Burglary is also down and we’re tackling phone theft by working with police and phone companies to make second-hand phones worthless, just as car stereos once were. We’re also working with the private sector to create a better city.
Click here to read the full, extended interview.
The Foreign Desk
Andrew Mueller on: Earning respect
The funeral of former Uruguayan president José Mujica was a grand affair, certainly relative to the man that it commemorated: a flag-draped coffin on a horse-drawn gun carriage, mourning dignitaries, weeping crowds and a lying in state at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo. But Mujica’s final interring was more like what he would probably have wanted: he was buried under a sequoia tree on his modest farm, alongside his dog Manuela, who died in 2018.
Mujica’s schtick while serving as Uruguay’s head of state between 2010 and 2015 was that he was the world’s poorest president. On arriving in office at the age of 74, he declared a net worth of $1,800 (€1,600). The farm belonged to his wife. Other presidents, he once said, considered him a weirdo. But what if he wasn’t? Whatever lessons Mujica learned about the follies of avarice, he learned the hard way. As a young man, he committed himself to the dangerous and austere life of a guerilla in the ranks of Marxist insurgents, the Tupamaros. He was eventually arrested – being shot six times in the process – and spent more than a decade in prison. By the time material possessions were a possibility, he had little interest in them. He once harrumphed that his three and a half million fellow Uruguayans annually imported 27 million pairs of shoes: “Are we centipedes?” he demanded of his people.
But he seemed content and led an engaged, interesting and eventually admired life. “I dedicated myself to changing the world and didn’t change a damn thing but I was entertained,” he said. The lesson here applies as much to countries and cities as individuals: think a bit more about what we need, a bit less about what we want. In recent months, another president, who gets two Boeing 747s with the job and already has a Boeing 757 of his own, has grumpily defended his right to accept the gift of still another Boeing 747 from a royal. But does that president, or the country he governs, seem happy?
Andrew Mueller presents ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio
Urbanism: Czechia
Squaring up
Staré Brno, the oldest district of Czechia’s second city Brno, seems like the kind of place that should have a town square. Until recently, however, it did not. What it had was Mendel Square, an unprepossessing bus and tram station which, with bleak irony, bore the name of a botanist. But over the past few years, Mendel Square has been reimagined and reinvigorated. You can still catch a bus or a tram there but the idea is that you can now do much more, including complaining about the city authorities that funded the refurbishment.
“We’re not French – we don’t protest constantly,” says Brno-born Ondrej Chybik of Chybik + Kristof, which undertook the redesign along with Brno architecture firm Dílna and landscape architect Zdenek Sendler. “But in Central Europe we do consider squares as very important for civic society because all the revolutions and big changes within our country happened in those squares.” Chybik is of the generation of Czechs who grew up in a country transformed by people gathering in town squares; he recalls, as a four-year-old, sitting on his father’s shoulders among the crowds urging on the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
“There’s a place where you can put a stage, for instance, not just for protests but also cultural performances,” says Chybik. “There’s shade given by trees so you can stay a while, whether you’re protesting or enjoying an exhibition. The goal was to create a good square to accommodate as many functions as possible.”
Nightlife: Ukraine
Dancing in the face of danger
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv was fast becoming Eastern Europe’s hedonism hotspot. Wartime Ukraine’s nightlife, however, has far from disappeared and has even evolved to meet the moment head on.
The techno festivals and all-night raves might be gone but they’ve been replaced by a rich scene of day parties and evening gigs that frequently double as fundraisers for those fighting on the frontline.
Legendary Kyiv nightclub K41, designed by the architects behind Berlin’s Berghain and housed in a former brewery, has raised more than €700,000 to fund the purchase of everything from energy generators to bulletproof vests for the army. In the Black Sea resort city of Odesa, sometimes dubbed the Ibiza of the East, Ukrainians continue to party at the bars and clubs that line the seaside, even as drones hover overhead and missiles pummel the surrounding oblast.
In a time of blackouts, bombardments and daily uncertainty, the partygoers cutting shapes on the country’s dancefloors demonstrate how Ukrainians have refused to be flattened by a narrative of war and definitely still know how to have a good time.
For both civilians and soldiers on leave, these venues provide otherwise hard-to-come-by opportunities for conviviality and kicking back. Dancing the night or afternoon – away in a nation at war promises fleeting yet welcome moments of respite and an all-important morale boost.
The business agenda: An airborne taxi start-up and a Lego-style construction in Singapore
Urbanism: New York
Business is blooming
Once the niche fascination of native-plant obsessives, wildflower meadows are poised to go mainstream as more homeowners and landscape designers reconsider the ecological cost of traditional lawns. The trouble is that few have the patience or the time to pull it off. Enter Meadow Lab, a start-up that allows people to roll out a biodiverse native wildflower meadow just as they would a lawn.
Launched this year in New York’s Hudson Valley by former Food52 chief commercial officer Claire Chambers, Meadow Lab offers two products: Wildflower Soil, a blend of northeastern native seeds mixed into high-performance soil; and Wildflower Sod, a pre-grown wildflower turf. Both are designed to speed up the notoriously finicky multi-year process of establishing a meadow. “There’s a lawn-conversion conversation happening everywhere,” says Chambers. “But most people who try to start a meadow end up with a horror story.”
Her version eliminates early failure points, appealing to designers, developers and homeowners who want ecological impact and instant visual feedback. “It’s a gamechanger,” she says. “You’ve asked for a meadow and so you actually get one.”
After a long career that has seen her running ecommerce at Walmart, Chambers is leaning into the back-to-the-land lifestyle and plans to have a network of company-owned farms across the US. “This should feel like a generational business,” she says. “Something built to last.”
Aviation: USA
Flights of fancy
Adam Goldstein
CEO and founder, Archer Aviation
The hype around airborne taxis has long outpaced the hardware. But Archer Aviation, a Silicon Valley Evtol (electric vertical take-off and landing) start-up, believes that it’s primed for flight. The plan is for its four-seater, Midnight, to launch in the UAE in December. It aims to eventually run 20-minute hops from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
Flying taxis have been in the works for years but haven’t shown up. Is Archer different?
The technology’s ready now. Tesla led a revolution in battery tech that’s made its way into aviation. Governments are working with industry to shape aircraft standards and real capital is coming in.
Why the UAE and not the US?
From Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Mubdala Investment Company and Etihad Airways to the regulatory authorities, everyone in the UAE said, “We want to make this happen.” It’s is more agile and ambitious. And it’s our gateway to the Gulf, India and Asia.
The ‘Midnight’ seats four. Will it work as public transport?
We’re looking at $200 (€175) for a 20-minute flight but as we scale that number comes down. We want the price to be closer to that of an Uber Black.
What about military use?
We’re building an autonomous hybrid Evtol aircraft that can carry significant payloads for surveillance, logistics and tactical mobility together with [US defence start-up] Anduril.
Construction: Singapore
Stacking up
Prefabricated homes have struggled to shake off a reputation for drab uniformity. But Singapore’s developers and designers are showing how prefab can be pretty fabulous – and premium. The city’s skyline now has several silhouettes that are standing due to PPVC, a construction method akin to that of Lego houses: modules are manufactured and finished in a factory before being fused together to make a high-rise.
Leading the way is homegrown studio ADDP Architects, which has designed several skyscrapers using this technique. Its 56-storey condominium complex, Avenue South Residence, features some of the world’s tallest prefab buildings.
Hang Ping Chin, partner at ADDP, wants to challenge the idea that prefabrication results in cookie-cutter developments. “Building modularly doesn’t mean standardisation,” she says. “In fact, PPVC enables one to experiment freely and test different façades, treatments and high-quality finishes.” The firm’s latest addition to Singapore’s skyline is The Orie, currently under construction, which features eye-catching origami-like folds in its design. It’s pretty far removed from being a mere stack of little boxes.
The culture agenda: Behind the scenes of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ and Madagascar’s first art institution
Music: UK
Q&A
Power of three
Anoushka Shankar
Musician
Sitarist Anoushka Shankar is riding high after the release of We Return to Light, the last of her trilogy of mini albums. The daughter of late musical giant Ravi Shankar and half-sister of Norah Jones, Shankar pushes the envelope of Indian classical music – but don’t call it “fusion”.
You’ve said that you always knew you wanted this project to be a trilogy. Why?
There’s a symmetry to doing things in threes. I felt a bit stuck leading up to it. We had all been through the pandemic and I had experienced some big life stuff. I was weighed down with the feeling that anything that I created had to be “important”. Then suddenly it became simple. I was on holiday with my children in Goa at New Year [in 2022], staring at the ocean.
I decided on three albums, a blank slate for each one: different collaborators, different producers, different countries. I stopped thinking that I had to make the most significant post-pandemic opus ever made. I just started telling a story.
Do you have a problem with the term ‘fusion’ in music?
Is there anything that isn’t “fusion”? If you go back centuries and centuries, maybe then you’ll find something untouched by cultural exchange. Ultimately words don’t describe what we do. I prefer “neoclassical Indo-futurism”. But then again, aren’t they just words as well?
Anoushka Shankar’s Chapter albums – ‘Forever, For Now’, ‘How Dark It Is Before Dawn’ and ‘We Return to Light’ – are out now on Leiter.
Art: Madagascar
Creative thinking
Many visitors come to Madagascar for a glimpse of a lemur – the island’s most famous inhabitant. But the country’s inaugural contemporary art institution, Fondation H, gives more culturally minded tourists a reason to head to the capital city, Antananarivo, while also offering a leafy new arts space for residents.
Fondation H is the brainchild of Hassanein Hiridjee, a Malagasy French art patron and the CEO of telecommunications group Axian. Founded in 2017, it now occupies a 2,200 sq m renovated colonial mansion and welcomes about 15,000 visitors a month. The high-ceilinged rooms and wraparound balcony provide a calming contrast to the bustle and hum of downtown Antananarivo.
“It works because we didn’t come up with an idea right away,” Fondation H’s director, Margaux Huille, tells Monocle. “It took us seven years to open this new space – seven years of trying to imagine better solutions, failing and then trying something else.”
Fondation H is currently exhibiting UK-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare’s work, including an installation called “The African Library” (2018). Six thousand books covered in Dutch wax-print fabrics span one wall of the gallery, each title bearing the name of a key figure in the formation of postcolonial Africa. The foundation is a fitting location for the artist’s first major solo exhibition on the continent.
Though Madagascar lacks an art school, it has a vibrant creative scene. “Having a space to exhibit works and support local artists while giving international visibility to Madagascar is massive,” says Huille. “I don’t think that many other African countries are witnessing that.”
fondation-h.com
Film: UK
Bigger beasts
“Steven Spielberg has been very involved,” says Gareth Edwards, the UK filmmaker charged with wrangling Jurassic World Rebirth into cinemas this summer. It might be the seventh film in the dinosaur series but it represents a fresh start – a new storyline, with new characters.
Edwards had sworn off making blockbusters after experiencing studio interference on his two previous tent-pole movies, Godzilla and StarWars adventure Rogue One. But this time he welcomed the notes of the man who invented the summer blockbuster with Jaws in 1975. “Spielberg is the reason why I even knew what a director was when I was a child – and the reason that I wanted to become one,” Edwards tells Monocle.
Much of Edwards’ last film, 2023 science-fiction spectacle The Creator, was shot guerrilla-style, with a very small crew. The director was working on his next original project when he got the Rebirth call. Edwards read the script – in which a drug-research team heads to the island science facility of the original Jurassic Park to harvest dino DNA – and was surprised to find himself caring for the characters. Even so, he only agreed to do it if he could make it his own.
On the screen, viewers will see Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey wading across the jungles of Thailand as they battle a hybrid predator called Distortus Rex. Edwards, however, has met a far more impressive beast. “Being in a room with Steven Spielberg never gets old,” he says. “It’s like the cinema version of meeting Father Christmas. He shouldn’t exist. It’s too magical.”
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ is released in cinemas on 2 July.
The design agenda: An interview with Carlo Ratti and the redevelopment of a Bordeaux district
Architecture: Argentina
Spaces reinvented
When architect Eran Chen first set foot in the derelict three-storey car park that he had been tasked with repurposing in Palermo – a hip yet historic neighbourhood in Buenos Aires – he was struck by the building’s spacious dimensions and vantage point. “I told the developer, ‘If we do it right this building will be attractive to anyone,’” says Chen, who is the founder of the New York-based architecture studio ODA. “People would love working here, people would love coming for leisure.” Developer BSD Investments was granted a lease by the city of Buenos Aires to revitalise the abandoned parking lot – and ODA has delivered on Chen’s vision.
What stands there now is OLA Palermo, a mixed-use building of concrete curves, combining office space with retail and a landscaped rooftop terrace offering views of the adjacent hippodrome racetrack and El Rosedal Park. An open-air promenade links the green terrace to this green space, completing a loop within the park and reconnecting the former car park with the neighbourhood. Significantly, ODA kept 80 per cent of the old concrete shell, preserving features such as the exposed waffle slab ceilings while softening the original structure’s harsh angles with sloping ramps, organic forms and a mushroom-shaped extension that recalls the water tank that once stood in its place. “Repurposing existing buildings to do something exciting and give them new life, new energy and new meaning, without doing major work to them, that’s the most sustainable thing you can do,” says Chen.
In the same spirit, all the building materials were sourced in Argentina. With its design-forward blend of public and private, old and new, OLA Palermo offers a blueprint for the future of urban infrastructure – and is a fine example of public-private partnerships. Everyone comes out a winner. Developers add value to the property. Tenants get an office environment that inspires them. And the people of Buenos Aires gain a new public space to enjoy in their city.
Revival: France
Warm welcome
The area around a city’s railway station can often feel uneasy. Commuters come and go in a hurry; unsure tourists stumble off their rail connections. But visitors leaving Bordeaux’s station are in for a pleasant surprise when they enter Paris-based architecture studio Lan’s redevelopment of Amédée Saint-Germain, the former industrial district that borders the transit hub.
“We were searching for a design that could function as an entrance to Bordeaux for people leaving the station,” says Lan co-founder Umberto Napolitano. With white stone residential blocks, leafy courtyards and spaces soon to be filled with bustling shops and offices, the district offers a modern vision of France’s southwestern city. Existing local architectural styles and industrial elements were also referenced in the new build.
But for Napolitano and his team, the real challenge was transforming a district so different from the rest of the city into a place to live and ensuring that it had a connection to the existing urban fabric. “The real question for us with Amédée Saint-Germain was creating a geography that could help inhabitants create a sense of place. One of the answers lay in crafting a hybrid space between the interior of the apartments and the exterior,” says Napolitano, referencing the perforated stone balconies that shield residents from the street, while still allowing them to look out onto Bordeaux. “People can still see into the city – it helps them feel that they are a part of it.”
lan-paris.com
Furniture: USA
Hit parade
The new MillerKnoll Archives at West Michigan Design Yard enables design buffs to drool over 300 pieces of furniture pulled from the catalogues of US firms Herman Miller and Knoll. Located at the headquarters of its namesake furniture group, it’s the first time that the brands’ wares have been permanently presented side by side. “We intend the archive to be a living resource,” says Amy Auscherman, director of archives and brand heritage at MillerKnoll. “We want it to be a place that fosters curiosity, learning and inspiration.”
The archive is organised into three areas, comprising an exhibition space, open storage and a reading room. The debut exhibition, “Manufacturing Modern”, charts the rise of modernism in the 20th century. Through the lens of Herman Miller and Knoll’s products, visitors can see how the movement prioritised functionality and comfort, as well as affordability and accessibility. On show are a selection of Florence Knoll’s office furniture, Eero Saarinen’s prototype of the Knoll Womb Chair and Gilbert Rohde designs for Herman Miller.
“By combining these archives, we can tell a multidimensional story of modern design, its evolution and its impact,” says Auscherman.
millerknoll.com
Architecture: Morocco
Learning lessons
Too often, contemporary schools are uninspiring, grey spaces. Yet studies show time and again that students who learn in aesthetically pleasing, well-designed places are much more likely to score higher in tests. A benchmark for such educational environments is the Jacques Majorelle school in the Moroccan city of Ben Guérir. Designed by Rabat-based ZArchitecture Studio, it’s a warm terracotta red structure with sunny patios, shaded play areas and an abundance of palm trees.
For ZArchitecture Studio founder Zineb Ajebbar, the key aim was to allow pupils to immediately feel comfortable in the space. “Our priority was to create a school that feels intuitive and fluid,” she says. “Take the patios – they are integral to social interactions, serving as natural gathering points and reinforcing the idea that learning happens beyond the classroom.”
The way the school connects with the surrounding neighbourhood was also a priority for Ajebbar and her team. “During the design process, it was important for us to create a building that remains deeply rooted in the local identity,” she says. “It draws inspiration from Moroccan vernacular architecture, which is characterised by simple forms and openings. We tried to combine both tradition and modernity.” With its tranquil, design-forward surroundings, the Jacques Majorelle School’s classrooms could well be nurturing the next generation of creative talent.
zarchitecturestudio.com
Design: Italy
Q&A
Carlo Ratti
Curator of the Venice Biennale
As curator of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, the Italian-born creative has set the edition’s theme: Intelligens: Natural, Artificial and Collective. Here, he explains why disparate disciplines need to pull together to deliver better architecture.
Why is knowledge sharing across disciplines essential to architecture?
Architecture starts when the climate is against us. Architecture is about survival. Today the climate and the natural environment are changing and transforming, and architecture must become a primary mechanism for adaptation. We have seen floods in Bangladesh and Valencia and fires in Los Angeles. The question is how do we respond to these disasters. And while there is not one single response, we do need to build in a more holistic way.
How can we deliver these holistic responses?
The built environment is about many disciplines combining: teams comprised of architects, designers and urbanists, but also scientists and those working in agriculture, fashion, the arts and sociology are well placed to tackle major challenges. It is the old dream of the great biologist EO Wilson from his book Consilience. It is about the unity of knowledge because a different type of intelligence is needed. It’s our only hope.
