{"id":1127,"date":"2021-12-22T10:10:51","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T10:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pabconference.com\/december-design-news-gingerbread-modernism-and-mid-century-man-caves-design\/"},"modified":"2021-12-22T10:10:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T10:10:51","slug":"december-design-news-gingerbread-modernism-and-mid-century-man-caves-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/22\/december-design-news-gingerbread-modernism-and-mid-century-man-caves-design\/","title":{"rendered":"December design news: gingerbread modernism and mid-century man caves | Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sometimes the imagination and skill involved in building can blow your mind. It is an honor to be able to highlight two of these achievements this month in the news section – the Sound Chapel in China that looks like a rock fell from space and Gingerbread which was made to raise funds for the Museum of Architecture in the UK.<\/p>\n

In addition to big statement designs, we also have a thoughtful architecture with the individual in mind in the form of a library designed to help you connect with your passions and an unprecedented installation from Ettore Sottsass, founder of the Memphis movement, designed to offer a personal space.<\/p>\n

For more news on architecture, sustainable living, art, fashion and new ideas, sign up for our monthly newsletter here<\/p>\n

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Building a brave new world<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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<\/svg><\/span>The semi-outdoor amphitheater of the Chapel of Sound Concert Hall, a two-hour drive outside Beijing<\/span> Photography: Jonathan Legonhovod \/ Open Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

China is in the midst of a construction boom that has made it the largest construction site in human history. With nearly half of the world’s construction going to take place in this one country in the next decade, the architects and builders who shape this horizon are of paramount importance. A new generation of homegrown architects is now replacing Western names as the makers of China’s most luxurious buildings. Not only is their new vision gaining international recognition, but their more sustainable practices are helping the planet as well. An exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Reuse, Renew and Recycle: Modern Architecture from China<\/em>, demonstrates this generation’s commitment to social and environmental sustainability – featuring work by Pritzker Prize-winning and Aga Khan-award-winning architecture buffs Zhang Ke and his studio ZAO\/Standard.<\/p>\n

Reinventing cultural architecture<\/em>, a book covering the work of Open Studio, was published this spring. This Beijing-based studio has just finished work on a concert hall called the Chapel of Sound located in the shadow of the Great Wall of China. Open Studio strives to be in harmony with the environment in the design and materials used. Her most famous work is the UCCA Dune Art Museum built on a beach in Bohai Bay. The Church of the Sound is similarly small, built like a rock and open to the elements. Open Studio was founded by Li Hu and Huang Wenjing and their comments on their new work seem to epitomize the new Chinese spirit: \u201cWe are at a time when the question of our relationship with nature as human beings is more acute than ever before. Can we be humble enough to hear what we are overwhelmed with? Nature? We wanted to make something different, something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ettore Sottsass room in the room<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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<\/svg><\/span>The Casa Lana space created by designer Ettore Sottsass is on display for the first time at Triennale Milano<\/span> Photography: Gianluca de Ioya \/ Milan Triennale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today we are familiar with the idea of \u200b\u200ba caveman as a place for the male type to have some precious time alone. The same concept was present in mid-century, postmodern Italian design – albeit in a somewhat more elegant incarnation.<\/p>\n

In the mid-1960s, architect, designer, and founder of Memphis Group Ettore Sottsass built Sala Sottsass, a “room within a room,” in Casa Lana, the Milan home of a typist friend. Sottsas was fascinated by the relationship between men, their needs and rituals, and the inhabited space. So Sala Sottsass consisted of a wooden structure with sofas arranged to form a \u201cprotected space\u201d to sit, chat and listen to music.<\/p>\n

This project has never been seen by the public but now the Sotzas Archive has meticulously reconstructed it in the Triennale di Milano, the Museum of Design and Art in Lombardy. To accompany the installation, the Triennale has organized three exhibitions throughout 2022 that will delve deeper into the world of Sottsass.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, any man moving into the spare room for some peace and quiet this Christmas would want to stare at this \u201clittle plaza\u2026 where one may move and meet\u201d as Sottsas himself put it in 1967\u2014and dream.<\/p>\n

For more information on upcoming Sottsass fairs, check out the Triennale website<\/em><\/p>\n

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