Domus 1069 is on newsstands, an issue dedicated to sincerity, with a focus on Kéré

In the editorial of Domus 1069, the guest editor tells of how each of us is able to enrich the world with their own ideas and identities: the result of the sum of their own life experiences.

Since the demise of the postmodern phase, buildings that make clear visual references to architectural elements from the past coexist with others that show an emphasis on contemporaneity.

It became clear to Bawa that, as well as ignoring culture and context, Tropical Modernism could not cope with the humid heat of Ceylon.

Uniting Burkinabe and German cultural identities, the architect has developed an approach rooted in places through the use of materials.

The centre is an educational facility for children aged 4 to 14 from Nyang’oma Kogelo and the surrounding district. It was commissioned by the Sauti Kuu Foundation with the aim of promoting personal development through skill-building activities such as sports and agriculture.

The Opera Village was initially conceived in 2009 and is the fruit of a collaboration between Francis Kéré and the late Christoph Schlingensief, theatre and film director and key figure in the German cultural scene.

Xylem is a pavilion that acts as a gathering place where visitors to the ranch of the Tippet Rise Art Center are invited to explore the many possible uses of its space. Located in a modestly sized clearing characterised by a slightly sunken landform and overlooking a small creek, the pavilion rises between the main facilities of the art centre and the beginning of the hiking tracks.

The project responds to the pressing challenge of youth unemployment faced in the region by offering high-level training and access to international job opportunities, allowing young entrepreneurs to thrive professionally without having to leave their place of origin. The campus will provide 100 new workstations and is the first step in an ambitious vision of spreading ICT networks in remote areas.

Reworking a construction technique devised by Laurie Baker, the project features walls that seem to dance. While choreographing the house’s appearance, this strategy also optimises its volumes, whose inward-facing design mitigates the closeness of the neighbouring buildings.

Part of Casa Wabi, the foundation of Mexican artist Bosco Sodi, the pavilion is devoted to educational and creative activities using clay. Its structures have been built using local techniques and materials and are spread across the site with constant variations in spatial relations.

Expressing a desire to mediate between the needs of living and construction requirements, the house is defined by the variation in use of hand-made unfired bricks. From the vaults of the roof to the filter-partitions, this material articulates collective and private functions in two volumes.

Raised off the ground in the landscape of the Parque Pudú nature reserve, the house is a long volume with a triangular geometry drawing on the model of the region’s traditional barns.

The restructuring of a house from the early 2000s reflects on how to decolonise living conditions in an equatorial climate. The structure is opened up and made permeable to weather and vegetation, modifying the Western- style layout of the interiors.

In the works of the Chinese artist, different and geographically distant traditions coexist and, above all, enrich one another.

The innovative super-light steel tube, conceived 40 years ago by Gilberto Colombo, is the basis for the design of a bicycle frame without any visible joints.

The Japanese designer suggests how to make use of waste from the fishing industry by involving the inhabitants of the Kishu area.

The Italian designer and architect affirms the disconnection between architecture and today's world, reaffirming the need to give design the ability to speak, to express current reality and its right to exist, avoiding the worn-out values to which it has fallen victim for too long.

While raising awareness and passing on knowledge of fine craftsmanship, the second edition of the show curated by Alberto Cavalli and organised by the Michelangelo Foundation continues its fascinating reflection on the contribution of design, as shown by projects by Sebastian Herkner and Zanellato/Bortotto.

Space. Light. Time. Ico Migliore has a kind of obsession with these three elements. He repeats them like a mantra. He describes himself as an art lover with little consistency, yet he creates platonic designs using these ingredients that actually encapsulate his harmony and his idea of art.

Upgrading buildings in historic centres, redeveloping urban areas and constructing residences for students, the elderly and middle-class families. The country head of Hines Italy describes an industrial real estate standard with a long-term quality vision.

The research of the Finemateria studio has focused on polyurethane, a more than year-long journey that came to fruition last autumn with the Cutted Clouds sofa.

There are designs that strive to summarise and condense. It’s as if they introduce a full stop to a phrase to mark an ending and a new beginning. This is the case with the fruitful collaboration between two design titans: OMA, the prestigious Dutch architecture studio, and UniFor, the historic Gruppo Molteni brand specialised in office furniture systems and successful for over 50 years.

We continue to concentrate on this in our yearly supplement EcoWorld, an exploration of sustainability as it currently stands, conducted from the Domus viewpoint. At Domus, sustainability is not an abstract entity, but made up of chemistry, physics, materials and infrastructure.

Recyclable of recycled? Petrochemical or vegetal? At what point are we and what developments can we expect in the next few years? We asked design companies who use plastic: Artemide, Fratelli Guzzini, Lanerossi, Magis and Zanotta.

The Danish firm bases its production on holistic thinking with respect for the tradition of modernism and an eye to future materials and processes.

Hemp, kapok and recycled goose-feathers are key in the pieces by the British fashion designer for the long-standing Italian brand – three sustainable, relatively clean materials produced with low levels of energy consumption.

The new lighting system conceived by the Spanish designer is distinct for its choice of materials, refined lighting technology and regard for life-cycle analysis.

Francis Kéré, Xylem, Tippet Rise Art Center, Fishtail, Montana, USA.
Photo Iwan Baan. Courtesy of Tippet Rise / Iwan Baan