Opening picture: Snøhetta, Under. Photo Ivar Kvaa
Domus 1042 is the first issue directed by David Chipperfield, Guest Editor during 2020. The context of planning is the topic of the issue, also explained in the editorial: “In the modern era, the idea of planning as a professional discipline and the reality of planning as an inevitable requirement of urban development have never sat easily together” Chipperfield explains.
Four are the sections of Chipperfield's Domus. “Agenda” includes a text by Reiner de Graaf, who in “Masters of the universe” talks about the creation of a new capital, that should express the aspiration of a nation but it is yet determined by a phoney history; Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani affirms that suburbia is the most urgent urban-planning of our time and questions how we can manage our cities’ precious resources.
“Practice” section considers the practice of architecture as a process. Good Practice is dedicated to the role of the architect in the social context: this month, David Chipperfield meets Farshiv Moussavi to discuss subterfuge and micropolitics. In Affinities curator Ellis Woodman presents three new buildings, such as Z33 House for Contemporary Art in Hasselt by Francesca Torzo architetto, a large triangular urban block.
“Design and Art” considers the needs of contemporary society in terms of objects – practical and aesthetic: László Moholgy-Nagy is seen by Alice Rawsthorn as the archetype for contemporary designers working in a broadened field and in Notes on design a selection of drawings by Enzo Mari is presented by Jasper Morrison.
Domus explores in “Reflections” the significance of a single drawing in the evolution of a building: this month Marie-José Van Hee talks about the sketch realized for House Van Hee.