Christoph Kapalschinski talks to David Chipperfield in the 13 April edition of Handelsblatt. The interview centres on proposals for the Elbtower, a new commercial building in Hamburg’s HafenCity district, which was won by the practice in February. The discussion covers the social role of architecture, differences between working for the private and public sector and finding the right balance between investment and preservation.

A comprehensive new monograph of the collective works of David Chipperfield Architects London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai has been published by Buchhandlung Walther König in collaboration with Thames & Hudson. The 390-page volume presents over 60 projects, covering work from the early years up to present day, including residential, commercial and cultural projects.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the Royal Academy of Arts on 20 March, officially opening Burlington Gardens ahead of its public opening in May. She met with the teams involved in the redevelopment and restoration of the RA’s two historic buildings, Burlington House and Burlington Gardens. These two buildings have been linked together as part of David Chipperfield Architects’ masterplan which also includes new galleries, more public space and a new lecture theatre. The building will open to the public 19 May.

Image © Thomas Alexander photography

Casabella laboratorio, a space for exhibitions, conferences and debates run by Italian design magazine Casabella and ProViaggi Architettura, has inaugurated its new location near the David Chipperfield Architects Milan office. This proximity will make it possible to organise with DCA Milan a series of collaborative cultural events that will take place over the coming months. The opening exhibition, devoted to the ‘Nomos’ table designed by Norman Foster and produced by Tecno, was inaugurated with a talk by Prof. Francesco Dal Co, Director of Casabella.

Anne Hidalgo, Raymond Johansen and Giuseppe Sala, the mayors of Paris, Oslo and Milan respectively, took part in a panel discussion with Lina Ghotmeh and David Chipperfield at MIPIM in Cannes on the 14 March. Organised by C40 Cities, the panel discussed the organisation’s Reiventing Cities competition. Nineteen cities have identified 49 underutilised spaces by this initiative, which invites developers, architects, environmentalists and others to collaborate and compete for the opportunity to transform these sites. The competition was discussed in the context of the Réinventer Paris pilot competition for several sites in Paris, where Lina Ghotmeh and David Chipperfield Architects each won a particular project. The discussion centred on how the commercial world can work together with cities to shape future urban development. The discussion was moderated by El Akl Hala, Director at PLP Architecture.

Image © Hélène Chartier

David Chipperfield Architects Milan has held its sixth biennial winter trip, a four-day excursion to the Eastern Dolomites, this year organised by Pro-Viaggi Architettura in collaboration with Casabella Formazione. The trip presented an opportunity to experience the scenery of the Cadore region, as well as the chance to visit several examples of twentieth-century alpine architecture.

Group photo in front of the Chiesa di Nostra Signora del Cadore, designed by Edoardo Gellner and Carlo Scarpa (1961).

Image © Francesca Memo

German architecture magazine Detail has published a new monograph that brings together all articles related to the practice from the last twenty years. The volume documents 18 projects, starting with the River and Rowing Museum, published in 1999, and ending with the Carmen Würth Forum which features in this month’s issue. With a focus on the technical details of the individual projects the monograph includes building reports as well as an interview with David Chipperfield by Heide Wessely dating from 2005.

In the latest Shoptalk London podcast, C40 Cities’ Executive Director, Mark Watts and David Chipperfield talk to Michael Hammond, editor of the World Architecture News website. The discussion centred on the role that the private sector can and must play in creating more socially and environmentally sustainable cities, as well as the need for cities to enforce stronger planning policies. The Morland Mixité Capitale project, part of Reinventer Paris, is used as an example of the type of public-private partnership that could act as a model for future development. C40 Cities is a membership club that connects more than 90 cities around the world and tackles various issues including climate change, urban policies and the sharing of best practice.

The Times T2 section features an article by architecture correspondent Jonathan Morrison based on an interview with David Chipperfield. The article centres on current work, including the Royal Academy of Arts masterplan in London and the Nobel Center in Stockholm. It covers the importance of public dialogue and civic engagement, dealing with the weight of history, and why positive planning is crucial for the future of our cities.

On 10 March Kunsthaus Zürich will hold an open day which will include guided tours of the new extension by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin. Currently at an advanced stage of construction the new building faces the original Karl Moser-designed building across Heimplatz in central Zurich. The tours, led by members of the design team, will allow visitors to experience the different spaces and their intended purpose.

Fundación RIA, initiated by David Chipperfield, was invited to be part of a panel discussion on the role of pedestrianisation in the future development of the port town of Ribeira, Galicia. Taking place on 1 March, Peonalización de Ribeira was initiated and moderated by the local newspaper La Voz de Galicia. Participants included the Mayor of Ribeira, Manuel Ruiz Rivas; local architect Carlos Henrique Fernandez Coto; as well as Antonio Miranda, Chairman of the local trade unions.

Discussing the city’s infrastructure and the urban identity, Manuel Rodriguez from Fundación RIA, argued that pedestrianisation should not be considered as an end in itself, but rather one tool in a more integrated urban approach.

Image © Adrián Capelo

David Chipperfield and Christoph Felger will present the practice’s proposals for the Elbtower at a lecture in Hamburg 2 March. Last month it was announced that David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and SIGNA Prime Selection AG have been selected to design a new mixed-use office building in the city. The lecture marks the opening of an exhibition that will display all the various bidders’ designs for the tower featuring models and drawings.

The lecture will begin at 18.30 and will take place at the Hamburg Cruise Center HafenCity. The exhibition will run from 3 March until 18 March at the HafenCity InfoCenter in the Kesselhaus.

Scaffolding has been removed from the West Bund Art Museum revealing the building’s final form. The museum is located on a triangular site between the Huangpu River, Longteng Avenue and a new public park. Expected to open in early 2019, it will incorporate a new Shanghai base for the Pompidou Centre.

Image by Miguel Bispo for David Chipperfield Architects

The Royal Academy of Art’s new Benjamin West lecture theatre will be inaugurated on the 21 May with a talk by David Chipperfield. The lecture celebrates the opening of the RA’s transformed campus, following an extensive restoration and redevelopment by the practice. The project links the institution’s historic home Burlington House and 6 Burlington Gardens, formerly part of the University of London. The 250-seat lecture theatre is a contemporary reinstatement of a double-height auditorium that existed in the original 6 Burlington Gardens building. The lecture marks the beginning of a new and expanded public programme of events for the Royal Academy’s 250th anniversary.

Image © Rik Nys

Around 1,200 guests attended a lavish party at the Empire Riverside Hotel in Hamburg last week as the building, designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, celebrated its tenth anniversary. The 22-storey, 328-room hotel was the practice’s first major Hamburg project and is located in the St Pauli district, overlooking the River Elbe. Last year the Waterkant restaurant, situated on the first floor of the hotel, was redesigned by DCAB in celebration of the upcoming anniversary. The party – hosted by Andreas and Patrick Fraatz, the grandchildren of hotel founder Willi Bartels – saw acrobats and musicians perform within the hotel’s four-storey atrium space.

The ceremony comes only days after DCAB was announced as the winner of the Elbtower competition to design a further high-rise building in the city, to be located four kilometres upstream from the Empire Riverside Hotel.

Image © Empire Riverside Hotel

This new publication is the outcome of an 18-month dialogue between David Chipperfield and Simon Kretz as part of the Rolex Mentor & Protégé programme.

The collaboration led to a theoretical exercise examining the forces that influence the shape of cities, using the Bishopsgate goods yard site in East London as a case study. Exploring this further with teams at ETH Zurich, they highlighted conditions under which an ideal urban development project could flourish.

The book, published by Walther Koenig, aims to positively contribute to the debate on urban development, providing a manifesto for a relational, collective and diverse future for our cities. The conclusions reached through this exercise demonstrate how future large-scale developments elsewhere could have a more positive urban impact, both at the scale of the neighbourhood and the wider metropolis.

In the February issue of Domus magazine Michele De Lucchi speaks to David Chipperfield about the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. David discusses the practice’s approach to restoring Mies van der Rohe’s masterpiece and explains how it differs from that taken for the Neues Museum in Berlin and the recently won competition for the renovation of the Procuratie Vecchie in Venice.

Gerrit Wiesmann has written a feature on the refurbishment of the Neue Nationalgalerie in which he uses the project as a case study to discuss the preservation of post-war buildings in Europe. Featured in the February issue of Monopol Magazin the article details the meticulous restoration process, explains how many of the building's imperfections were accepted rather than overcome, and looks at lessons that were learned from the restoration of other Mies van der Rohe buildings in the United States.

Fifty years after its completion in 1968, the Neue Nationalgalerie is currently undergoing extensive restoration for the first time. The design approach focuses on the careful treatment of the existing material fabric and adaption to modern museum standards. The building has been stripped down to its structure and will now be painstaking put back together to look and feel untouched. The reopening is scheduled for 2020.

Following an international competition David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and SIGNA Prime Selection AG have been selected to develop a new office and commercial building in the Hafencity district of Hamburg. The project was presented to the public at Hamburg City Hall on the 8 February in an event that was attended by the Mayor of Hamburg and other key representatives. At 230 metres Elbtower will become the tallest building in Hamburg, acting as both a counterpoint to the Elbphilharmonie and an entrance marker on the eastern edge of Hafencity.

For further information please contact media@davidchipperfield.de

After working in the current space for almost 13 years, David Chipperfield Architects Shanghai will relocate to a new office 10 February. The new office will offer improved areas for working, meeting, presentations and socialising in one large continuous space.

The new address is: No.25 Jian Guo Zhong Road # 9508, 200025 Shanghai, China

Giuseppe Sirica and Giuseppe Zampieri from DCA Milan were invited to deliver the final lesson of the year for the inaugural edition of the Masters programme Design and Technology for Fashion Communication at Fashion Research Italy, a non-profit foundation established in 2015 as a centre of excellence for the Italian fashion industry.

Twenty students were selected for the talk entitled Space and Fashion, a presentation of the projects developed by the Milan office for various fashion brands over the last ten years.

Using the examples of both luxury mono-brand and multi-brand companies, such as Valentino and SSENSE respectively, the presentation looked at both concept stores and store concepts, explaining the differences between them and the terminology of the fashion industry. It also covered the rise of e-commerce and the recent reverse trend back towards physical stores, considering its influence not only on store concepts and design, but also on the wider evolution of the store as a space for fashion in recent years.

On 30 January Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visited ArkDes, Sweden’s national centre for architecture and design, in Stockholm. Their visit took place during the royal state visit to Sweden and focused on the cooperation between the United Kingdom and Sweden in the areas of architecture and design.

During their tour through ArkDes, Christoph Felger, partner and design director of DCA Berlin, presented to the royal couple the office’s proposal for the future Nobel Centre and explained the design and concept behind the building.

In 2014, DCA Berlin won the competition for the design of the Nobel Center, Nobelhuset, which will give the Nobel Prize a home for the first time in its history. The new building will be situated as a ‘solitaire’ in a prominent water-edge position on Blasieholmen next to the Swedish National Museum in the centre of Stockholm.

Image © The British Embassy

An exhibition at the Basilica Palladiana, Vicenza, Italy. 12 May – 2 September 2018

The City of Vicenza, in collaboration with the cultural association Abacoarchitettura, have invited David Chipperfield Architects to create an exhibition at the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza from 12 May to 2 September 2018. The exhibition marks the return of contemporary architecture exhibitions to the Salone Superiore which was closed for extensive restoration 12 years ago, and emphasises the important role that architectural culture plays in the history and identity of the city.

David Chipperfield Architects Works 2018 will display a selection of 15 current and recent projects by the practice at varying stages in their development, exposing the range of activities that take place in an architecture studio today.

For further information please contact media@davidchipperfield.it or media@davidchipperfield.co.uk

The Milan office appears in the January/February edition of the Italian magazine Icon Design as the setting for a new furniture feature by photographer Gerhardt Kellerman and set designers Martina Lucatelli and Leadro Favarolo. Pieces by designers including Konstantin Grcic and Jasper Morrison are arranged within the active office space, alongside project models and photographs.

As captured in the feature, this basement level area was refurbished to create a flexible new atelier for working, meeting, presentation and display. A convivial and domestic atmosphere is generated through the use of materials such as pastellone, plaster and soft fabrics.

During his state visit to China last week, French president Emmanuel Macron reconfirmed France’s agreement with the Chinese authorities to establishing a new Centre Pompidou in Shanghai. A protocol between the Pompidou and the West Bund Group, was signed last year and the centre is to be housed in the West Bund Art Museum, currently under construction. Previously described by the Centre Pompidou as “the most important long-term cultural exchange project” between France and China, the museum is scheduled to open to the public in early 2019.

Image by Zhexu Du for David Chipperfield Architects

Best wishes for the new year.

Many projects will come to fruition in 2018. Two residential tower projects will complete in Hackney, London and Bryant Park in New York respectively. The new Duke Street link building for Selfridges in London will complete the department store’s redesign. The Royal Academy of Arts’ project, which joins Burlington House with 6 Burlington Gardens is due to open in time for the institution’s 250th anniversary. The Zhejiang Natural History Museum will be inaugurated in China while the James Simon Galerie, the new entrance building for Museum Island in Berlin, will complete. A new headquarters for Amorepacific, Korea’s largest cosmetics company, will officially open in Seoul and a major exhibition on the work of all four offices will be on display at the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza. A revised edition of the Walther Koenig / Thames and Hudson monograph published in 2013 is due to come out next month including over 30 new projects.

Image © David Chipperfield Architects

A second edition of the 2009 Neues Museum Berlin book has been published. An extensive photographic essay by Candida Höfer runs throughout the book. Prefaced by Álvaro Siza it contains a series of essays by Joseph Rykwert, Jonathan Keates, Karsten Schubert, Kenneth Frampton, Julian Harrap, Rik Nys, Peter-Klaus Schuster, Thomas Weski, concluding with a conversation between Wolfgang Wolters and David Chipperfield. The book is available in both English and German.

A chapel and visitor centre for a cemetery in rural Japan is the subject of a feature in this month’s Domus magazine. Comissioned by the Boenfukyukai Foundation, the building opened in June of this year. The Foundation is planning a special publication on the project, to be released in the new year.

Following an international call for submissions, a team led by David Chipperfield Architects and SJB is one of six invited to participate in the competition to design a new contemporary art gallery in Adelaide, Southern Australia. The Adelaide Contemporary will complement its parent institution, The Art Gallery of South Australia and will form a key part of the city’s cultural and civic corridor along North Terrace. The new art gallery will exhibit contemporary art from across the world, alongside historic and contemporary Aboriginal art from the Government of South Australia’s collection.

The Royal Academy of Arts, London, has announced that it will open its new and transformed campus to the public on 19 May 2018 following a significant redevelopment and restoration. Linking Burlington House and Burlington Gardens both physically and programmatically, the redevelopment will create new galleries and public areas while also improving the general facilities. A link bridge between the two historic buildings, currently under construction (pictured), forms part of a new public route through the complex.

Opening in time for the institution’s 250th anniversary next year, the RA will present an extended exhibition programme and free displays across the campus.

Image © Francis Ware

Abacoarchitettura has invited David Chipperfield Architects to create an exhibition at the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, Italy, set to open 11 May 2018. It will be the first architectural exhibition held in the Basilica for over a decade, during which time the building was temporarily closed for extensive restoration. Between 1985 and 2006 Abacoarchitettura curated a series of contemporary architecture exhibitions dedicated to the work of Tadao Ando, Sverre Fehn, Alvaro Siza and Toyo Ito amongst others. The relaunch of this exhibition series underlines the organisers’ mission to enhance public awareness of architecture.

A press conference will be held on 24 January in Vicenza. More details to follow.

Image © Rik Nys

The second phase of the redesign and refurbishment of Selfridges Accessories Hall opened today in the eastern wing of the department store’s classically-inspired building on Oxford Street, a year after the inauguration of the first phase in the north-east corner of the store’s building complex (the SWOD building). The new entrance building on Duke Street, opening in spring next year, is an architectural intervention that will connect these two phases. Once unified, the Accessories Hall will become one large, continuous space, spanning the full length of the eastern side of the city block.

Image © Rik Nys

For the ‘A way of working’ feature in the November issue of Domus magazine Giuseppe Zampieri, partner at David Chipperfield Architects Milan, discusses the challenges of opening a studio in Milan and explains how the practice has established itself both locally and internationally. Since opening 11 years ago, the Milan office has grown both in terms of staff and space. Moving into their new premises in 2012 has also afforded them an opportunity to rethink the studio concept. A new ‘atelier’ space, for working with and discussing large scale models and ‘archive’, where work is preserved for future reference, have been completed in the last two years, complementing the existing more traditional office work spaces. The idea is to be able to work at different speeds simultaneously, switching between the virtual and the physical, the group and the individual, while maintaining a shared history from which all staff can draw.

A new exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum celebrates the work of German artist Thomas Struth. Running until 21 January 2018, Thomas Struth: Nature and Politics showcases large-scale photographs including those of industrial and scientific workspaces alongside images of the politically contested landscape of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The exhibition is on display in the museum’s East Wing which was completed by David Chipperfield Architects in 2013. The works are hung on a series of full height internal walls, following the module of the concrete coffered ceiling grid that spans the entire exhibition hall. A secondary system of lower freestanding walls are arranged within the rooms at varying angles, disrupting the regular grid arrangement.

Image © Marissa Dembkoski

Later today Giuseppe Zampieri (Partner of DCA Milan) and Giuseppe Sirica (Associate Director of DCA Milan) will conduct a seminar on ‘Spaces and Fashion’ organised by Casabella Formazione at the Casabella Laboratorio in Milan. Together they will present the store concepts, both ongoing and developed over the last seven years, for a range of fashion brands including Bally, Brioni, SSENSE and Valentino.

Following the recent reform of the architectural profession in Italy, all architects are now required to undergo continuous training and must earn credits attesting to the fact. Casabella Formazione organises regular courses that are recognised by the CNAPPC (Consiglio Nazionale degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori) and which grant credits to the participants.

In an article published in the 16 November edition of Zeit Magazin, Ilka Piepgras and Matthias Stolz trace the evolution of the company canteen from culinary ‘horror’ to place of ‘feasting’. The ‘Chipperfield Kantine’ in Berlin is recommended as one of the best examples of this new type of office lunch space.

Opened in 2013 as part of the new offices for David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, the canteen forms the heart of the campus and sits between two courtyards. Besides providing access to the canteen and offices, the first courtyard – designed by Peter Wirtz – offers shaded space for outdoor eating. The venue is open to staff and public alike and it adheres to the tradition of the Berliner Höfe (courtyards) that form an active part of public life allowing work and leisure to intimately overlap.

The construction of two residential towers in Hackney, east London, has reached a significant milestone with the topping out of the second, 20-storey tower. The lower, 16-storey tower topped out in October with a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Hackney.

The project, won as the result of a competition held in 2012, was designed in collaboration with Karakusevic Carson Architects and is due to be completed in summer 2018. The project is helping to cross subsidise a wider masterplan allowing the Colville Estate to build a significant number of new council homes for social rent and shared ownership.

Image © Ariel Pozuelo

In his capacity as a trustee of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, David Chipperfield has helped to initiate a new annual lecture and prize to broaden the public discourse on architecture and to recognise individuals who have made a meaningful contribution to architectural culture. The inaugural lecturer and recipient of the 2017 Soane Medal is Spanish architect Rafael Moneo.

During his lecture on 1 November at The Royal Institution, Moneo traced the development of architectural attitudes towards history over the last two centuries and questioned whether we can find the historical roots to explain our contemporary built world – a world where ‘radical pragmatism seems to prevail’ at the cost of a wider vision for our cities.

In a conversation after the lecture, David Chipperfield and Rafael Moneo discussed whether it is possible to be optimistic about the future of architecture, the relevance of the architectural profession, and the ways in which architectural education might better understand history.

Following the discussion, the Soane Medal - a replica of the medal given to Sir John Soane by the ‘Architects of England’ in 1835 - was presented to Rafael Moneo by the educationalist and politician Baroness Tessa Blackstone.

The next Soane Annual Lecture will take place in Autumn 2018.

Image by Ben Derbyshire, President RIBA

On Monday 30 October a ceremony at the Hostal dos Reis Católicos in Santiago de Compostela marked the official launch of the Fundación RIA, attended by the President of Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.

The foundation, which developed out of a research project initiated by David Chipperfield in 2016, aims to support holistic development in the area along the north coast of the Ria Arousa.

Based in Ribeira, the foundation establishes an independent base of study and consultation and will carry out in-depth research to further develop recommendations for the sustainable development of the area, while protecting its natural environment and unique way of life.

In his speech, David Chipperfield explained that ‘[the Foundation’s] mission is to align the economic and practical needs of the area with concerns of protection of the natural and built environment, and in turn to secure the sustainability of the region and maintain the quality of life that it provides.’

Image by Rubén Ulloa

David Chipperfield Architects Berlin is one of five prize-winners in the international competition to design a new concert hall in Munich. The organisers will now hold further discussions with all five design teams.

Planned to be a venue for the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the main hall will seat 1,800 people while a smaller auditorium will seat 600.

The proposed solitary building appears as a ziggurat in form. The smaller auditorium can be found at the top with the larger one below. In the main hall the audience is seated on a continuous spiralling ramp overlooking the performers echoing the external staircase that wraps around the filigree building made of slender concrete columns.

Following an international selection process, the trustees of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) have chosen David Chipperfield Architects to develop a masterplan for the encyclopaedic museum. The project will see a major reconfiguration of the existing campus, improve the museum’s facilities and address issues such as the building’s relationship with the neighbouring institutions, growing visitor numbers and an expanding collection.

Mia’s impressive collection spans the art of six continents over a period of 20,000 years and is housed in a neoclassical building by McKim, Mead and White dating from 1915, with later extensions by Kenzo Tange and Michael Graves.

Image courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art

This month marks ten years since the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach won the Stirling Prize. Standing on a commanding site above the River Neckar to the north of Stuttgart, the building has the appearance of a pavilion, with slender square columns creating a colonnade. The colonnade had become highly charged in post-war Germany because of its associations with fascist architecture. But while acknowledging that history, it reaffirms the essential classical and modernist associations of this architectural device. The idea would return in future projects, most recently the James Simon Galerie, a new entrance building for Museum Island in Berlin, currently under construction.

Image © Christian Richters

'Baumeister für die Kunst’, an exhibition focusing on how museum spaces serve the presentation of works of art, opened on 14 October at the Kunstmuseum Ahrenshoop, on the Baltic coast.

Photographs and models of Museum Folkwang and Gallery ‘Am Kupfergraben 10’ by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin are included in the exhibition, which runs until 18 March 2018.

The exhibition also includes projects by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Kuehn Malvezzi Architects, Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei Architekten and Staab Architekten.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum will host a symposium over the weekend of 20-21 October.

During his first official visit to Berlin on 12 October, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, accompanied by Berlin's mayor Michael Müller, visited the innovation center of the medical technology company Ottobock on the site of the former Bötzow brewery. The guests were received by Prof. Hans Georg Näder, CEO of Ottobock and David Chipperfield, who introduced the overall plans for the site. Since 2013 David Chipperfield Architects Berlin has been leading a major renovation of the brewery complex that will see the existing buildings restored and new buildings inserted. The restoration of four of the existing structures will be completed by the end of the year.

Image by Martin Leuze

The Heilbronn-Franken chapter of the Association of German architects (BDA) has honoured the Carmen Würth Forum with a Hugo Häring "Gute Bauten 2017" award. The event took place at the Carmen Würth Forum and was held in conjunction with a two-day exhibition of the shortlisted projects, held in the foyer of the building. The project will now be considered for the Hugo-Häring Landespreis covering Baden-Württemberg, which is awarded every three years.

Image © Würth, photographer Ufuk Arslan

Following an international competition, the Italian insurance company Generali has selected David Chipperfield Architects Milan to repair and reconfigure the Procuratie Vecchie on the Piazza San Marco in Venice, as the headquarters for its new social foundation, The Human Safety Net. For the first time, large parts of the building will be accessible to the public for exhibitions and events.

Completed in the sixteenth century by Jacopo Sansovino, the Procuratie Vecchie dominates the north side of St Mark’s Square. Its monumental façade would go on to establish the classical language for the subsequent developments on the southern and eastern sides. Behind the façade, however, centuries of modifications from multiple occupancy have severely compromised its internal structure.

The project will reunify the interiors of the Procuratie and introduce clarity to the building, establishing suitable spaces for the foundation, as well as improving circulation. DCA Milan is also involved in a longer-term plan to create a public route through the Procuratie Nuove to the Giardini Reali on the Bacino di San Marco waterfront, the restoration of which is also being funded by Generali.

Image by Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images for Generali Group

As part of this year’s Frieze London art fair, the Royal Institution is hosting a one-day conference on designing spaces to show, make and live with art. David Chipperfield will be in conversation with Tim Marlow, artistic director of the Royal Academy of Arts, about David Chipperfield Architects’ masterplan for the Royal Academy’s Piccadilly home. The conference, whose other speakers include Elizabeth Diller, Alice Rawsthorn and Dr Tristram Hunt, takes place on Friday 6 October from 10am to 4.30pm.

Image © David Chipperfield Architects

The 28 September issue of the New York Times carries a feature on the Neue Nationalgalerie, in which David Chipperfield talks to Gerrit Wiesmann about the challenges of restoring one of Mies van der Rohe’s greatest and latest works. The gallery, which first opened in 1967, has been painstakingly stripped back down to its frame, in order to preserve its original features while updating its facilities to contemporary standards. This €100 million refurbishment by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin is due to be completed in 2019.

Image © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects

David Chipperfield will be the first British architect to present the annual Royal Scottish Academy Metzstein Architecture Discourse, which takes place on 2 October at the University of Edinburgh. His lecture will focus on the importance of architecture engaging with society, drawing on his experience of projects such as the Museo Jumex in Mexico City, shown here.

Previous lectures have been delivered by Álvaro Siza, Glenn Murcutt and Peter Zumthor, in a series that was founded in 2014 in memory of Isi Metzstein, the university’s widely admired professor of architecture.

Image © Moritz Bernoully courtesy of Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo

Carmen Würth Forum, designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, is the subject of an extended building study in the 14 September issue of The Architects’ Journal. Written after a site visit by the magazine’s architecture editor, Rob Wilson, the feature describes the Forum as ‘beautifully poised, finished and detailed’ and notes its ‘softly spectacular site… offering immense views southwards towards the Waldenburg mountains’.

David Chipperfield Architects’ Inagawa Chapel is featured in depth in the new issue of Japanese architecture magazine GA Document. The article explains the design of the chapel and visitor centre, while the accompanying photographs show the interior’s subtle effects of light and shade, and how the colour of the concrete is transformed by changing light conditions. The project is also featured in the October issue of Shinkenchiku magazine.

The Waterkant restaurant, situated on the first floor of the Empire Riverside Hotel in Hamburg, reopens 8 September following a six-week renovation. In celebration of the hotel’s tenth anniversary the room, which overlooks the River Elbe, was reconfigured, and while it remains the hotel’s breakfast area, the refurbishment places an additional emphasis on evening dining. A diaphanous room structure, consisting of a brass frame and mesh panels, creates multiple, smaller spaces within the larger room.

The Empire Riverside Hotel was completed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin in 2007.

Image © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects

David Chipperfield will be in conversation with Dezeen founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs for the launch of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ ‘Europa’ talks series 6 September. The discussion will revolve around the future of architectural collaboration in Europe and will begin at 19.00 at the RIBA’s Portland Place headquarters in London. Tickets are available from the RIBA website.

The October 2017 issue of Icon magazine features an interview with David Chipperfield, in which he talks frankly about the erosion of the professional status of architects and planners, and the importance of thinking beyond single buildings when it comes to improving the places in which we live.

Six towers along the western quay of Antwerp’s Kattendijkdok form part of a larger masterplan for the urbanisation of the historic harbour area. The two central towers were designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, and completed last year.

Image © Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects

‘Europa – Connecting ideas across Europe’, is a new series of talks hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) looking at the future of architectural collaboration in Europe. David Chipperfield will launch the series on 6 September, in conversation with Marcus Fairs, founder of Dezeen. Tickets are available from the RIBA website.

The final component in the Rockbund project in Shanghai, which David Chipperfield Architects has been working on since 2006, has been granted façade construction approval by the Shanghai Municipal Housing and Urban Construction Committee.

Rockbund 6 is a 14-storey tower that will mark the transition between the renovated low-rise buildings of the historic quarter and the high-rise city beyond. Incorporated into its base are the original three storeys of the 1897 Andrews & George building, constructed from the same red brick as the other buildings in the row.

Mindful of its transitional role, David Chipperfield Architects designed the façade of the tower in matching red brick. However, current local building regulations preclude the use of brick façades for buildings over 24 metres in height, so in collaboration with the Shanghai Real Estate Science Research Institute, DCA developed a method of reinforcing brick cladding using steel wires.

This approach has now been approved, and the cladding of the tower, which topped out in March, should begin shortly.

Docomomo Journal 56 (The Heritage of Mies) features an essay by Martijn Jaspers, architect at DCA Berlin, on the ongoing refurbishment by the practice of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie. ‘The Neue Nationalgalerie: the refurbishment of a Modern Monument’ sets the project in its historical context and details the meticulous refurbishment process.

The International committee for documentation of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the modern movement, (docomomo) is a non-profit organisation that aims to protect and promote modernist buildings.

David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and the French developer Emerige have received planning permission for Morland Mixité Capitale in Paris. Construction is scheduled to start in December 2017.

The project will involve the refurbishment, remodelling and extension of the existing ensemble, designed by the architect Albert Laprade for the prefecture of Paris and built between 1957 and 1964. Designed to have a campus feel, Morland Mixité Capitale will accommodate a wide range of uses including housing, offices and a hotel.

The current, rather forbidding complex will be transformed into a lively, inviting space, with vaulted arcades at ground-floor level leading to a new public route from the Boulevard Morland to the River Seine. The arcades will run beneath two new buildings facing the boulevard and the river, which will form bridges between the existing wings, with generous new courtyards within.

The top two floors of the central tower will be open to the public, offering views across the city, along with an inhabitable installation by Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann from Studio Other Spaces, as well as a bar and restaurant.

The British architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was an avid collector, scholar and teacher but, above all, a practising architect who was deeply engaged in building the city around him.

Inspired by this legacy, David Chipperfield has been working with fellow trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London to initiate the new award, which is intended to recognise architects, artists, writers and others whose work has enriched the understanding of architecture and the built environment.

The inaugural Soane Annual Lecture will be delivered by Rafael Moneo, whose career has embodied the idea of architecture as something that resides not just in the structure and the materials of a building, but in time and place, word and image, people and community.

In addition to the lecture Moneo will be awarded the Soane Medal (pictured), a copy of the medal presented in 1835 to Sir John Soane by ‘the Architects of England’, in recognition of his ‘essential services to Architecture’.

David Chipperfield said: ‘We are delighted to announce this new Soane Annual Lecture and Medal, and look forward to the significant voices and ideas it will bring to the museum. Our aim is to promote architectural culture, as Soane himself worked so tirelessly to do, and we hope it will become an important event in the London calendar.’

Rafael Moneo’s lecture will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 1 November at the Royal Institution in London.

Image: ‘Soane Medal', from the Architects of England, presented to Sir John Soane in 1835, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

David Chipperfield talks to Magali Robathan about past and current projects, the importance of international collaboration and why criticism is a key part of the planning process in the latest issue of Clad Magazine.

On July 14, David Chipperfield and DCA London launched a new foundation in Spain. The Fundación RIA (Rede de Innovación Arousa) was announced at a public presentation attended by the President of Xunta Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijoo, and the Conselleiras of Ordenación del Territorio y Medio Ambiente and Mar, Beatriz Mato and Rosa Quintana.

With support from members of regional universities, researchers, field experts, industry representatives and local government, the foundation’s aim is to preserve the unique character and ecology of the remarkable Ría de Arousa coastal region, with its thriving fishing and agriculture industries, while also working to restore the balance of its built and natural environment.

During the presentation of work undertaken over the last year, a number of pilot studies were proposed for five specific locations, which include strategies for the future development of industry, preservation of the natural environment, urban regeneration, and the successful integration of essential infrastructure.

The president of Xunta Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijoo, also spoke at the presentation, and added his support for the initiative, which he welcomed as an excellent framework for future policy developments.

The next phase for the Fundación RIA will involve seeking funding, developing further studies and preparing specific proposals for the different administrations in the region.

Image by Adrian Capelo

The opening ceremony for the Carmen Würth Forum in Künzelsau, southern Germany, took place on 18 July 2017.

The event coincided with the 80th birthday of Carmen Würth, wife of the entrepreneur Reinhold Würth, whose company is one of the leading international retailers of assembly and fastening materials.

Designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, this new culture centre comprises a large events space, a chamber music hall, a sculpture park and a forum for open-air events.

Among the speakers were Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, as well as Reinhold Würth and David Chipperfield, who stressed the building’s ability to bring people together, reflecting the client’s deep commitment to nurturing the arts, culture and society. A conference centre and a museum for the Würth art collection are to follow in a second construction stage.

Image © Andi Schmid, Munich

An inauguration ceremony on 18 July marks the opening of the first construction phase of the Carmen Würth Forum, which comprises a large events space and a chamber music hall.

The Adolf Würth company is one of the world’s largest retailers of assembly and fastening materials, with its headquarters situated near the town of Künzelsau, in southern Germany. Dedicated to the wife of the company’s owner Prof. Reinhold Würth, the Carmen Würth Forum is a new congress and culture centre, situated in close proximity to the main office complex. The opening coincides with Carmen Würth’s 80th birthday and is followed by a week of events, including an open-air concert by Sting and a performance by the new Würth Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano.

David Chipperfield joined Amanda Levete, Odile Decq, Elizabeth Diller and Ma Yansong for a discussion on how architects can better engage in the process of city-making. Chaired by Sarah Gaventa, the session formed part of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) International Conference. 

A new chapel and visitor centre in Inagawa, Japan, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, opens 30 June 2017. Commissioned by the Boenfukyukai Foundation, it sits at the foot of a steep hillside cemetery in the Hokusetsu mountains, 40km north of Osaka.

The building marks a threshold between the outer world and the cemetery, providing a quiet space for contemplation. A single sloping roof plane follows the line of the hillside and shelters a non-denominational chapel, visitor centre and a memorial room, all grouped around a secluded central courtyard.

Image © Keiko Sasaoka

David Chipperfield discusses his education and early career, the challenges of balancing commercial and intellectual ambitions, and the importance of engaging with social issues in the July/August issue Frame magazine.

David Chipperfield will take part in the ‘Change in the city: Opportunities for architects in the New Urban Agenda’ conference taking place at the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) as part of the RIBA International week.

The New Urban Agenda was agreed at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) conference in October last year, and aims to guide sustainable urbanisation efforts around the world. This conference will consider the role of the architect in a series of discussions based around three key themes; housing, a cohesive society and cultural heritage.

Further speakers include: Dr Joan Clos, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme; Ma Yansong, Founder and Principal Partner of MAD Architects; Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University; Amanda Levete, Founder and Principal of AL_A and Suzanne Hall, Director of the London School of Economics (LSE) Cities Programme.

4 July, 09.00 – 18.30, 66 Portland Place, London

Tickets can be purchased from the RIBA website.

Image: United Nations

‘Whereas a painting is the final thing a painter produces and a sculpture the final thing a sculptor produces, the architect’s final act does not result in the building itself, but a set of instructions for the architecture of the building’ – Farshid Moussavi

As curator of the Architecture Gallery for this year's RA Summer Exhibition in London, Farshid Moussavi invited entrants to show material celebrating architecture as an 'instruction-based art'.

DCA is represented with recent drawings for the ongoing refurbishment of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin alongside a print of an original 1966 construction drawing for the building. Both focus on the glass detailing of the entrance hall, one of the key components of the practice’s renovation. 

The exhibition is open from 13 June and runs until 20 August 2017.

DCA Berlin is supporting the Alexander Haus project and has drawn up a masterplan for a new seminar complex, to be built entirely from wood. 

Alexander Haus is a small lakeside house in Groß Glienicke, near Potsdam, dating from 1927. Built by the Jewish physician Dr Alfred Alexander who fled Germany in 1936, the house narrowly avoided demolition in 2005 after falling into disrepair. A campaign by members of the Alexander family and local residents led to the house becoming a protected monument in 2014. It is currently undergoing restoration and, combined with further development of the site, the complex will become a centre for ‘Education and Reconciliation’, hosting events, seminars and workshops with the aim of bringing people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions together.

Sketch © Alexander Schwarz for David Chipperfield Architects

‘What if there were no cultural institutions and we reinvented them again?’ This question will be discussed by a panel featuring David Chipperfield at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin 2 June. Also taking part are: Charles Landry, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy; Paul Spies, Director of the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin; Charles Saumarez Smith, Director of the Royal Academy of Arts; and others from the world of art and culture. The Robert Bosch Foundation is a social research initiative funded by the eponymous German engineering and electronics company, and the Academy offers a space for interdisciplinary dialogue.  

The Architektenkammer Rheinland Pfalz organises regular architecture talks at the Hambacher Schloss in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. The latest in the series takes place 1 June under the theme Schweres Erbe (Difficult History), with a focus on memory and architecture. Berlin partner Martin Reichert will present the practice’s plans for the Haus der Kunst in Munich, discussing the challenges and controversies surrounding working on a Nazi-era building. This will be followed by a second talk by architect Peter Weber and a panel discussion featuring both speakers.

Date: Thursday 1 June 2017

Time:  18:00 – 21:00

Venue: Hambacher Schloss in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse

Attendance is free

DCA Milan opens its atelier and archive to the public Saturday 27 May on the occasion of Open!. Promoted by the Italian National Council of Architects, this nationwide event aims for all architectural practices to open their doors to the wider public.

The atelier and archive of the Milan office will be exhibiting a number of study and presentation models as well as drawings and images developed over the last 10 years.

Open Saturday 27 May, from 10:00 until 18:00

Via Vigevano 8, Milan

Image © Paola Pansini

'It was announced today that the host venue for Turner Prize 2019 will be Turner Contemporary in Margate.

'One of the best known prizes for the visual arts in the world, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. Every other year, the prize leaves Tate Britain and is presented at a venue outside London. In 2019 it will be presented at Turner Contemporary which, since opening in 2011, has had a catalytic effect on social and cultural regeneration in Kent, and has established an international reputation.'

Image © Simon Menges

The Valentino Old Bond Street flagship store, developed by DCA Milan, won a London Regional Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) at a ceremony in London on Monday evening. The jury, chaired by David Howarth, gave the following citation:

'Located in the heart of the West End shopping district, the project provides a new flagship store for the Italian fashion house. The store replaces a 1950’s building with a new five storey structure; incorporating a new façade which has been designed to engage with the streetscape of Old Bond Street and the wider Mayfair Conservation Area.

'The façade is a confident addition to the street, composed of two layers: an inner layer of cast terrazzo and an outer layer of natural Portland stone. A series of well-proportioned openings are framed by the stone elements; with a top floor loggia providing consistency with the geometry of the neighbouring buildings, while articulating a decorative façade.

'The standard of detail resolution, finish and build quality is exquisite. The Venetian terrazzo, which forms the inner layer of the façade and lines internal walls and floors, exudes permanence. The giant Carrara marble columns and plinths of the interior, order the space and the handcrafted oak staircase and lift enclosure add to the material richness.

'David Chipperfield Architects have successfully re-interpreted the fashion store as an integrated piece of architecture. They have designed a building which responds to both the specificity of its urban context and the interior retail environment; beyond what could be achieved through a mere shopfront and fit-out. The building is an exemplar project within the sector and both architect and client should be highly commended.'

Image © Rik Nys

The Neues Museum in Berlin is the subject of a feature article in the May issue of French architecture journal, L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui. Under the issue’s theme of ‘Ruins’, architect and writer Andreas Kofler describes the ‘geological’ process of the building’s reconstruction.

Friedrich August Stüler’s Neues Museum originally opened in 1859 and lay in ruins for over sixty years following World War II. David Chipperfield Architects won the competition for its rebuilding in 1997 and the museum reopened in 2009. As part of the wider masterplan for Museum Island, the neighbouring James Simon Galerie is due to open at the end of 2018.

An open letter initiated by David Chipperfield and signed by 20 British architects has been published in The Guardian. It calls for the UK Government to immediately clarify the status of EU citizens working in the UK.

The architectural profession, as well as the wider body of creative and cultural industries, are extremely concerned about the impact of the decision to leave the EU.

Regardless of the inevitable commercial damage, most of us believe this will have deeply negative consequences by severely limiting the transfer of information, ideas and influence, as well as restricting common programmes of education and research.

While we are fearful about the future in general, we are particularly concerned about the Government’s attitude towards EU nationals. We have benefited enormously from the transfer of knowledge and influence that results from EU nationals working in the UK. Furthermore, we have benefited from our ability as individuals and as companies to trade services and knowledge with our European neighbours, creating a better understanding between peoples.

Within this context, we are appalled that the Government should use those who have made considerable personal and professional commitments to this country, and who enrich our own culture, as a negotiating chip. This is not the behaviour of a civilised society, and certainly runs counter to the respected British traditions of decency and fairness.

We have no doubt whatsoever that the people of this country would not accept the eviction of EU nationals and we therefore see no reason why this unusable threat should remain on the table. We ask that the Government immediately clarifies this situation, otherwise we will not only lose our place in Europe but we will lose our dignity in the process.

Signatories:

Bob Allies, Will Alsop, Ron Arad, Adam Caruso, David Chipperfield, Peter Cook, Trevor Dannatt, Tony Fretton, Michael Hopkins, Patty Hopkins, Eva Jiricna, Amanda Levete, Farshid Moussavi, Eric Parry, John Pawson, Richard Rogers, Alan Stanton, Peter St. John, Paul Williams, Chris Wilkinson

Lisa O’Carroll, Brexit correspondent for The Guardian, highlights the vital roles played by EU nationals in British architecture, and the importance of cultural cross-fertilisation for the creative sector in general.

Italian publisher Corriere della Sera, has released a new Berlin architectural guide. The volume forms part of their Archittetture e Interni Urban series and features several DCA projects including the Gallery on Kupfergraben and Neues Museum. It is available for purchase from the Corriere della Sera store.

The Naga Site Museum plans will go on display this week in an exhibition at the Art and History Museum in Geneva entitled ‘New Museums: Intentions, Expectations, Challenges’.

Curated by Art Centre Basel in collaboration with Musées d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève, the exhibition examines, through contemporary project studies, how museums position themselves as places of exchange and communication. A two-day ‘Museums of the 21st Century’ colloquium will be hosted as part of the programme on 1-2 June.

The Naga Site Museum is designed to protect part of the archaeological site of Naga, an ancient city in modern-day Sudan. It functions primarily as a facility for storing transportable findings from the site in a secure environment, while also serving as a rudimentary exhibition hall. This approach merges the discovery, study and display of an artefact, integrating archaeological process and exhibition.

The exhibition opens 10 May and will run until 20 August.

Following an international two-stage competition, a team led by DCA London has been selected by the International Music and Performing Arts Charitable Trust (IMPACT Scotland) to design a new 1,000-seat concert venue in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town.

The venue will serve as a permanent home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and provide a new space for a range of musical performances much needed in a city which hosts the world’s largest arts festival. In addition to the main hall, the programme includes a smaller studio, educational facilities and an open, public lobby.

Together with Arup, WME, Theatre Projects and Gross Max, we aim to develop a design that sensitively integrates into the New Town and we look forward to working closely with the acoustician Nagata to create excellent performance spaces. 

The Ria de Arousa study project will be presented by David at the 4th annual Foro de Rehabilitación in Rianxo, Spain. The talk will address issues of the area’s urban and economic development in parallel to cultural and environmental protection, focussing on the coastal margins from which the area derives much of its identity.

Hosted by the local council, the Foro de Rehabilitación was set up as part of a scheme started in 2008 to develop local understanding of restoration and renovation, and to consider the best ways to approach the rehabilitation of degraded or historical buildings in towns around the region. The forum runs 5-7 May with David’s talk taking place at 12.00 on Sunday 7 May.

Tickets (10 euros) can be purchased through the Oficina de rehabilitación: odr@concelloderianxo.gal

The Hepworth Wakefield featured in a double-page spread in last Saturday’s Guardian entitled ‘People’s Palaces’. Each of the five contenders for the Museum of the Year is championed by a different advocate. Martin Parr, who held an exhibition, The Rhubarb Triangle and Other Stories, at the museum last year writes about the Hepworth Wakefield, describing it as ‘a fantastic space, beautifully designed and functioning very well’.

The £100,000 prize, which is given annually by the Art Fund charity, rewards museums that deliver innovative programmes and outreach. The other contenders are the Sir John Soane Museum and Tate Modern in London, The National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art in Newmarket and the Lapworth Museum of Geology in Birmingham.

In the last year, the Hepworth has seen visitor numbers increase dramatically and has held several well received exhibitions. Currently showing is ‘Disobedient Bodies’ a retrospective of the fashion designer J.W. Anderson which juxtaposes sculptural work from artists such as Henry Moore and Louise Bourgeois with his own creations.

The exhibition runs until 17 June while the Museum of the Year winner will be announced 5 July.

Libin Chen, partner in the Shanghai office, will give a lecture at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou Friday 28 April. Titled ‘The extraordinary in the ordinary’, the talk will use examples of current and previous work to demonstrate the practice’s design approach. The talk will start at 13.30 in the An'zhong building and is open to the public.

The new Valentino flagship store, located on Chuo-dori, Ginza’s main shopping avenue opened last Thursday. It forms part of the recently completed Ginza Six, a mixed-use development which is currently the largest retail facility in Tokyo’s famous shopping district.

Designed by DCA Milan, the five-storey store has an area of over 1,330 m² making it one of the largest Valentino flagships and the design represents a further evolution of the established concept. The main façade, which covers all five floors, is a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Japanese Noren and Shoji screens. Made of a stretched aluminum mesh and featuring integrated lighting, the screen generates different levels of permeability/visibility during both day and night.

DCA Milan has been working with Valentino since 2008.

The first few weeks of the second phase of the Ria de Arousa research project have seen the team focussing on the region’s urban and port areas as well as its infrastructure. Establishing and cataloguing land and building usage, and setting these into the wider urban context, they have been investigating the role of the ports, their future use, and how they can help re-connect the towns with the sea. The region’s infrastructure has also been analysed and will inform a plan for more sustainable mobility and access as well as improved roads.

In parallel to this research, meetings have been held with representatives from the Galician government, local authorities, fishing industries and sustainability bodies as the team seeks to build new and strengthen existing connections.

Progress will next be presented to the public at the 4th annual Forum of Restoration in Rianxo on 7 May.

The Ria de Arousa research project began in 2016 and its second phase started in February of this year.

Image by Adrian Capelo

Over 1000 people visited the David Chipperfield Architects Milan archive and atelier over the weekend, the opening of which coincided with the Fuorisalone 2017. The extensive archive contains original documents and models which were on display to the public. 

Image © Paola Pansini

Wish Magazine, a monthly supplement in The Australian, features an article by Luke Slattery based on an interview with David.

An exhibition of recent work by Chinese artist Song Dong is on display at the Rockbund Art Museum. The entire building, which was restored and extended by the practice in 2010, has been transformed for the exhibition which is divided into seven ‘chapters’ following the Chinese literary tradition. Each of the building’s six floors are dedicated to a chapter, with the seventh, ‘Illumination’ reserved for the building’s exterior. LED lighting traces the contours of the 1933, former Royal Asiatic Society building’s façade.

The exhibition is open until 11 June.

Image: Zhexu Du for DCA

David Chipperfield Architects Milan opens its doors to the public this weekend, on the occasion of Fuorisalone 2017. Together the atelier and archive hold around 70 study and presentation models developed over the last 10 years.

Open from Friday 7th until Sunday 9th April, from 10:00 until 18:00

Via Vigevano 8, Milan

Image © Paola Pansini

DCA Milano has designed a temporary installation in the Cortile d’Onore of the Palazzo Brera for the Milan design week. It is included in the White in the City exhibition curated by Giulio Cappellini, part of the Fuorisalone. Entitled Walking through Whiteness, the installation fuses the essential qualities of white – its nature, science and symbolism – into a single experience.

A white cube enclosing a room, the work is a space in which the qualities of white as the achromatic colour of maximum lightness and clarity can be explored.

Externally, it measures as a perfect 2.5m cube composed of white chalk beams. These beams, the first of three components that form the installation, are cut by Laboratorio Morseletto and slot together forming the horizontal courses of the structure.

Internally, the surfaces merge to create a space of whiteness in three dimensions, dissolving any sense of materiality. Covering the floor is the second white component: salt. This crystalline mineral element, an enduring symbol of life and purification, accumulates from the square perimeter of the room into a round central mound like a naturally occurring salt cone.

The third white component is a 5000-degree Kelvin beam of LED-light piercing through an aperture in the ceiling. Made by Viabizzuno, it is one of the whitest lights in existence and illuminates the salt crystal cone which reflects white light onto surrounding surfaces to generate an interplay of white references: concentrated/unsaturated, light/shade, smooth/rough, matte/bright – contributing to the sense of metaphysical space.

Image © Paola Pansini

David Chipperfield Architects - Empirismo Idealista, has been published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. This new, 144-page, pocket-monograph was produced in collaboration with the Architecture and Urban Studies Department of Politecnico di Milano and Abitare magazine. It features projects from all four offices and includes an interview with Prof. Ferruccio Izzo and Francesco Prosperetti. The volume can be acquired directly from Corriere della Sera.

Margit J Mayer talks with David in a wide-ranging interview published in the latest issue of German art magazine Blau. The article is the transcription of a conversation held at an event in Berlin earlier this month. Among the topics covered are the differences between artists and architects and the advantages of working within the cultural sector. 

In 2015 the Berlin office supported an exhibition at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt which drew attention to the social isolation of refugees in Germany. Inspired by contacts made, and realising that more could be done, the office subsequently set up a one-year trainee program for refugees which has been in place for over a year.

This commitment has now been formalised through a partnership with ‘Wir Zusammen’ (We together), a platform designed to assist companies looking to help refugees into the German workforce. Work is an important basis for integration in to a new environment and almost 200 companies have now signed up, recognising the many skills that migrants can offer. Beyond professional training, the practice enables the new employees to make contacts and learn a new language.