Torre David / Gran Horizonte

Caracas’ 45-story slum examined at the Architecture Biennale in Venice

Torre David / Gran Horizonte

Torre David is an abandoned 45-story skyscraper located in Caracas, Venezuela. After the death of the developer in 1993 and the collapse of the Venezuelan economy a year later, the office tower was almost complete, but the construction was suddenly and inexorably interrupted. Today Torre David is a real…

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Palais Lumière by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Palais Lumière is a 245 metre skyscraper proposed for Venice by fashion designer Pierre Cardin.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Construction is scheduled to begin this year on the 60-storey building, which will comprise three fin-shaped towers connected horizontally by six huge steel discs.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Located on the mainland in former industrial area Porto Marghera, the building will provide a shopping centre, a hotel, a theatre and conference centre, offices, restaurants and over 284 apartments.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Swimming pools, gardens and ponds will be located on the upper decks and a helipad will be positioned on the rooftop.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

The tower will be more than twice the height of St. Mark’s Basilica, which at 99 metres is currently the tallest building in Venice.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Cardin designed the building with the help of architect nephew Rodrigo Basilicati and is reported to be “fed up with the delays” that have been holding up construction.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Other skyscrapers making the news recently include the Shard in London and a new district of skyscrapers in South Korea.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

See all our stories about skyscrapers »

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Here’s some information from the project website:


The objective of Palais Lumière is to bring together everything that a person needs in a space conceived as a unified whole, where every location within the complex can be reached by foot in just a few minutes.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

To this end, the building features floors for residential or office use that alternate with floors having public spaces or that are open to the public, where large numbers of people can gather.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level -1 plan

This results in a building whose value index – the relationship between the functions that the building must perform and the total cost of the project – is positive.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Ground floor plan

In addition to striving for optimal efficacy and efficiency in the construction, the project emphasizes functionality – with structural and building services solutions that address the environmental sustainability problems relating to energy consumption that are inherent in tall buildings – while also paying close attention to safety aspects.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 1 plan

The unique shape of the building was conceived from a desire to create a structure that is destined to become a symbol of the ongoing transformation of the area.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 2 plan

This sculptural architectural work was created using the capabilities of morphological-structural calculations, increasing the scale of the object and moulding it into a complex form of such uniqueness that it produces an unparalleled increase in the market value.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 4 plan

The building consists of three towers having a similar shape but differing in height.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 5 plan

The total height is 245 metres, with a maximum of 60 habitable floors and a ground area of 30,000 m2.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 6 plan

Each of the three vertical elements, arranged in a radial pattern 120° apart from one another, has a maximum width of 20m, creating an interior layout that is ideal for both residential and tertiary sector uses.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 15 plan

The three towers are positioned around an open central area that houses 21 panoramic lifts, which provide direct access to the large circular floors destined primarily for commercial and recreational uses.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 16 plan

These circular floors, six in all, are spaced 40 m apart and have a lens-shaped cross section to optimize aerodynamics and limit the pressure exerted by the wind on the structure.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 25 plan

The complex features 284 private residences (approximately 45,000 m2), hotel space (34,000 m2), as well as office space, commercial and service activities, applied research facilities, a conference centre, higher education facilities and restaurants (130,000 m2).

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 26 plan

The shopping centre is located on the first two floors of the three towers and the circular underground level, where there is also a large combined conference centre and thea- tre/auditorium with 6,200/7,000 seats, which can be subdivided by an ad hoc system into six rooms having 600/700 seats each and two rooms having 1,300/1,400 seats.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 34 plan

These rooms are acoustically insulated, allowing them to be used as conference rooms, theatres or university lecture halls.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 35 plan

Finally, there are more than 4,000 parking spaces and garages located on two floors beneath the building.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 36 plan

Each tower has 17 lifts, 14 of which hold 7 people, two of which hold 15 and one of which holds 50. The lifts are contact-free (except during emergencies), running along electronically-controlled magnetic guides that eliminate friction and noise.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 45 plan

Thanks to the Palais Lumière’s 72 lifts, it is be possible for 650 people to reach the panoramic restaurant on the sixth circular floor or disc (at a height of 225 metres) in just over a minute, and for 1,600 people to reach the cinema/multiplex area on the second disc (16th floor) in less than 5 minutes.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 46 plan

The building’s six discs feature more than 4 hectares (44,000 m2) of hanging gardens, as well as public and private ponds and swimming pools.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 55 plan

The “green space” found inside this structure more than doubles the area occupied by the building’s foundation.

Palais Lumiere by Pierre Cardin and Rodrigo Basilicati

Level 56 plan

In addition, the building is situated in a 250,000 m2 oasis-like park that is energy self-sufficient (including lighting), as it uses excess power that the building generates from solar, and more importantly, wind sources.

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and Rodrigo Basilicati
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Venice in a Day

Focus sur une nouvelle vidéo Venice in a Day, tournée en Italie par le créatif Joerg Niggli. Filmé avec un Canon G10, ce time-lapse monté avec la musique de Chris Haigh permet de montrer la magie de la ville italienne. A découvrir en vidéo dans la suite de l’article.



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The Beautiful Cliché

The lens of a native captures Venice in poetic new form
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Italian photographer Renato D’Agostin creates haunting black-and-white portraits that capture a city’s essence in serenely abstract form. The budding lensman began shooting these fragmented narratives in 2001, and has since published two books, “Metropolis” and “Tokyo Untitled,” before taking his approach back to his home town of Venice, the subject of his latest series, “The Beautiful Cliché.”

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D’Agostin’s images are emotional without seeming preciously nostalgic and his languid style for “The Beautiful Cliché” draws the viewer in without inciting a longing for a holiday—the tack many photographers take when documenting a city as romantically charged and picturesque as Venice. Instead, D’Agostin shows its raw beauty through distinct snippets of daily life and dissected architecture, creating a scene that feels both familiar and vaguely mysterious.

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Using Kodak TRI-X400 film, D’Agostin shot on a Leica M6 and a Nikon F100 to create the set of poetically granular images. Whether capturing one of the city’s quintessential pigeons, moorings in the lagoon or the wake of a boat, the original perspective and artistic production turn Venice into uncharted land.

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“A Beautiful Cliché” is both a large-scale book and upcoming exhibition, opening tomorrow at The Chinese Porcelain Company in NYC and running through 15 December 2011. Produced by Venetian Heritage, the book sells for $60 or as a limited edition, which includes an 8×10-inch silver gelatin print for $500. Purchasing information can be found on D’Agostin’s website.

See more images in the slideshow.


Here & There Series

Découverte de l’artiste Marisa Seguin avec cette superbe série d’illustrations colorées représentant des villes du monde. Ces créations réussies se veulent représenter Paris, Venise, San Francisco ou encore Vancouver. L’ensemeble est à découvrir en images dans la suite.



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“David Chipperfield to curate 2012 Venice Biennale”- The Guardian


Dezeen Wire:
David Chipperfield is to curate the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale, becoming the first British architect to take on the role – The Guardian

The official announcement has been delayed because of Chipperfield’s reservations over working with Giulio Malgara, who was expected to become the director of the biennale and is a friend of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Following Berlusconi’s decision to stand down it is expected that current director Paolo Baratta will retain the role as biennale director.

See more stories about David Chipperfield on Dezeen.

David Scott

Scatti di David Scott, uno dei fotografi più rappresentativi per la comunità di Venice Beach tra gli anni ’70 e ’80. Altre gallery qui e qui.
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72 hours at the Venice art biennale

L’illustratore newyorkese Christoph Niemann ha disegnato le sue sensazioni durante le 72 ore passate a Venezia per la Biennale d’Arte moderna.
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72 hours at the venice art biennale

Negozio Olivetti

Carlo Scarpa’s architectural feat restored to glory as Venice’s newest museum
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Widely recognized for their Ettore Sottsass-designed Valentine typewriter, one of Olivetti’s less celebrated design accomplishments is the company’s Venice showroom and store. Architect Carlo Scarpa spent two years conceiving the space with a focus on transparencies and materials after commissioned by Adriano Olivetti in the late ’50s, leading to what became one of the most significant architectural achievements of the 20th century.

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Located on Venice’s famed Piazza San Marco, 14 years ago the Olivetti store was turned into a novelty shop. Last year the space’s owner, Assicurazioni Generali, began working with the Venice Heritage office to painstakingly refurbish the shop to its original appearance, reinstating authentic materials, forms and color schemes. They also turned to the glorious Italian cultural institution, FAI to protect and manage the building, which is filled with a unique collection of typewriters and calculators donated by Olivetti that’s now open to the public for regular visits along with the rest of the space.

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One focal point of the renovated store is Alberto Viani’s “Nudo al Sole”—a sculpture that the architect put above a black Belgian marble plinth covered by water. To achieve the right amount of light, Scarpa increased the number of windows, illuminating the irregularly-shaped mosaic glass floor which changes color in each area. The main entrance is red, the central section almost white, the side entrance blue and the rear yellow.

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The showroom-slash-museum provides exhaustive testimony to Scarpa’s construction expertise, taste and sophistication in the dialogue between old and new—skills that enabled him to design a classic in a city of architectural icons. The Olivetti Store is made of savvy construction details, balanced contrasts and constant maniacal research into lettering and texts, the results of which were never so eloquent as they are in the Olivetti Showroom.


The Bauer Hotel and Il Palazzo

Two luxury hotels introducing a welcome modern touch to classic Venetian style

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In a place like Venice where nearly everything in the city has been featured in a postcard, the Bauer Hotel and Palazzo stand out for their surprising design, which I recently had the pleasure of exploring.

Built in the ’40s, the linear and austere façade of the hotel on Campo San Moisè creates a deep contrast with the picture-perfect cliché of a gondola gliding down the nearby canal. The decor of the wide hallways (a rarity in the compact town) reflect owner and art director Francesca Bortolotto Possati’s knack for integrating classic materials, such as marble, gold-plated candelabras, silk wallpaper and Murano glass chandeliers, with the clean lines of modernism.

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A grand ballroom and lounges continue the opulent atmosphere, boasting more luxurious materials like ostrich leather, walnut root, marble and brass as well as a constant mixture of objects from different ages, including Moresque sculptures and Art Deco armchairs.

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Bauer’s twin structure, Il Palazzo, is an 18th-Century boutique hotel offering guests the chance to experience the life of Venetian palazzo living. The views on the Canal Grande are unique, both from the De Pisis Restaurant (located at Canal level) and the Settimo Cielo—the highest terrace in town, providing a beautiful panorama overlooking the entire lagoon.

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Each room in the Hotel and Il Palazzo is distinct, incorporating precious antiques, rare prints, small pieces of furniture as well as 20th-century paintings and design objects.

Prices for the Bauer Hotel span €200-900, and €390-8,000 for Il Palazzo.