Milano BookCity 2019 architecture books

BookCity, "a big participatory event for books, authors, readers and publishers" organised in public and private spaces all over the city of Milan, ended on November 17. At this open, inclusive event, anyone could find books on their favourite topic and discuss and share their passions. Design and architecture are important themes of general interest, and the space dedicated to them was, naturally enough, Triennale di Milano. The packed schedule of events held at this important city institution was flanked by readings and meetings with authors at a number of architectural studios, in discovery of new books about architecture and design.
Park Hub, a space operated by Milanese architectural studio Park Associati, hosted author Clino Trini Castelli and editor Guido Musante during BookCity 2019 for the launch and complete reading of the book “NO-FORM, 10 racconti oltre il design”. Clino Trini Castelli talked to editor Guido Musante about his memories, projects, travels and relations with key personalities of the twentieth century. The book, published in Italian only with a title that translates as “NO-FORM: 10 stories beyond design”, takes the narrative form of stories inspired by an emblematic object or one designed by Clino Trini Castelli, offering the reader testimony of the life and work of this key figure in Italian design, winner of two Compasso d'Oro awards.

"The pop obsession of icons in design" was the theme of one of the events held at Triennale Milano during BookCity 2019, with the participation of Balthazar Pagani, Giampiero Bosoni, Massimo Iosa Ghini and Charley Vezza and author Alessandra Coppa. The book presented is "MALEDETTO DESIGN. L’ossessione pop delle icone", published (in Italian only) by Centauria, an ironic volume featuring critical texts and splendid photographs. Alessandra Coppa interviews important designers, asking them some "uncomfortable and irreverent questions about the meaning of design". The result is a new way of approaching the process of designing certain objects which have become icons of everyday living and been included in the collections of the world’s most important design museums, from MoMA in New York to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

A number of other recent architectural publications also offer some interesting food for thought.
"I like our houses to be much richer on the inside, than on the outside. Like books with their bland exteriors filled with hidden adventures. ." (Knut Hjeltnes)
The quote comes from “The idea of domesticity in Knut Hjeltnes – The Straume and Bøe Møller houses” written by Nicola Flora for LetteraVentidue. The volume is intended primarily for architects and architecture lovers, and in fact the voyage of exploration of the Straume House and the Bøe Møller House, two recent projects by Knut Hjeltnes, is illustrated with plenty of technical drawings of the two homes. The rich illustrations represent the spaces Nicola Flora describes subjectively after experiencing them for himself, offering readers a key to understanding the profoundest meaning of Knut Hjeltnes’s buildings.

And finally, another volume published by Skira: "Humanitas Campus: Architecture for the Knowledge Society", in which contributions by a number of key figures in the company’s history and vast photographic documentation by Andrea Martiradonna represent research, teaching and clinic buildings designed by architect Filippo Taidelli for Humanitas.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Images courtesy of BookCity, photo by: Claudio Lazzari (1), Martina Gentilino (2), Yuma Martellanz (3).
Images courtesy of: Park Associati (4), Centauria (5), LetteraVentidue (6-8), Skira (9)
Images courtesy of Filippo Taidelli Architetto, ph Andrea Martiradonna (10 - 15)

Book: Clino Trini Castelli, edited by Guido Musante “NO-FORM”, 10 Racconti oltre il Design,
Publisher: Corraini Edizioni 2019
With: Violetta, Kings, Claudio Marconi, Alessia Parrulli, Martina Simeti, Patrick Tuttofuoco, Carlo A. Sigon, Nicolò, Donatella Bollani, Silvia Sala.
ISBN: 9788875707804

Book: Alessandra Coppa "Maledetto design. L'ossessione pop delle icone",
Publisher: Centauria 2019
ISBN: 9788869214028

Book: Nicola Flora, The idea of domesticity in Knut Hjeltnes – The Straume and Bøe Møller houses
Publisher: LetteraVentidue 2019
ISBN: 9788862423540

Book: HUMANITAS CAMPUS: Architecture for the Knowledge Society
Publisher Skira 2019
ISBN: 9788857240022
Photos: Andrea Martiradonna

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