David Chipperfield bequeaths the city a legacy in stone with a sober extension of the San Michele island cemetery
Back in 1998, David Chipperfield Architects (DCA) beat 145 other contenders to win a global competition for an extension to the Venetian island cemetery of San Michele. Thanks to the vagaries of Italian funding and bureaucracy, work didn’t begin until 2004. Another 14 years on, and the second (and potentially, last) phase of a revised scheme – including a new dock to supplement the existing pontoon on the island’s west side, and an administrative building– is now complete.
San Michele has been the city’s sole burial ground since 1837, and within its wave-lapped walls lie the tombs of generations of Venetians, as well as some illustrious foreigners, including ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev, composer Igor Stravinsky and poet Ezra Pound. After nearly 200 years of internments, the cemetery was running out of space, so the 1998 competition called for new columbariums, a chapel and a crematorium, plus an addition that would have seen an entirely new island constructed alongside the old.
This story is from the November 2018 edition of Wallpaper.
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This story is from the November 2018 edition of Wallpaper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Pas de Deux - Choreographer Wayne McGregor on turning a post-apocalyptic trilogy by Margaret Atwood into a three-act ballet in collaboration with composer Max Richter
Wayne McGregor is the master of creative collaborations. As resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet, a position he has held since 2006, he has translated an eclectic roster of literary, avant-garde and contemporary references into works for the stage, as well as taken the helm on film, TV, fashion and music videos projects, and founded his own London-based studio.
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After a 20-year hiatus, design returns to the Dakar Biennale this year and, for curator Ousmane Mbaye, it comes at a pivotal time. ‘My curatorial practice is based on three aspects,’ he says. ‘A desire to do a design inventory in Africa; to record the materials being used; and to present the current generation of designers in Africa and its diaspora, and see their visions realised.’
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Guest Editor Marcio Kogan - Marcio Kogan has been prolific since setting up his namesake studio in São Paulo in 1978 (it was renamed Studio MK27 at the turn of the century).
Marcio Kogan has been prolific since setting up his namesake studio in São Paulo in 1978 (it was renamed Studio MK27 at the turn of the century). The 72-year-old architect has since become synonymous with contemporary Brazilian chic, offering a sumptuous blend of raw, textured materials; clean geometric forms; effortless functionality; vernacular design features; and a deep knowledge and appreciation of the rich, tropical modernist architecture legacy of his home country.
DREAM TEAM
A rewatching of a seminal film laid the foundation for JW Anderson's latest collection, a fantastical collaboration with artist Christiane Kubrick
