On glassy bubbles and massive walls
Bratislava, 21 November 2014. Massimiliano Fuksas is an Italian architect, designer, poet, and painter. He opened his first own studio in 1967 in Rome. Since then, additional offices in Paris, Vienna, Frankfurt am Main, and Shenzhen were added. Fuksas is known for polished sculptural icons. In Bratislava, Fashid Tavakolitehrani (Office Manager in Rome) explains his “positions on contemporary architecture”. Studio founder Fuksas described his approach once in conversation with Phin Foster as follows: “A conflict is the complete basis of architecture. I never use just A or B, it always has to be A and B.”
Wild arches, organic bubbles, and shapes reminding one of mutated animals characterise his projects; they are in contrast to the mass that is put on or directly in the ground, unburdened by transparent materials and flows of light. A duality of the opposite poles.
In much of Fuksas' works, it appears as though a foreign, wavy, and deformed entity wanted to disrupt the distinct geometric structure; on the facade, in the interior, or in both at the same time (MyZeil Shopping Mall, Frankfurt am Main).
Sometimes, waves submerge the boring rectangular shapes of boxes. The figures are fluid metaphors for a fog wafting in the wind – on land, at sea, or in the sky. According to Tavakolitehrani's opinion, in reality, it involves mathematical settlements of natural elements.
The project for the Nardini Research Center and the Auditorium in Italian Vicenza follows the same spirit of extroverted pompous gestures. It consists of two inclined ellipsoid laboratories with entrance ramp and stairs, as well as an auditorium sunk into the ground.
Despite a prevailing architecture in the appearance of a screaming sculpture, one also encounters massive buildings among the structures from the Italian office. Smiling, Tavakolitehrani remembers Bratislava: “I once again wanted to build a wall. We have just completed the New Milan Trade Fair in Milan, and I will be very happy when I never have to look at steel or glass again.”
The Fuksas Studio had won the competition for the design of the San Paolo Parish Complex in Italian Perugia, and has lent it the shape of a fantastic monument that is concealed within another monument. Nervously, we look at the concrete mass, which is clearly supported by a higher force. The seriousness of the entire composition was balanced by irregularly scattered window shapes. A similar peace, even a chilling silence, can be found at the Ferrari Operational Headquarters and Research Centre in Modena. The scenes of a silent water line, subtle metallic frames of vast glass plates, absolutely smooth sceneries like the backdrop for a ceremony, and silent surfaces that negate the reality of the time. Above all, the water line duplicates here the (unique) dynamics between the light of the day and the dark of night.
To finish, Terminal 3 of the Bao International Airport in Chinese Shenzhen is presented; its elongated three-dimensional shape is not only blown through by the filtered air of the climate control systems, but is also filled with an enormous quantity of light. In the layout, the roof panel was perforated by hexagons. The maximum amount of light reaches the interior. But in the case that even this is then insufficient, the floor was designed to be reflective. Even where no water is available, a mirror can be used to create visual games and effects.
Massimilano Fuksas at the November Conferences 2013 in Mailand (Film | 1:05:26 Min.)
