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. Located on Venice’s …
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 installation "Sciame di Dirigibili" by Mexico-born, Brazilian resident Héctor Zamora is jump-starting the exciting kickoff of the six-month-long 53rd Venice Biennale, offering us a glimpse at what will have festival-goers remembering the event for biennials to come. Zamora wedged a life-size zeppelin between buildings at the Arsenale—where a majority of the events take place—saluting the former era of air balloon festivals that captivated Venice …
