BK Talks: Extensive works

Join us on January 16th, 2024, for a discussion coinciding with the launch of two remarkable books: "Nelle case. Milan Interiors 1928-1978" and "Housing Atlas Europe, 20th Century."

While not a joint book launch, the aim of this BK Talks event is to reflect on the significance of producing extensive works for better understanding interior, housing, urban, or landscape design. This is achieved through bulky books, massive physical models, or large-format prints.

Alongside large publications, large-scale architectural models (whether rough or highly sophisticated) serve as tools to stimulate thoughts and playful tools for understanding, interpreting, and imagining the materiality of architecture in its broader sense. Despite advancements in digital modelling offering advantages like quick prototyping and editing, analog models offer deeper experiential engagement in real space and provide a tactile and sensory experience. They contribute more to designers in terms of physical involvement and richer exploration of form.

Large prints and artwork are not only visually stunning but also hold significant cultural value. Giant formats immerse us in the heart of a design and convey the character of sites, places, or territories.

Large formats inform audiences about the variety of ways to think about materiality in design, enabling designers to interact more easily with forms, realize potentials, and address constraints. Join Dick van Gameren, Orsina Simona Pierini, Marc Ruygrok, Mark Pimlott, and the audience for an illuminating discussion that explores the rich narratives embedded within these large format creations.

About "Nelle case. Milan Interiors 1928-1978"

"Nelle case. Milan interiors 1928-1978" is a synthesis of contemporary history, featuring over 200 architectures. The book combines the complementary perspectives of authors Enrico Morteo and Orsina Simona Pierini. It offers a multifaceted gaze on art, design, and architectural projects, unveiling the contemporaneity of many presented design solutions. The book's iconographic composition includes period photographs from Archivio Domus and the Casali archive, original redrawings of the houses, and contemporary photographs, creating a rich repertoire that composes a story woven through visual narratives.

About "Housing Atlas Europe, 20th Century"

"Housing Atlas Europe, 20th Century", authored by Orsina Simona Pierini, Carmen Espegel, Dick van Gameren, and Mark Swenarton illustrates nearly a hundred of the most important European housing schemes of the 20th century. Architects during this period tackled the challenges of modern urban living with innovative solutions. Today, these designs are revisited as answers to the current housing crisis. The book, chronologically ordered, features plans, sections, and elevations, providing a comprehensive survey of key housing projects. Produced by a pan-European team of leading scholars, this atlas includes contextual essays providing insights into the significance of these ground-breaking housing schemes.