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A rare snoop inside homes of some of the world’s greatest living architects
Updated
11:56 AM EDT, Thu March 20, 2014
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Milan Design Week —
From April 8 until April 13, visitors to the Salone del Mobile can step into the homes of eight architects including Zaha Hadid and Shigeru Ban. As part of the exhibition "Where Architects Live," curator Francesca Molteni visited the luminaries to see whether their private residences reflect their very public designs and reputations. "Home is something more than walls and furniture," she says. "It's related to our vales. Living in a space is different from just sitting in a room."
In 1997 Japanese architect Shigeru Ban designed this apartment building in a tranquil wooded area of Tokyo. "The fantastic thing is that he did not cut down a single tree to build the house," Molteni says. "He had to cleverly build around them."
Hiroyuki Hirai
Milan Design Week —
Shigeru Ban, Tokyo
Shigeru's apartment within the building is so minimal that Molteni compares it to the home of a Zen monk. "He lives with no objects at all except four chairs, a table and a simple bed," she says. "It's just light and trees."
This Italian duo choose to live in Paris, partly because of its significant role in their career progression. "In the 1980s Francois Mitterand was the first to ask them to do a project when they were not so well-known," Molteni says. "They have warm feelings with the city that in some ways gave them the opportunity to become well-known."
Aki Furudate
Milan Design Week —
Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, Paris
The architects have filled their home with artwork from Fontana and Paladino, and boast original Jean Prouvé furniture. Given the itinerant lifestyle of any star architect, the antique warriors seen above are fitting. They guard the house while their masters are away.
Set in the countryside, about 20 miles from Mumbai, this isn't just Bijoy Jain's house, but also his studio. Around 60 craftsmen work here, and countless dogs roam the grounds, which includes a large swimming pool set among ancient trees. "Artisans, carpenters, and workers are coming and going all the time," Molteni says. "It's a place you share. It's not just a place for yourself."
Francesca Molteni
Bijoy Jain —
Bijoy Jain, Mumbai
Large windows provide light and ventilation. Despite the steady flow of people, the space remains peaceful and almost meditative. That gives these dogs a soothing place to nap.
Hadid fills her rooms with objects she has designed over the course of her career, as seen in these oblong table pieces and this wall hanging, inspired by Russian artist El Lissitzky. "Her home is not a stage or a showroom," Molteni says. "It's just that she likes to be around things that are important to her."
Davide Pizzigoni
Milan Design Week —
Zaha Hadid, London
"The space is incredibly white and bright," says Molteni. Light floods the space through a giant skylight, and the white walls keep the space luminous even on rainy days. Hadid's avant-garde aesthetic is present throughout the space, including in these sketches with their sensuous curves.
"The homes are full of obsessions," Molteni says. "For one it's music, for another it's books." Mario Bellini's Milan home is designed around a 30-ft. high library with ladders. "The books, artworks and objects make it reminiscent of Antonello da Messina's painting of St. Jerome's study."
Davide Pizzigoni
Milan Bellini —
Mario Bellini, Milan
But it's not all Old World style, as evidenced by this dramatic glowing sofa. "He is about to embark on a design for a white cube, his new home," Molteni says. "That is his dream."
Marcio Kogan breaks from the mold of Brazil's movers-and-shakers. "I thought he would live in a big villa around the city, where rich people in Brazil often live because they feel more safe," Molteni says. Instead he lives on the top floor of a 12-story building in a more humble area. "He is very comfortable in that neighborhood."
Romulo Fialdini
Milan Design Week —
Marcio Kogan, S?o Paulo
Kogan has filled his home with knick-knacks he has collected around the world, including ornaments, photos, and tourist souvenirs. "Kogan remembers the story of each one of them and how they got here," Molteni says. "It creates a special place."
Romulo Fialdini Architecture
Milan Design Week —
Marcio Kogan, S?o Paulo
"A window frames the view over the city, like a huge panoramic screen for an architect who dreamt of the cinema," Molteni says. The result is an apartment that is light and bright.
English architect David Chipperfield oversaw the reconstruction of Berlin's Neues Museum, a €300 million project that took more than a decade to see through. It was during this period that he decided to build his home and his studio in the city. "It's a wonderful bubble of concrete with just some Italian furniture of the 1950s and 1960s," Molteni says.
Simon Menges
David Chipperfield —
David Chipperfield, Berlin
Molteni says the house is not as cold as you might think, and much of the warmth extends from Chipperfield himself. "He was walking around with no shoes and was very comfortable having the crew around," she says. "The more they are living in the house, the more the concrete will disappear. It's just a frame for the people and objects."
Davide Pizzigoni
Daniel Libeskind —
Daniel Libeskind, New York
Libeskind's apartment is not far from the site of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the hustle and bustle of New York is all around him.
Nicola Tranquillino
Daniel Libeskind —
Daniel Libeskind, New York
"His house is a refuge," Molteni says. "Books, books and more books. Brushes for mapping new worlds."
