Structures of the Landscape (2016), by Ensamble Studio, at the Tippet Rise Art Center, Montana
The challenge of Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa, partners of the Ensamble Studio from Madrid, was seek harmony between architecture and local landscape; reinterpret the topography. Its materials: learning about geological processes and the primitive qualities of matter.
A) Yes, made of landscape from landscape and elaborated through a high engineering design that accepts the unpredictability of the result, Structures of the Landscape emerges in the immensity of Tippet Rise, a ranch and art center of 44 square kilometers located north of Yellowstone, Montana, where livestock and local fauna coexist with sculptural installations on a large scale from some of the world's leading artists and designers.
Phaidon
Radical Architecture of the Future Beatrice Galilee
'Radical Architecture of the Future', by Beatrice Galilee
But this is just one of the bold projects that the art curator Beatrice Galilee has compiled in Radical Architecture of the Future (Ed. Phaidon, 2021) to reflect on contemporary architectural discourse and the problems facing our planet.
The CLIMAVORE installation, by Cooking Sections, on the Scottish island of Skye, is another of the projects included in Galilee's book.
How can architecture influence the future of the Earth? Can it contribute to improving the sustainability of our lifestyle? What is the role of architects? All this is asked (and asked) by Galilee, who two years ago created The World Around, a summit of new architecture dedicated to making visible the invisible forces that shape our lives.
The new Andean architecture of Freddy Mamani in El Alto, Bolivia (2005).
But architecture is not just building buildings. It is also virtual reality, video game design, mobile applications, movies, installations...
That is why, in addition to Copen Hill, the Copenhagen power plant that serves as a ski slope and a public park – the work of BIG – or the buildings that explore disappeared cultural identities, by the Bolivian Freddy Mamani, in Radical Architecture of the Future we find a project by Jill Magid that studies the remains of Luis Barragán, a painting by Julie Mehretu on civil rights, David O'Reilly's philosophical video game and a lot of hope: “I hope that readers feel encouraged by these ideas and visions that we share, and consider that Maybe the future is in good hands." Galilee says.
Architecture takes many forms: Marching On, by Bryony Roberts, Mabel O. Wilson, and The Marching Cobras of New York (2017).
***This report was published in *number 144 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (Spring 2021) . Subscribe to the printed edition (€18.00, annual subscription, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The April issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device