Macro Museum (Video)

Macro Museum - Rome, Milano – June 19^th



- Alan, Michelle, Lindsay

Fabrica- Exploring Forms of Communication

Fabrica, Venice- Sunday, June 19th, 2011

On June 14th, we visited Fabrica, a design think tank for the Benetton group researching different forms of communication. It is a great place for young designers to experiment, grow and express themselves.

Museums’ Interactive and Fun Bathrooms

Taking a look at the playful and innovative bathrooms of the Triennale and Macro Museum

Macro Museum, Rome and Triennale Museum, Milano – June 7^th and 19^th

Alan having fun with the interactive sink in the Macro Museum in Rome :D

Over the four weeks that we have been on the Italian Design Grand Tour, we have seen an incredible amount of famous Italian designers and visited a multitude of their studios and museums. As we were absorbing the Italian culture, the stories and their design style, there is a side note to all of these that are humorous yet very unique and interactive – the bathrooms.

Renewal: History and Architecture

Maxxi Museum, MACRO Museum, Punta Della Dogana, Milan and Venice - June 17th / 19th

During our trip across Italy, we've visited many museums and art galleries, many of which were once churches, factories and various industrial buildings before being renewed and reused for the exhibition spaces they are now. Here are a few examples:

The Punta Della Dogana: aerial view and interior view

THE ORIGIN AND DEMISE OF NEOPLASTICISM

MaXXi Museum (Museo Nazionale della Arti del XXI Secolo) - Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Neoplasticism painting by Piet Mondrian

On June 19th we went to MaXXi, a contemporary art museum in Rome. While there we checked out an exhibit about Gerrit Rietveld, an influential Neoplasticism furniture designer and architect. This got me thinking about the whole Neoplasticism movement. I started wondering about its origin and its demise. 

New Architecture and Historical Ruins: Auditorium Parco della Musica

Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome - Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Ancient ruins uncovered underneath construction of the Parco della Musica

On June 19^th, we visited the Auditorium Parco della Musica - a cluster of three concert halls in Rome used for music events. The three buildings are laid out around a central outdoor amphitheatre. They look like three large beetles nestled together, or as the locals have said, like blobs, cockroaches, scarabs, turtles, insect carapaces, or even computer mice.

MAXXI: Art and Architecture in the 21st Century

MAXXI Museum, Rome - Sunday, June 19th

The MAXXI Museum, short for "the Museum of Art in the 21^st Century", was completed in 2009 by Zaha Hadid Architects. 10 years in the works, it is built on the site of former military barracks and was planned to be not only a center for the display of artwork, but a research workshop for different contemporary languages of design, fashion and cinema.