Where Architects Live, a special exhibit scheduled for Milan Design Week 2014, features a rare glimpse into the residences of leading designers including Shigeru Ban, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, Mario Bellini, David chipperfield, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, Marcio Kogan, and Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai.
Seeing what architects do to their own domiciles can provide a unique window into their work as well – for some designers, their own spaces become places of experimentation and discovery. These homes are where they have full artistic liberty – the only time they are their own clients. In some cases, like Frank Gehry’s wild residential remodel in Santa Monica (shown above), these projects can even be professionally pivotal – turning points for entire careers.
Famous for his light-touch, site-specific architecture of paper and cardboard, there is a contextual delicacy to Ban’s forest home in Japan. It is bright and open, and was designed specifically to avoid the need to cut down trees already on the property.
The abstract art and physical curves found in the home of Hadid should come as no surprise to those familiar with her work, which is also prominently on display in drawings and models around the house.
The home of Libeskind features an eclectic mix of furniture and objects, from conventional modern chairs art materials – nothing so aggressively angular as his typical architectural projects, but perhaps suggestive hints to be found in the relationship of chaos and order.
Bellini loves books, and it shows in the incredible multi-story scaffolding he has built in order to be able to climb up and interact with his huge personal library.
