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12 museums in which to discover the new architectural frontiers
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MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology
From MAXXI in Roma to V&A Dundee, by way of MAAT in Lisbon. A selection of museums fans of architecture should take in at least once in their lives
What does razing something to the ground and then rebuilding entail? Raising ethical, financial, political, social and environmental questions, indubitably. Creating architecture isn’t just playing with shapes, materials and light, it is also a complex web of agreements, politics and interests. Construction is one of the most polluting activities there is and this is something architects are well aware of, having to mediate between the desires of those who are paying for it, the needs of the community, the geographic variables and their own ideological vision, like a filmmaker rounding off a film. There are innumerable open questions and debates around architecture and many museums are committed to airing them by involving the public. A responsibility we all share, but also an exciting journey around the form of our world "for those who dream of civilization" as Gio Ponti might say. The following is a selection of places in which to get one’s head around architecture and be seduced by what has been and what is yet to come, because architecti volant, architectura manent.
La Biennale Venezia - Ph. Andrea Avezzù
Venice Biennale
Founded in 1895, the Venice Biennale is one of the world’s most prestigious and long-running cultural institutions. The edition devoted to architecture, set up in 1980, is held every two years and represents a platform for research into and experimentation with the transformations of the built environment, featuring hundreds of events and exhibitions. This year, the 19th International Architecture Exhibition is slated for 10th May to 23rd November 2025, and is being curated by Carlo Ratti, under the title Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. For the first time, there will be a public space for the presentation of ideas and the encouragement of architects, rather than proposals of innovative solutions for tackling the challenges of the present.
Where: Giardini della Biennale, Calle Giazzo, 30122 Venice
MAXXI, Architettura Instabile, Villa Girasole, A. Invernizzi - Ph. Vincenzo Labellarte
MAXXI | Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo
Designed by Zaha Hadid, the MAXXI – National Museum of XXI century Art in Rome is an iconic project inaugurated in 2010, boasting fluid concrete and glass forms. The interconnected interior spaces and their atypical volumetry challenge traditional perceptions of exhibition galleries. The MAXXI Architecture collection contains works by masters such as Carlo Scarpa, Aldo Rossi and Pier Luigi Nervi, as well as a huge photographic collection comprising around 2,400 images by renowned photographers. Current exhibitions include Restless Architecture, curated by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which explores the concepts of movement in architecture (ends 16th March 2025).
Where: 4° Via Guido Reni, 00196 Rome, Italy
V&A Dundee - Ph. Hufton Crow
V&A Dundee
The first offshoot of the Victoria and Albert Museum outside London, V&A Dundee is the first museum of design and architecture in Scotland, opened in 2018. Designed by Kengo Kuma, The building was inspired by Scottish cliffs, with a façade composed of horizontal layers of prefabricated concrete that create an effect of moving shadows. The permanent Scottish Design Gallery is home to iconic works such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Oak Room, meticulously restored and reconstructed inside the museum. Currently, the museum is hosting A Fragile Correspondence, Commissioned by Scotland + Venice, an exhibition exploring the connection between land, language and architecture, which represented Scotland at the last Architecture Biennale (ends 25th May 2025).
Where: 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, DD1 4EZ, Scotland
MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology
MAAT
Designed by Amanda Levete's AL_A studio, the MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology is immediately recognisable by its undulating shape and glazed ceramic tile cladding that reflects the light from the Tagus River. Opened in 2016 in Lisbon, it houses a permanent collection that includes works such as Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster's Pynchon Park and interactive installations that explore the intersection of art and technology. Currently, MAAT is hosting Rooms, Anthony McCall's first solo exhibition in Portugal, in which he explores the intersections between space, sculpture, cinema and performance (until 17th March 2025).
Where: Av. Brasília, 1300-598 Lisbon, Portugal
