Engines made from decorative finishes at Renzo Piano designed museum

14/12/2020
Category: Travel

At the heart of Swedish Småland, on a former hay farm, the award-winning architect Renzo Piano created a subtle masterpiece. Along with his practice at the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, he is a master in understanding museum curators’ functional needs. The physical needs of the art are a priority, which shows again at the Vandalorum museum. The architecture is based on the original monumental barn design, painted red and with an ingenious roof construction. RPBW has expanded the barn into eleven barns, which have been placed in a ring for natural museum circulation. The unique roof construction brings ideal lighting conditions to the exhibition halls.

Currently, the museum hosts an extraordinary exhibit of unique works by artist Eric van Hove. The Algerian born Belgian artist creates replicas of advanced automotive and aircraft engines. He selects unique materials such as copper, mahogany, or mother-of-pearl and manufactures each part to its original specifications.

For the artist, making these handmade copies of industrial engines symbolizes a return to craft. As industrialization has made many crafts disappear, he wants to bring back craftsmanship through the very thing that has made it disappear.

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Issue 3: Belgium

It is no secret that Paris has been the capital of fashion since the seventeenth century. The city has been the playground for prestigious designers and couture brands like Chanel, Dior, and Saint Laurent. Today the Parisian style is not only an aesthetic choice but a philosophy. It embraces elegance, timelessness, and slow responsible fashion. The focus is on the cut and the quality of the materials. No fluff or excessiveness with a less is more approach. And what better way to understand Parisian fashion than to visit a museum dedicated to it.

For more than 70 years, the house has been crafting magical couture pieces in their atelier at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Christian Dior has made this location a legendary address since the first collection in 1947. Behind its new flagship, the House of Dior inaugurates a permanent exhibition in an extraordinary gallery, independently of its boutique. Mr. Dior wanted to be an architect; the building and the museum pay him a beautiful tribute today.

The staging is astonishing. A circular staircase at the entrance showcases 452 dresses and 1,422 accessories, all 3D printed. Bags, shoes, perfumes, and small objects: so many testimonies of the Dior style materialized to elaborate this Diorama.