Electa
Anglais
Septembre 2007
This book reconstructs the history of palazzo Mondadori in Segrate, the
edifice built between 1968 and 1975 to house the offices of the publishing house
founded in 1907 by Arnoldo Mondadori. Two walls made of reinforced concrete,
lightened by the syncopated rhythm of parabolic arches, support a floor to which
the glass prism of the offices hangs. The geometric rigour of palazzo Mondadori
contrasts with the free shapes of the constructions emerging from an expanse of
water. This edifice was commissioned in 1968 by Giorgio Mondadori, who was
fascinated by Niemeyer's headquarters of the Foreign Office in Brasilia
(Itamaraty, "palace of the arches"). If the extraordinary expressive ability of
the Brazilian architect generally focused on the structural elements of the
building, which he shaped in sensational ways Palazzo Mondadori represents a
change of direction, showing an indissoluble integration between form and
structure. Documents, original sketches by Niemeyer, plans, photographs of the
construction site and of the finished edifice, together with the photographic
campaign made by Gabriele Basilico after the building's restoration allow the
reader to follow the different stages from a philological perspective, at the
same time exact and fascinating. This book will be interesting not only for the
lovers of contemporary architecture but also for the common readers
172 p.
EAN 9788837055486
