art’otel Cologne

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art’otel Cologne by Nalbach + Nalbach Architects, 2013
Holzmarkt, Rheinauhafen
Cologne, September 2024

“The concept behind Art’otel combines ‘exceptional architecture and art-inspired interiors’ to offer their guest a unique hotel experience. Needless to say, that all interior materials are put under strict and demanding design requirements. From the functional side, the task for the suspended ceilings in the conference and common areas was to conceal the necessary installations and provide high quality room acoustics. From the aesthetic point of view, the ceiling design had to be discreet and in line with the overall design concept. The optimal solution to the functional and aesthetic demands was found in Contur Globe. With its concealed grid and round perforations, Contur Globe creates a subtle and soft expression that blends in with the rest of the interior. In addition to superb room acoustics, Contur Globe also ensures a high level of light reflection.” (Art’otel Cologne, Archello)

Preda Ringadora

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“Preda Ringadora” (Harangue Stone)
Piazza Grande
Modena, May 2024

“In the north-eastern corner of Piazza Grande, very close to the Palazzo Comunale, is the Preda Ringadora (which in the Modena dialect means ‘harangue stone’), a large rectangular marble block over 3 metres long which probably originally belonged to a Roman building. During the Middle Ages, the Preda was used as a stage for orators, but also as a place to carry out death sentences and display corpses (so that someone could identify them) as well as being used as a stone of dishonor: according to what emerges from the Municipal Historical Archive, every insolvent debtor on market day, after having walked around the square with a shaved head and a special headdress, preceded by the sound of a trumpet, had to declare himself as such and then was forced to ‘stay bare-assed on the preda rengadora, which must be well greased with turpentine, three times saying three times cedo bonis, cedo bonis, cedo bonis’, that is, promising to pay off the debt with his assets and this had to happen for three consecutive Saturdays at the request of the creditor who could then evaluate the possibility of getting his money back by recovering it from the debtor's assets.” (Piazza Grande, Wikipedia)

Eiserner Steg

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Eiserner Steg (Iron Footbridge)
Mainkai
Frankfurt, September 2024

“The Eiserner Steg (Iron Footbridge) is a footbridge spanning the river Main in the city of Frankfurt, Germany, which connects the centre of Frankfurt with the district of Sachsenhausen. The first wrought iron bridge was built in 1868. It was replaced in 1911/1912 by a slightly larger cantilever bridge. It is 170 metres long and consists of riveted steel trusses with two bridge piers. The bridge was blown up by the Wehrmacht in the final days of World War II, but it was rebuilt shortly afterwards in 1946. It was fully renovated in 1993.” (Eiserner Steg, Wikipedia)

Monumento ai caduti

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Monumento ai Caduti by Alberto Bazzoni, 1927
Piazza della Vittoria
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“In the historic center of Reggio Emilia, between Piazza della Vittoria and the Public Gardens, the monument was inaugurated on October 30, 1927, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the ‘March on Rome’. Commissioned in the 1920s by the city's political institutions, the monument features an architectural structure in granite, whose base measures sixteen meters, for a height of fifteen meters. It is decorated on both sides by two large bronze statues, depicting an infantryman and the winged Victory. The upper part is decorated with bas-reliefs, again in bronze, depicting the three Fates, a dying soldier supported by a female figure, a scene of work in the fields, figures of fighters. As was the case in many Italian cities in those 1920s, in a climate of growing nationalism, a monument was given the task of celebrating the values of the homeland, according to the fascist ideology of the time. The work was created by the Parma sculptor Alberto Bazzoni (1889-1973), winner of the competition that was organized specifically for this purpose.” (War Memorial, Reggio Emilia Welcome)

Fensterputzerbrunnen

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Fensterputzerbrunnen (Window Cleaner Fountain) by Christian Rost, 1989
Handwerker-Passage
Leipzig, September 2024

“The so-called Fensterputzerbrunnen is located in Leipzig's Handwerkerpassage. The sculpture is the landmark of the passage and was created in 1989 by the artist and sculptor Cristian Rost. The striking sculpture, depicting a window cleaner leaning against a ladder, is actually a relic from the GDR era, having been created in the final months before the collapse. The approximately 30-kilogram statue was cast by Ulrich Wackernagel in Pegau. In 2012, the 50-centimeter-tall window cleaner was stolen overnight, but was rediscovered in a container a few months later. The Handwerkerpassage itself is accessible through two entrances. From the market side, you enter through the building Markt 10, also known as the ‘Kaufhalle am Markt’. Walking through the passage, you arrive back at Klostergasse on the other side. Incidentally, this very passage only received this name after its reconstruction between 1987 and 1989.” (Fensterputzerbrunnen in der Handwerkerpassage, Leipzig-Days)

Chiostro di Sant'Antonino

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Chiostro (Cloister)
Basilica di Sant'Antonino (Basilica of St. Antoninus)
Piazza Sant'Antonino
Piacenza, May 2024

“The beautiful Cloister of our basilica opens on the right side of the church. It was built in 1483 in Renaissance style in place of an older medieval cloister, but the current layout is due to the intervention of the architect Giulio Ulisse Arata in the 1930s. In particular, the side of the cloister towards the basilica was rebuilt following the model of the other two ancient sides, after the demolition of the baroque chapels that existed at the time. It has three porticoed sides with cross vaults and a series of capitals above the columns, all different from each other. They have the shape of an inverted bell: some are decorated with acanthus leaves; others have simple lanceolate leaves with smooth edges; still others are adorned with festoons. On the garden side, many capitals feature the coat of arms of the martyr Antonino or the dice emblem of Piacenza. The fourth side to the south was demolished to create a passage between the square and the church of S. Vincenzo. In its place there is a simple wall with a door that allows the connection with the outside. The central space, almost square, is green with an octagonal well in the center.” (The cloister, Basilica of St. Antonino)

Quartier I

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Quartier I
Neumarkt
Dresden, September 2024

“The first quarter (‘Quartier an der Frauenkirche’, for many years ‘Quartier QF’, after numbering then ‘Quartier I’), built in 2005/2006 by the building cooperative Arturo Prisco, Kai von Döring, and Kondor Wessels, is bordered to the east by the square An der Frauenkirche and to the north by Töpferstraße. To the southwest, Augustusstraße runs at an acute angle to Töpferstraße. The southern facade of the buildings borders the Neumarkt. The area is actually composed of three parcels, and their facades suggest several buildings. The only landmark building in the quarter is Neumarkt 2, surrounded on the left by two buildings with facades based on historical models and one such building on the right. The neighboring building on the left, Neumarkt 1, is striking with its arched facade (formerly the ‘Hotel Stadt Berlin’) at the junction with Augustusstraße. The quarter is home to approximately 50 shops, restaurants, and bars, as well as numerous office spaces and 27 apartments. After the first buildings were completed, it was discovered that the drafted ‘design regulations’ had not been followed, as several concrete buildings with stone cladding were constructed without the required plaster facade. Two buildings, particularly directly opposite the Frauenkirche, which was rebuilt from sandstone, stand out because the facade of one building consists of about one-third glass, while the other consists of gray facing panels that protrude from the row of buildings. It should be noted, however, that although the ‘design regulations’ were completed in draft form in 2002, they never became legally binding. This was also known to the then Councillor for Construction, Gunter Just, who, as an architect, consistently ignored these legal concerns.” (Neumarkt, Wikipedia)