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Notes on ART
Space, art and emotions with multi-award winning architect Davide Macullo
- Stella Manferdini
- Notes on ART
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Art and emotions nourish the approach to architecture of Davide Macullo, award-winning architect and Founder of the design and architecture atelier Davide Macullo Architects. Among the major researchers of space psychology – a field perhaps recent for us but certainly not for him – Davide Macullo realizes with his studio in-depth research before undertaking any project. The relationship between man and space, the history of the place and the real understanding of the needs of those who live there are the basis of the philosophy of Davide Macullo Architects. Such an approach to architecture does not consider art as the icing on the cake of the project, but as a factor to be integrated as soon as the foundation stone is laid.
Davide Macullo, Founder at Davide Macullo Architects - Image copyright:@Alexandre Zveiger
We talked about this with Davide Macullo in an extensive interview, in which he recounted to us his professional history from the studies with Louis Flotron and the beginnings with Mario Botta to the latest projects. This beautiful path has been guided by some fundamental phrases that we intend to propose here, on its threshold:
“Architecture is the link between the DNA of a place and its future”
“Our skin is the threshold to the world”
“A building from a distance is a form, the closer you get the more it is a series of details, and when you are inside it is a world"
Chenot Palace Weggis, Lucerne, Switzerland, Davide Macullo Architects - Image copyright:@Fabrice Fouillet
Starting from the very beginning of your career, you trained at the atelier of Mario Botta. What lessons did you learn from such a master?
As a young student, I wanted to become a conceptual artist. Thus, I undertook art studies and only at a later stage I studied interior design and architecture. In this context, I have always been interested in the psychology of space. When I was given the opportunity to work with Mario Botta I saw it as a chance to understand how an office of a certain dimension and complexity really worked. I had planned to spend 6 months there in order to fully comprehend the operating system. Eventually, 20 years and 200 projects passed.
Given my artistic preparation, what this first experience gave me has been the understanding of the craft. At Mario Botta’s atelier I learned the profession of the architect and I believe that, being a craftsman of architecture, there was no better place where to learn to start using the tools of the trade.
Ispace, Rossa, Switzerland, Davide Macullo Architects - Image copyright:@Corrado Griggi
“Form follows emotions”. Would you deepen this concept?
I am personally interested in what is placed at the top of the architecture production chain, that is to put the human being at ease in his space. In order to do this it is necessary to understand that in a few generations being at ease will not mean having a space, but realizing that the human being himself represents his own space. This applies as a discourse in the absolute sense.
Going into details, architecture has the great potential to influence the states of the soul. Our job is to find the keys to positively influence humans’ emotions, always in compliance with the functions and parameters of the given area. This is where the charm of my profession lies. Then, we have to consider two, so to speak, ecologies.
One, intended in a broad sense, includes the history, economy, politics, geography, biodiversity, structure and the whole palimpsest of the construction of human habitation – that is to say all those studies aimed at avoiding the mistakes made in the past. The other is human ecology, which requires working on emotions, feelings and the genuine needs of human psychology.
We live in an increasingly fragile society from a psychological point of view and architecture, having the extraordinary power to affect us, can also be an important medicine, a way to indicate a way, to draw a direction to follow. Among the tools we can make use of, in addition to the mentioned ecologies, time is fundamental. By this, I mean designing having in mind the time necessary to move from one area to the other, the approaching time, the time of crossing the threshold and the time of staying in a place. Therefore, time is one of the essential tools in the work of the architect.
Drawing plays a central role in your work. Can you tell us what values and meanings your drawings on paper have?
Drawing is part of a man's need to express himself. Studies have shown that men have an extraordinary ability to adapt, and yet there is one thing he cannot adapt to, that is not expressing themselves. When a man is prevented from expressing himself, he necessarily rebels. Everyone has a personal way of telling about himself. Drawing is the form that suits me. I have drawn every day of my life since I was a boy and I am fascinated by any line. To me, drawing is a living condition. I could live locked in one tiny space, as long as you give me a pencil and a piece of paper.
Chenot Palace Weggis, Lucerne, Switzerland, Davide Macullo Architects - Image copyright:@Davide Macullo Architects
“To design you have to fill a line with emotions, reason and love. When this line becomes a wall it will release in time the emotions, the reason and the love with which this wall has been drawn”.
Within the studio we also have an interior design activity designed to provide a new image and key to reading living environments based on my daily drawings. Whether made on paper or on a digital screen, they are transformed into environmental drawings.
The psychology of space is a relatively recent field of research. What are the most interesting topics that emerged from this research? How are they applied in your projects?
Space psychology is not a recent research field for me. Indeed, it is something that I approached as a student, when I had the good fortune to have as course director Louis Flotron, who made the psychology of space his main search scope. For each project we carry out targeted research on space psychology, supported by other studies such as philosophy, apologia, natural sciences and botany. The architect’s job is to be curious, open, and to know how to live well within the space in order to allow others to live the same way.
This is the reason why the starting point of our projects is always psychology. To make an example, we constructed a hospital where each element was designed on the basis of the patient’s psychology, to make him feel at ease. We therefore sought a connection between patients, space and the intellectual and historical heritage of the context in which we were operating. Another peculiar method we adopt is that of considering man as a jug of fine porcelain full of water. Every place needs equilibrium in order to allow man to move within it without spilling a drop of water. The meaning of this metaphor is to give people tranquility, so that they can have the ideal condition to express themselves.
Swiss House XXXII, Rossa, Switzerland, Davide Macullo Architects - Image copyright:@Alexandre Zveiger
In Rossa, a small town nestled in the territory of Val Calanca (Switzerland), five years ago we established a foundation with which, with the support of volunteers, local authorities and artists, we work to change the economic destiny of the valley. At the heart of this project is not only art, but also literature, culture intended in the absolute sense as well as other areas of knowledge. We have created a path in the regional natural park made of wooden structures, absolutely useless elements and, as such, useful for the function of showing how space can effectively influence emotions. Behind the project there are studies related to the ways in which man can perceive spaces through all the senses, excluding the eyesight.
In a two-dimensional world, where we are all glued to the screens of our lives, we often tend to absorb the space around us and to be influenced by it through the senses that do not include the eyesight. These wooden structures help such understanding. They perform different functions, both social and environmental, as they have been studied in detail to adhere to the context and to put man closer to nature and to himself.
Not only design and architecture, but also contemporary art. How do you select the works for the collections of your customers?
For each one of our projects, whether it is big or small, we want to be of support to young artists by providing them with a showcase. For each building we find the synthesis of the important themes and peculiarities of the intervention so as to combine them with art. This means that, depending on the context, we create the conditions for choosing young artists who can contribute to the creative thought of the space. In this regard, to cite an example, we have built an important hotel on the shores of Lake Lucerne for which we bought 300 works by 4 young artists from the 4 linguistic regions of Switzerland, in order to have a collection and an insight into contemporary, young and Swiss art. In addition, the project was carried out in collaboration with a young Swiss gallerist.
Chenot Palace Weggis, Lucerne, Switzerland, Davide Macullo Architects - Image copyright:@Roberto Pellegrini
Another commitment that we intend to carry out with the foundation, and that has been my desire since I was a student and I thought I would become a conceptual artist, is that art and architecture merge together. Thus, we do not build and then let the artist intervene, but, as happened in the project of the Swiss House in Rossa, we let art become part of the urban structure and the environment of human life. This is a novelty because the division between art and architecture is an ancient discussion. In my opinion, architecture is actually the most complete art there is. However, the creation of a project that is a building and, at the same time, a work of art in total terms, is something that I have not seen other examples of.
Finally, we have these two main purposes: to promote collections of young artists and to integrate art and architecture. But let it be true integration, the one made from the beginning, the one that understands art as part of the city. In this regard, I always quote Bruno Munari, who was my teacher: “A civilized society lives in the midst of his art”. Man does not necessarily have to visit ancient places to be in art, but rather live and experience art in his own time. Another phrase I love, this time by Bill Viola is: “If art is not public, it is not serious”. This reflects the idea that all the artists’ works should be in public spaces, that they are part of the urban fabric. This is definitely a way to help sustainable and healthy development in both psychological and cultural terms, always keeping in mind that what makes us move forward is trust in others.
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