Domus 1091. June 2024

Norman Foster dedicates the June issue to culture and leisure, examining the spaces, objects, and works where entertainment, sports, and community activities come to life. The editorial is centered on the art of curation, on exhibitions as collective work, much like projects. Within the world of exhibitions, Foster has “explored how the boundaries between the silos of art, architecture and design might be broken down – to show how they are culturally connected.” This “team approach,” he adds, “is the opposite of the traditional method where the architect designs the building and then feeds it down the line to the other skills.”

The three essays delve into specific themes, from sustainability in relation to the size of museums to the intersection of artificial intelligence and art. Manuel Zugaza, a Spanish art historian and museographer currently directing the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, discusses how art and culture have driven urban changes centered on sustainability, and how museum architecture has become a field of experimentation to “carry forward all that is new.” Josh Berger, an entrepreneur and media producer, explains how the recent explosion of new genres, novel ways of consuming events, and the democratization of content production are leading to an unpredictable future that is both exciting and daunting. Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, argues that art serves as an essential perceptual training tool, helping us prepare for the social changes we face, particularly in relation to technology.