https://www.architecturalrecord.com/rss/2252 en-us It’s not always easy to be an architect in modern Italy, where contemporary design must measure itself against the weight of historic patrimony.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/11487 Mon, 01 Feb 2016 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/11487-museo-novecento Museo Novecento The museum occupies the Hospital of San Paolo, designed by Michelozzo in the late 15th century and located in Florence’s Piazza of Santa Maria Novella. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento The building’s focal point is a pleasant cloister. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento The museum’s ticketing desk is a modest affair. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento On the cloister’s upper gallery, Avatar transforms ramps leading to exhibition rooms into deep, vibrantly colored portals. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento The portals draw visitors to the galleries. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento The long hall over the loggia creates a harmonious interaction with Michelozzo’s building. Here the spaces are subdivided by square panels cantilevered off the walls. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento The first exhibition rooms (with sculptures by Mirko Basaldella) are embracing, immersive spaces. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento Floors throughout are of steel plate. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento New and old connect seamlessly. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento Presiding over one gallery is the vibrantly colored Superarchitettura installation of 1966–67 by Archizoom, the avant-garde design studio. Photo © Pietro Savorelli Museo Novecento Image courtesy Avatar Museo Novecento Image courtesy Avatar Museo Novecento Image courtesy Avatar Museo Novecento Image courtesy Avatar