Thursday, November 11, 2010

Modern delight: via della Chiusa, 15


I am not a complete Troglodyte. There are some modern and contemporary things that I like. This little building tucked away on a small (historic) street behind San Lorenzo Maggiore is proof....More......

I haven't been able to find the info about the original architects, but I have found the info about the architects responsible for its 2004 renovation: Goring & Straja Architects. To see their shots of the building, go to http://www.gasarchitects.com, find the "Business & Retail" category, and go to n. 6: Carlyle Offices building renovation. Be sure to run your mouse over their photos; they become colored.

What drew me to this building? It's "Lightness of Being": the glass light box tacked on to the front, the changes in atmosphere caused by the turning on and off of the lights and their different colors, the reflections of the atmosphere in the glass.

I'm quite curious to see images of the façade of the building prior to their renovation. Maybe I should explore their photos, better.

By the way, via della Chiusa is yet another of those too-easy-to-miss remnants of Milan's watery past. Milan was criss crossed with canals, did you know that? Well, it was, before they were closed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and here ran one of the little canals with a lock ("chiusa"), behind the mighty, significant and historic San Lorenzo Maggiore, founded in the Early Christian period, and given a new roof in the late 16th century after a devastating earthquake (relative rare in this alluvial plain). It will get a post (or posts) all of its own another day. So should the waterways. Ah, so much to do, so little time.

I snapped this shot on March 11, 2005, at 7:30 P.M., during one of my long walks through the city, just looking, exploring and enjoying.

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