What can a Greek student in Milan and his friend visiting from Athens do on a mid-September Sunday besides just being lazy? Well there’s “God save the food” for brunch in Tortona or Brera, Excelsior and Antonia for a strong dose of fashion-guilt but since 2015 there’s also the new Fondazione Prada venue in Largo Isarco.
The new Milan venue conceived by architecture firm OMA—led by Rem Koolhaas is the result of the transformation of a distillery dating back to the 1910’s, featuring a “haunted house” clad in 24-carat gold leaf and a cinema camouflaged by mirrors.
The old factory buildings and warehouses as well as the additional structures suggest a similar industrial character.
The Fondazione is not a preservation project and not a new architecture. New, old, horizontal, vertical, wide, narrow, white, black, open, enclosed – all these contrasts establish the range of oppositions that define the new Fondazione. – Rem Koolhaas
“True Value”, the first exhibition by Theaster Gates (Chicago, 1973) in Milan, presents the artist’s rendition of an abandoned hardware store.
The coolest thing thing about fondazione Prada is neither the distinct industrial architecture nor the contemporary art exhibitions.
Bar Luce, designed by film director Wes Anderson, is truly a destination on it’s own. While Anderson thinks that it would make a pretty good set for a movie, he believes that it would be an even better place to write a movie. The arched ceiling recreates a “miniature version” of the vaulted glass roof of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele – one of Milan’s symbolic buildings, whereas the furniture and fixtures are reminiscent of Italian Pop culture and aesthetics from the 1950s and 1960s.
Bar Luce has definitely some of the most delicious Panini’s in Milan while make sure to get an ice cream just before leaving and getting back to reality.
