Beauty of enlightenment

Below is a short interview with Cardillo that S. Kuzey Yildiz and I conducted online. I met Antonino in person in 2009 at the ‘[John Foxx] DNA Exhibition’ curated by Dennis Da Silva at the Horse Hospital in Russell Square, London; at the time when he was promoting his early project ‘Tales of Light’ in collaboration with John Foxx.

Emre Soykan, S. Kuzey Yildiz: “As an architect, how did your story begin and where?”

Antonino Cardillo: “There could be several replies but today I will reveal one never told before. When I was ten years old I saw an 1980s movie with David Bowie. That movie was Labyrinth. It is largely irrelevant from an artistic point of view, but I was so impressed from that labyrinth and after seeing it I began to romanticise fantastic places. Inspired by the movie, I modelled a clay labyrinth maquette on my desktop. Thinking about it now, it was my first design work. Then, after few years, I decided to study architecture.”

ES-SKY: “What / Where do you pay attention to when you construct your personal architectural language?”

AC: “I firmly think architecture is art. It conveys a powerful cultural meaning. Without this meaning, architecture would not exist. Day-to-day, through my design works, I try to give voice at interrupted tales and forgotten worlds from the past.”

ES-SKY: “What are the main characteristics of your work? You must have your own inspirations that you get. Would you like to talk about them?”

AC: “I was born in Sicily, the largest island of the ancient Mediterranean sea sited right in the middle of it. Mediterranean and its cultures largely influenced my imaginary. Through my architecture, I am interested in developing the unexpressed valences from the history creating a cohesive whole rich in meaning. I am trying to develop a new language using conventional elements derived from the past like double walls, large vaults, concrete and apses. Each single part may appear predictable but they gain different meaning through its relationship. I do not need to use the last cool material or complicated structures to develop an interesting architecture. Thus I am very interested to make new architecture using traditional techniques.”

ES-SKY: “What are the latest trends in the world of architecture? Where are they leaning towards? Are there any common issues that architects face today?”

AC: “Trends follow economic reasons therefore they are not useful to help people to find a personal path in life. Trends create homologation and addiction, so they are far from the aim of making life better. Now humanity does not need ephemeral trends. At this stage of history, mankind needs to heal the fracture caused by the Western modern era: to be successful we need to study the past trough a historical perspective, to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Ancient arts enclose deep and often lost messages. Therefore I firmly believe that architecture is not fashion because it needs to be able to convey values transcending time and the day-to-day.”

ES-SKY: “How important are other cultural disciplines—music, art, films—for your work, for your understanding and development of space? Are any of these disciplines primarily influential for you, maybe important for your self-perception as an architect?”

AC: “Music and film have in common the topic of sequence. I believe that they are closer to architecture than painting or sculpture. Today, in the common sense, art is made of objects: Paintings, installations, sculptures. But it was not always so. Before the modern era, painting and sculpture were part of architecture: A separation between them and the space of architecture was unthinkable. The idea of using art as a commodity exchange is typical of our bourgeois times. From my point of view, so called ‘Contemporary Art’ is so boring and so elitist and I think this way of seeing things is a dead end. I believe art is in the street and in this sense cinema and music are closer to life. I believe they are the real ‘arts’ of today.”

ES-SKY: “Are you currently working on any projects? What’s the next thing you would like to do?”

AC: “I am currently working to refine a new design work of mine. Its name is Purple House. Besides, I would like to tour Persia learning from that ancient culture.”

ES-SKY: “You told me you loved Istanbul. Have you ever been offered to work on a project in Istanbul before?”

AC: “Definitely I love Istanbul. I love its Ottoman mosques, its byzantine cisterns and churches, its bazars and magical hills sloping on the Golden Horn. From its history and architectures, I have been taking a great inspiration. I visited the city several years ago. My Ellipse 1501 House design work was mainly conceived there. My House of Twelve design work also was inspired by Byzantine golden apses and the name—House of Twelve—is a quotation from the ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople. Designing for Istanbul in my future? That would be really a dream…”