Postmodern in spirit

The Architecture of Rome. An Architectural History in 414 Individual Presentations

Edition Axel Menges

Architects and artists have always acknowledged over the centuries that Rome is rightly called the ‘eternal city’. Rome is eternal above all because it was always young, always ‘in its prime’. Here the buildings that defined the West appeared over more than 2000 years, here the history of European architecture was written.

The foundations were laid even in ancient Roman times, when the first attempts were made to design interiors and thus make space open to experience as something physical. […] When Louis Kahn, one of the greats of 20th-century architecture, confessed: ‘My mind is full of Roman greatness’, this no longer applies only to those times. For three decades, absolutely central buildings have been emerging again in the eternal city. From museums to sacred buildings to large music and event centers: Rome today has true landmarks of the present day – from Renzo Piano to Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid.

All this is comprehensible only if it is presented historically, i. e. in chronological sequence, and therefore the guide has not been arranged topographically as usual but chronologically. […] Every epoch is preceded by an introduction that identifies its key features. This produces a continuous, lavishly illustrated history of the architecture of Rome – and thus at the same time of the whole of the West. […]

M86–M88 Palazzo Rhinozeros, Off Club, Vestibule Domus Aurea

Stefan Grundmann

A series of interior designs for older buildings have caused a sensation in the last five or ten years, impressively shaping this genre, which fits so well into the multilayered, millenia-old texture of Rome. This was not without precedents in the decades before (M63 and M69), for example by Quaroni and Portoghesi. Of the three examples, the most accessible is the Palazzo Rhinoceros by French star architect Jean Nouvel.

Conversely, the Off Club [Paradiso] (in between Anima Restaurant) by rising young Sicilian star Antonino Cardillo is under renovation in 2025 (due to change in 2026, now as Dahab Restaurante) and Stefano Boeri’s entrance design of the Domus Aurea of Nero (A24) (with the entire ancient sight) is only accessible by booking a guided tour in advance (at prohibitively high prices in 2024 in any case). However, the spectrum that all three open up is remarkable. […]

The other two interior designs are also remarkable. In the Off Club (M87), the Sicilian Antonino Cardillo sublimates the aesthetically impressive use of exposed concrete and plaster surface designs. This has its roots in the early villas and, more generally, the work of Le Corbusier, but was further developed in the (Upper) Italian-Ticino region primarily by Mario Botta and Carlo Scarpa. Cardillo has therefore ‘inherited’ the clarity of geometric shapes that characterize the wall structure, combined with the haptic impression conveyed by the rough – but sharp-edged, smooth – (plaster) surface. He himself adds two things in particular: playing with different, even differently coloured light sources; as well as the much stronger emphasis on the autonomy of the individual parts, partly set arches, floating segments or geometric bodies and the like, in any case vistas and the illusion of interposed empty spaces.

An impression of stage-like quality is created, and a reference to spirituality (psyche), to which the architect himself refers, in a rich, intellectually sophisticated way. This is Postmodern in spirit, but above all adapted to the interesting experience for which his rooms are always designed. At the same time, there is something ephemeral, hidden about the designs – in form, but certainly in use – almost a reflection of his subtle formal language. Off Club was often closed for renovation, but was reopened as Dahar Ristorante end of 2025, while other works by Cardillo in Rome, such as Mondrian Suite Art Gallery and House of Dust, are even permanently closed. Cardillo designs interiors in this way throughout Europe and in some cases worldwide. He can also be seen beyond Rome.