House of Convexities

If architecture is music in stone can its ‘limbs’ dance? Architecture only remains still in pictures. In real life its natural state is one of transition. Both man and light move within it. Inside a house among coarse Mediterranean glades and corrugated stone walls, a slanting light, pierced by innumerable narrow repeated blades, inscribes and describes the walls with its impermanent, mutable hand. How many possible stories will this light tell over the course of a year? A curved wall jokes with the light. The light bathes the wall, but reaches the moment and the place in which, going beyond the curve, it takes a tangent, deciding what will be lit and what will be dark. And this movement suggests the indefinite, mutability, shading. Thus architecture becomes light interpreted through the ‘limbs’ of the architecture. Like shadows of flesh on flesh, whose forms are both definite and defining. Here, as in a Flamenco dance, the body breaks up, invading the space moving through its potential articulations without, however, defining the void, or, interpreting the many possibilities of moving within it: fleshy and sensual, but equally incisive and precise. Secret but luminous. Closed but open to a multitude of possibilities. A body inside another body. Compressed and continuous in its curvilinear trajectory. And yet, as in a Flamenco dance, the development of movement, its indefinable ardour, is made real by the successive instant. That solemn, still instant that seems to challenge eternity. Thus, tall and still, a wall opposes silence. And such stillness supports the preceding movement, giving sense to its being.

worldarchitecturenews.com , London, 10 June 2008.

Data

• Time: March‑July 2008
• Place: Barcelona, Spain
• Area: 360 m² (two storeys)
• Typology: detached house

Credit

• Architecture design: Antonino Cardillo
• Translation: Charles Searson

Publications

(selected)

• Liliana Adamo, ‘FAKEcollage. Non credo ai miei occhi!’ (pdf), in Dossier Collage, cur. Fabio Cappello, Rossella Ferorelli, Luigi Mandraccio, Gian Luca Porcile, Genova University Press, Genoa, July 2022, pp. 35, 39.
• @ad_magazine, ‘House of Convexities by Antonino Cardillo in Barcelona, 2008’ , Architectural Digest France, Instagram, Paris, 28 Feb. 2022.
• Kirsten Wenzel, ‘Der Architekt als Maerchenerzaehler’ , competitionline.com, Berlin, 17 Jan. 2019.
• Jeanette Kunsmann, Stephan Burkoff, ‘Architektur und Wahrheit’ (pdf), DEAR Magazin, no. 1, Berlin, Apr. 2017, pp. 68‑85. baunetz-id.de 
• Carolin Höfler, ‘Hyper desire’ (pdf) , paper presented to the Wunsch, Technische Hochschule Köln, Cologne, 1 June 2016.
• Carolin Höfler, ‘Modelle in Wirklichkeit. Die digitalen Bildversprechen von Antonino Cardillo’, paper presented to the Constructed Realities, ed. Chris Dähne, Frederike Lausch and Bettina Rudhof, Goethe‑Universität, Deutsche Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, 1 Dec. 2015.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘Faked reality’, paper presented to the Constructed Realities, ed. Chris Dähne, Frederike Lausch and Bettina Rudhof, Goethe‑Universität, Deutsche Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, 1 Dec. 2015.
• Fahmi Firmansyah, ‘Studi banding tema’ , in Pusat edukasi dan rekreasi Budaya Jombangan di Jombang: Tema association with other arts on dance architecture, thesis, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, 27 Nov. 2015, pp. 95‑103.
• Sophia Klinkenberg, ‘Body building: Second skin’, in Being in shape / shaping environments, thesis, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, The Hague, May 2015.
• Alec Harris, ‘CISLA addendum’ , in Choreographing Space: The Enhancement of Architecture Through Dance, thesis, Connecticut College, New London, 16 June 2014, pp. 1(53), 4(56).
• Gerard Houllard, ‘Über die mediatisierte Repräsentation von Architektur’ (pdf) , iacsa.eu, vol. 4, no. 1, International Association for Cultural Studies in Architecture, Basel, May 2013, pp. 8‑11.
• Philip Kennicott, ‘Music Holl’ (pdf), Dwell, San Francisco, May 2013, p. 70.
• Hubertus Adam, ‘Analog/Digital’ (pdf), in S AM, no. 10, Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum, Basel, March 2013, pp. 19, 28.
• Birgit Ochs, ‘Architekturentwürfe: es möchte echt sein’ , Sonntagszeitung, no. 6, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt am Main, 10 Feb. 2013, p. V9.
• Stefano Mirti, Gioia Guerzoni, ‘Siamo specchi l’uno dell’altro’ (pdf), Opere, no. 32, Florence, Oct. 2012, pp. 4, 52‑56.
• Daniel Lordick, ‘Die Entkoppelung von Entwurf und Darstellung’ , Competition, no. 2, Berlin, Oct. 2012, p. 78.
• Carl Zillich, with Fabrizio Gallanti, Lars Krückeberg, Volkwin Marg, Wolfram Putz, Peter Reischer, Andreas Ruby, Tobias Walliser, Thomas Willemeit, ‘Causa Cardillo: “Geht’s noch ohne Hochstapelei?”’ , bkult.de, Berlin, 10 Sept. 2012.
• Peter Reischer, ‘Grandiose Luftschlösser’ (pdf), Am Sonntag, no. 32, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich, 5 Sept. 2012, p. 35.
• Christian Holl, ‘Alles nur gerendert — und jetzt?’ , german-architects.com, Stuttgart, 29 Aug. 2012.
• Gabriele Detterer, ‘Phantasie und Wirklichkeit’ , Neue Zürcher Zeitung, no. 164, Zurich, 17 July 2012, p. 40.
• Eleonora Carrano, ‘Il caso Cardillo: uno dei 30 architetti più importanti del mondo e l’architettura inesistente’ , amatelarchitettura.com, Rome, 13 July 2012.
• Alessandro Alviani, ‘Cardillo, l’architetto delle case inesistenti’ , La Stampa, vol. 146, no. 182, Turin, 3 July 2012, p. 37.
• Susanne Beyer, ‘Hochstapler: Römische Ruinen’ , Der Spiegel, no. 27/12, Hamburg, 2 July 2012, pp. 3, 121‑123.
• Peter Reischer, ‘Schöner Klonen’ , Falter, no. 19/12, Vienna, 9 May 2012, pp. 30‑31.
• Sun, ‘Bermain dengan cahaya’ (pdf), Laras, no. 279, Jakarta, March 2012, pp. 88‑94, cover.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘House of Convexities’, in 2012 Comfortable Houses, ed. Xing Rihan, Rihan, Hong Kong, Dec. 2011, pp. 114‑115.
• Helen Geng Haizhen, ‘印象派建筑师’ (pdf), Interior Architecture of China, Beijing, Nov. 2011, pp. 36‑39.
• Fabio Rosseti, ‘Storie di luce’ (pdf), AND, no. 20, Firenze, Jan. 2011, pp. 72‑75.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘Values transcending time’ (pdf), build Das Architekten-Magazin, no. 4/10, ed. Ralf Ferdinand Broekman and Olaf Winkler, Wuppertal, Aug. 2010, p. 45.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘House of Convexities’, in Best selection of Shanglin, ed. Hu Yanli, Shanglin A&C, Hong Kong, July 2010, pp. 24‑27.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘House of Convexities’, in Architecture Zone, vol. II, ed. Xing Rihan, Rihan, Hong Kong, June 2010, pp. 182‑187.
• Judith Jenner, ‘Ein Haus wie ein Tanz’ (pdf), H.O.M.E., no. 2/10, Berlin, Feb. 2010, pp. 120‑130.
• Ridhi Kale, ‘Poetry of space’ , Home, India Today, Mumbai, Jan. 2010, pp. 46‑48, 50, 52.
• Karina González Fauerman, ‘Trazos con originalidad’ (pdf), Entremuros, no. 160, Reforma, Mexico City, Jan. 2010, pp. 30‑31, 38‑41.
• Anonymous, ‘Convexities House’ (pdf), One Magazine, no. 17, Ottawa, Sept. 2009, p. 29.
• Lucie Červená, ‘V rytmu flamenca’ (pdf), Projekt, no. 5/09, Prague, May 2009.
• Rohan Yung, ‘Rise of the new titans’ (pdf), Going Places, Malaysia Airlines, Kuala Lumpur, May 2009, pp. 44‑45.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘House of flamingo: 弗拉明戈式建筑’ (pdf), The Outlook Magazine, no. 82, ed. Daniel Qiu, Guangzhou, Feb. 2009, p. 44‑45.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘Golden aura’ (pdf), Design Today, vol. VIII, no. 4, ed. Mamta Upadhyaya, New Delhi, Jan. 2009, pp. 30‑32, 34.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘Plates 24‑27: House of Convexities’ (pdf), in Almanac of Architecture & Design 2009, ed. James Cramer and Jennifer Evans Yankopolus, Greenway, Atlanta, Jan. 2009, plates 24‑27.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘Shall we dance? House of Convexities’ (pdf), B1 Magazine, no. 14, Bangkok, Dec. 2008, pp. 120‑123.
• Matt Hussey, ‘The house that clutter forgot’ (pdf), ShortList, no. 52, London, Oct. 2008, p. 6.
• Ramia Habchy, ‘House of Convexities’ (pdf), Touch Decor, no. 13, Beirut, Oct. 2008, pp. 56‑63.
• Devyani Jayakar, ‘Flamenco y arquitectura: House of Convexities’ (pdf), Inside Outside, no. 280, Mumbai, Oct. 2008, pp. 116‑122.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘建筑的弗拉门戈之舞一一凸形住宅’ (pdf), Landscape Architect, Dalian, Sept. 2008, pp. 52‑55.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘House of Convexities’ (pdf), A+A, no. 3/08, Mexico City, Aug. 2008, pp. 34‑37.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘埋在石材裡的佛朗明哥舞’ (pdf), DFun Magazine, no. 22, Taiwan, July 2008, pp. 38‑45.
• Antonino Cardillo, ‘Flamenco y arquitectura’ , worldarchitecturenews.com, ed. Siân Disson, London, 10 June 2008.