In 2018, OMA opened the Fondazione Prada in Milan, Italy, housed within a former gin distillery established in 1910. The project which includes a statement facade cladded in 24-carat gold leaf and camouflaged mirrors, comprises the renovation of seven buildings in the Largo Isarco industrial complex on Milan’s southern outskirts, making the foundation neither a preservation project nor a new architecture. Recently, photographer Bahaa Ghoussainy captured the infamous structure in his new architectural photo series.
The Fondazione Prada was initially established in 1993 by the Italian fashion house Prada. The aim of the foundation was to become a cultural melting pot dedicated to cinema, philosophical thinking, and the arts. These new uses become more possible through the design of these unconventional art spaces that have architectural qualities. Moreover, as the Fondazione is not strictly dedicated to one form of art, the diversity in what “art” could encompass is reflected in the diversity of architecture and design.
The project is made up of freshly revitalized structures, as well as new constructions. These include warehouses, laboratories, brewing silos, and newly erected edifices encircling a spacious central courtyard. The new constructions include a large exhibition pavilion, a tower, and a cinema. They have been designed in a similar industrial tone, with the use of modern materials. Moreover, Challenging the two types of architectural conditions and confronting the new and the old with each other in a state of continuous interaction, the new Fondazione offers many fragmented pieces that refuse to congeal into a single image and have almost no hierarchy between them. Furthermore, the design is filled with contrasting spatial variables that promote flexibility and open-use programming.
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Rem Koolhaas on Prada, Preservation, Art and ArchitectureWe analysed what was here already and we decided that there were a number of conditions and a number of needs that were missing, and basically we added those needs in new architecture. -- OMA
Bahaa Ghoussainy is a fine artist and photographer based in Beirut, Lebanon. Most recently, he photographed Herzog & de Meuron’s Switch House, Tate Modern’s latest 2016 extension. Additionally, he captured Herzog & de Meuron’s Feltrinelli Porta Volta, an example of Milanese urbanism and architecture, defining the city’s urban fabric. Finally, the Corbuseirhaus was captured through the photographer's lens, also known as the Berlin Unite d’ Habitation.
