Concrete

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By Adalberto Vilela and Sylvia Ficher

Even when driving through an exclusively residential neighborhood of the city, one can spot the *Casa dos Arcos* (House of Arches) in the distance. This is how the Nivaldo Borges residence is known, placidly sprawling across the gentle topography of an immense site, unmistakable for its reddish hue. The temptation to approach is strong; paradoxically, the absence of fences or gates is intimidating. With no way to announce our arrival, we ignore the uncomfortable feeling of trespassing and head forward.

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The Museo Civico di Castelvecchio is one of Verona's most important museums, as well as one of the most compelling repositories of Italian and European art. The prominent castle that houses it, built between 1354 and 1356 alongside the Scaligero Bridge in Verona, was restored by renowned architect Carlo Scarpa starting in 1957. Carried out in several phases over 18 years, the project became one of his most significant works, revealing his admiration for Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and traditional Japanese spatiality.

The museum is located within the La Scala di Castelvecchio fortress complex, spread across more than thirty rooms dedicated to sculpture, Italian and foreign painting, ancient weapons, ceramics, jewelry, miniatures, and historic bells.

Read more after the break.

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If the two outermost transverse beams of the roof slab descended to form the end walls of the main floor, they would align perfectly with the perimeter of the floor slab. Had the longitudinal beams not cantilevered twenty centimeters to support and offset the concrete end walls, there would be no room for the upper gutter, nor would a gap be created in the main floor to indirectly illuminate the interior. If low concrete-block walls had not been raised along the sides of this floor, the facades would lack their two overlapping planes and the constant shadow between them—and, at times, a third, intermediate plane.

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