Tag: florence | ArchDaily

From Bangkok to Florence: 6 Unbuilt Public Space Projects Rethinking Community, Ecology, and Urban Identity

Nour Fakharany — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Public spaces remain some of the most dynamic sites for unbuilt architectural experimentation, revealing how cities and architects can imagine accessibility, gathering, and civic identity. In this curated Unbuilt edition, submitted by the ArchDaily community, the selected proposals examine parks, pedestrian corridors, cultural landscapes, and open-access urban environments that invite people to meet, move, rest, and participate in collective life. Rather than treating public space as leftover terrain, these projects position it as essential infrastructure—shaping urban health, memory, and social interaction.

Rafael Viñoly Architects Unveils Design for Vinyard-Topped Airport Terminal in Florence, Italy

Maria-Cristina Florian — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 06:30:00 +0000

Rafael Viñoly Architects has released new renderings of their design for the new international terminal at Aeroporto Amerigo Vespucci in Florence, Italy. According to the architects, upon completion, the new terminal is expected to welcome over 5.9 million passengers a year, becoming one of the largest airports in the Tuscany region of Italy. In a nod to the Tuscan traditions of winemaking, the terminal’s rooftop features a 19-acre productive vineyard. The project is divided into two construction phases, with the first one scheduled to be completed in 2026, and the second in 2035.

Santiago Calatrava Recieves Leonardo da Vinci Lifetime Achievement Award for Design at the Florence Biennale

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 05:30:00 +0000

The XIV Florence Biennale of Art and Design announced that Santiago Calatrava will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, a "tribute to one of the most influential architects of our times and a recognition of your audacious experimentation, extraordinary talent, and ingenious ability to combine architecture and art in projects imagined and designed in harmony with nature and oriented towards the ideals of beauty.”

How the Renaissance Influenced Architecture

Rebecca Ildikó Leete — Mon, 23 May 2022 04:00:00 +0000

After a prolonged period known as the Middle-Ages, a growing desire to both study and mimic nature itself began to emerge, with an inclination to discover and explore the world. Between 1400-1600 A.D. Europe was to witness a significant revival of the fine arts, painting, sculpture, and Architecture. The ‘Renaissance’, meaning ‘rebirth’ in French typically refers to this period of European history, although most closely associated with Italy, countries including England and France went through many of the same cultural changes at varying timescales.

9 Cities with Medieval Plans Seen from Above

Camilla Ghisleni — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 05:00:00 +0000

In his book Breve Historia del Urbanismo (Brief History of Urbanism), Fernando Chueca Goitia states that the medieval city appeared at the beginning of the 11th century and flourished only between the 12th and 13th centuries. According to the author, this growth was closely linked to the development of commerce that allowed permanent occupations, resulting in a city no longer composed mainly of travelers. In other words, the bourgeoisie was formed thanks to the most diverse activities - craftsmen, tradesmen, blacksmiths, longshoremen - which stimulated the development of the medieval city.

TH01 | Targetti Hub / DEFERRARI+MODESTI

Andreas Luco — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 16:00:00 +0000

DEFERRARI+MODESTI has created for the historic Italian lighting company, a wunderkammer, an attic of wonders, unexpected and surprising. A flexible space capable of transforming itself overtime to host meetings, events, installations, and exhibitions, with a strong contemporary, informal, unstructured character that can excite and involve its visitors. Space is divided into various distinct and interconnected areas, in which each element intrigues and tells a story.

Caret Studio Reactivates Italian Plaza While Respecting Social Distancing Measures

Christele Harrouk — Wed, 13 May 2020 05:30:00 +0000

As architects around the world reimagine public spaces in the midst of the coronavirus, Italian architecture firm Caret Studio has envisioned the “StoDistante” installation. Searching to reconcile people with the outdoors, and allowing theses spaces to reopen safely while respecting the social distancing measures, Caret Studio created a temporary installation that reflects our current situation.

Cosmic Rays May Help Save Italy’s Famous Duomo from Cracking

Eric Baldwin — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 16:00:00 +0000

More than 500 years after it was built, Filippo Brunelleschi's dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy, remains the largest masonry dome ever built. But the dome's construction methods are still a secret, as no plans or sketches have been discovered. The only clue Brunelleschi left behind was a wooden and brick model. While the dome has been plagued by cracks for centuries, new breakthroughs in muon imaging may help preservationists uncover how to save the iconic structure and reveal new ideas on its construction.

Florence Experiment To Show How Watching Movies Impacts Plant Growth

Niall Patrick Walsh — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 12:01:00 +0000

Throughout the spring and summer of 2018, the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy will host a new site-specific project seeking to further our understanding of ecology, and the relationship between humans and the natural world. “The Florence Experiment” will connect internal and external spaces of the famed Renaissance palace through two separate experiences: an intertwined set of 65-foot-high (20-meter-high) slides, and a “live analysis” of the impact of human emotion on plant growth.

Falling Masonry Kills Tourist in Florence's Deteriorating Basilica di Santa Croce

AD Editorial Team — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 17:15:00 +0000

A Spanish tourist has been killed by a piece of falling masonry in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. As reported by The Guardian, the 52-year old victim was hit by "a piece of decorative stone that fell from a height of 20 metres (66 ft) as he visited the religious building with his wife." Reports suggest that the fragment was around 15cm by 15cm (6 by 6 inches) in size; according to Yahoo, the fragment "had supported a beam in the right transept of the Basilica."

From Brunelleschi to Today, This Documentary Tracks the Evolution of Architecture in Tuscany

Alya Abourezk — Sat, 09 Sep 2017 09:30:00 +0000

Each year, thousands of tourists flock to the Italian region of Tuscany to view works of architectural mastery. Renowned architectural figures such as Michelangelo and Brunelleschi transformed Tuscan cities to be stages of cultural rebirth during the 14th-17th century. These times, however, have passed. Today, Tuscany is faced with problems such as the decline of suburbs, abandoned buildings, and property speculation. The modern Italian architecture scene is in decline, and the country is experiencing an oversupply of architects, requiring many to emigrate in search of work.

The Prickly Question of Progress in an Urban World Heritage Site

James Taylor-Foster — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 04:00:00 +0000

The Italian city of Florence is, according to an article for The Observer, seeking "a better class of tourist." Palazzos are being sold off and converted into hotels and spas, and the ubiquitous 'luxury apartment' development brands are creeping ever closer to some of the city's most treasured architectural monuments. In response, a recent report from UNESCO is urging the municipal government to consider the long-term effects of proposed infrastructural plans on the city, which was inscribed in 1982. "For many vocal and disgruntled Florentines," Stephanie Kirchgaessner writes, "the Palazzo Vecchio is looking less like a stately symbol of civic pride and more like an estate agency."

Florence's Museum of the Opera del Duomo set to Reopen to the Public

James Taylor-Foster — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 04:30:00 +0000

The new Florentine museum of the Opera del Duomo, affiliated to the city's cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, is set to reopen its doors to the public next week following years of restoration and reconstruction. 6000 square metres of exhibition space, designed by Adolfo Natalini and Guicciardini & Magni architetti, will house the largest collection of Florentine medieval and Renaissance sculpture in the world, including pieces by Donatello, Michelangelo (the Florentine Pietà), Andrea Pisano, Lorenzo Ghiberti (Gates of Paradise), and Luca della Robbia. It will also exhibit fifteen 14th century statues and almost seventy fragments from the cathedral's original medieval façade.

The Museum Of The Twentieth Century / Avatar Architettura

Karen Valenzuela — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 17:00:00 +0000

Avatar Architettura was responsible for the museographic and exhibition design of the Museo Novecento in Florence, housed in the charming monumental complex of the old Hospital of San Paolo (later known as the Leopoldine Schools), facing the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and recently opened after a long restoration project curated by the Fine Arts Service of the Municipality of Florence thanks to a contribution from the Ente Cassa di Risparmio of Florence.

A Renaissance Gem In Need Of Restoration

James Taylor-Foster — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The Pazzi Chapel is a landmark of architecture in the city that was once the cradle of the Italian Renaissance: Florence. Located in the Santa Croce church complex (the largest Franciscan church in the world), the chapel was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi - the goldsmith-turned-architect who dedicated his life to engineering the dome of Florence's Santa Maria del Fiore. It is "a prime example of 15th-century architectural decoration in grey pietra serena sandstone, colourful maiolica, and terracotta."

How Did Filippo Brunelleschi Construct the World's Largest Masonry Dome?

James Taylor-Foster — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

More than 500 years after it was built, Filippo Brunelleschi's dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy, remains the largest masonry dome ever built. Leaving no plans or sketches behind, some of the secrets of its construction that Brunelleschi pioneered are still an enigma today. This short animation, presented by National Geographic and created by Fernando Baptista and Matthew Twombly, gives an idea of how the dome of the Duomo might have been built. Demonstrating the complexity of the task, made harder due to poor construction prior to Brunelleschi's commission, this film serves as a reminder of just how long it can take to create something timeless.

Has The Surge Of Visitors to Museums & Galleries Reached A Tipping Point?

James Taylor-Foster — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

In an article for the New York Times Rachel Donadio examines Masterworks vs. the Masses. From the Louvre in Paris to London's British Museum, Florence's Uffizi to the Vatican Museums, the increasing surge of visitors to these international cultural nodes "has turned many museums into crowded, sauna-like spaces." Balancing everyone's right to be "nourished" by cultural experiences with protecting and preserving the works of art in question is a very real problem. According to Donadio, "even when the art is secure, the experience can become irksome." With some museums seeing annual visitors of up to 6.7 million visitors (British Museum), addressing the issues faced by institutions that are a victim of their own success is becoming more and more pressing. Read the article in full here.

VIDEO: Solving the Mysteries of Brunelleschi's Dome

James Taylor-Foster — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

A new hour long documentary for PBS' series, Building the Great Cathedrals, explores the mystery of how, in the 15th century, Florentine architect Filippo Brunelleschi constructed one of the largest domes the world had ever seen. Winning what could be considered one of the earliest architectural competitions, Brunelleschi developed a unique system that allowed construction on the dome to occur while services were being conducted in the cathedral 100 metres below. The team in this episode model this freestanding structure in an attempt to understand just how Brunelleschi achieved such a feat of Renaissance engineering.