This is such an amazing region to ski. For years we went to La Thuile. I had never heard this story in particular. The use of the primary colors do very striking, along with the clean geometry, an austerity that mid-century modern in the US was never quite able to accomplish.
The Dolomiti are indeed spectacular, skiing the area is amazing, and you are in Italy, which means that the food and wine are excellent, the prices are reasonable, and the people are friendly. Unfortunately, the Southern Alps and the Dolomiti are suffering from climate change. At 1250 metres altitude, Cortina village is low and doesn't seem to have the snow consistency it used to even when we first went there, some 20 years ago.
Even though there are several modernist Gellner buildings in Cortina, Villaggio ENI was his 'capolavoro.' He negotiated complete design freedom with Mattei and applied this from the landscaping to the doorhandles. He forced Mattei into accepting that all electric cables would be buried into the rock (at a huge cost) rather than hanging them from utility poles.
And yes, MCM has always been more commercial, avoiding the extreme austerity as you say. We've stayed in some incredible and authentic MCM homes in the States. We're looking for them constantly, but unfortunately new owners renovate them without a lot of respect for their architectural value.
So interesting. Thank you for sharing!
This is such an amazing region to ski. For years we went to La Thuile. I had never heard this story in particular. The use of the primary colors do very striking, along with the clean geometry, an austerity that mid-century modern in the US was never quite able to accomplish.
The Dolomiti are indeed spectacular, skiing the area is amazing, and you are in Italy, which means that the food and wine are excellent, the prices are reasonable, and the people are friendly. Unfortunately, the Southern Alps and the Dolomiti are suffering from climate change. At 1250 metres altitude, Cortina village is low and doesn't seem to have the snow consistency it used to even when we first went there, some 20 years ago.
Even though there are several modernist Gellner buildings in Cortina, Villaggio ENI was his 'capolavoro.' He negotiated complete design freedom with Mattei and applied this from the landscaping to the doorhandles. He forced Mattei into accepting that all electric cables would be buried into the rock (at a huge cost) rather than hanging them from utility poles.
And yes, MCM has always been more commercial, avoiding the extreme austerity as you say. We've stayed in some incredible and authentic MCM homes in the States. We're looking for them constantly, but unfortunately new owners renovate them without a lot of respect for their architectural value.
We stayed in this uniquely preserved 1956 house in Lakeland in March last year. Even the original kitchen was still working perfectly. https://stories.aestheticnomads.com/p/lakelands-weaving-house-modern-living?r=3ooj7b