richard meier architects: mutated panels

‘mutated panels’ by richard meier architects in milan, italy all images courtesy richard meier architects and interni mutant architecture

for this year’s milan design week, internationally-renowned architect richard meier has designed ‘mutated panels’, an installation created with italian cement company italcementi and building specialist styl-comp group. the project is a part of mutant architecture & design, an event focused on new approaches and methods in flexible and sustainable structures, organized by interni magazine. 

front view

consisting of a series of concrete walls, the installation revolves around the natural elements of light, form and space. placed perpendicular to the central axis of the site – the eastern side of the corile d’onore – the panels feature a subtle formal rhythm that evolves from straight to torqued to straight once more. the result is an unassuming profile that reads as a straight-forward concrete box that engages the volumetric and spatial perception of the viewer in the approach. an open corridor is created by a slab of translucent concrete which filters natural daylight as well as views into the space.

interior view

a self-cleaning photocatalytic concrete is used in the distorted walls is the same material used in meier’s ‘jubilee church’ in rome. flawless surfaces are achieved through pre-stressed concrete technology which utilizes fiberglass formworks in its manufacturing process.

rendered perspective

profile view

walls from above

site plan

plan

front elevation

back elevation

cross section side elvation