WAG introduced our readers to Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring with a feature this past November.
We’ve heard again from the by-appointment warehouse gallery that’s a showcase of postwar and contemporary Italian art – and the news is impressive:
“AIA New York, the oldest and largest chapter of the American Institute of Architects, awarded an Honor in Architecture to Miguel Quismondo for the project of Magazzino Italian Art on Jan. 8.
“The 32 projects and architecture firms selected represent the exceptional work by AIA New York members and architects practicing in New York City in four categories – architecture, interiors, projects and urban design. Each winning project, granted either an honor, merit or citation award, was chosen for its design quality, response to context and community, project development, innovation, thoughtfulness and technique. Of the 19 awards conferred in the architecture category, Quismondo of MQ Architecture received one of the five honors announced that evening.
“‘I think everybody was really taken by just the sheer beauty of this project… not just the materiality of it, but as a museum, being so wonderfully beautiful, applauding the art and having fantastic views from the gallery space – all so very, very simple and restrained and yet so unbelievably difficult to do,’ stated Debra Lehman Smith, founding partner of LSM Studio and AIANY Design Awards juror.
“Quismondo completed the existing L-shaped building into a rectangle with a central courtyard. This concept allowed the architect to propose an independent structure that would run parallel to the longer segment of the existing building and link both structures by means of two glass connectors, thus stressing the importance of the lightness of the composition. In addition, it establishes a dialogue between the new and the existing structures. “The courtyard formed by this enclosure acts as a virtual room, creating a circular flow which visitors may follow, all the while operating as a place to rest the eyes throughout one’s visit.
“Quismondo stated: ‘I want to thank Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, co-founders of Magazzino Italian Art, for the trust they have placed on me throughout the years. In addition, I want to thank my friend and mentor Alberto Campo Baeza. It is with a great satisfaction that I am able to offer this achievement to all of them. Magazzino would not exist without their vision. This project has been a tremendous team effort – one in which many people have been placing their best work toward the realization, from its inception to the construction and today the same quality of work continues thanks to the excellent work of the director Vittorio Calabrese and his team.’”
Quismondo’s work will be showcased in the 2018 AIANY Design Awards exhibition at the Center for Architecture in Manhattan beginning April 20. The exhibition, designed by Once-Future Office, will remain on view through June 27.
For more, visit magazzino.art.
– Mary Shustack
