The work of architect Lina Bo Bardi
Designer wares Until February 18, the work of Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992) will be featured in an exhibition held at the Munich’s Praterinsel. Born in a suburb of Rome, and later naturalized in Brazil, Bardi spent the World-War-II years working for renowned Italian architect, and editor of trade publication Domus, Gio Ponti in Milan. There, in addition to gaining experience in design, she created illustrations and watercolors for Ponti’s magazine. The war years influenced much of the architect’s work. Bardi wrote: “Then, when the bombs destroyed the work of mankind, we understood that a house is for the ‘life’ of people, to serve and comfort them, not to display vanity.” It was this open disregard for the useless frills embraced by high society that lent Bardi her signature style — functional designs for the common man. Leaving behind the ruins of fascist Italy, she arrived in Brazil in 1946 with her husband, the noted journalist P. M. Bardi, where she found a cultural revival awaiting her under the South American sun. In 1951, Bardi constructed a glass house in São Paolo, the interior of which, with its various plant varieties, boasts the brilliance of a tropical setting. The exhibition focuses not only on the expat’s building plans, but also on drawings, poems and furniture, born of her love for her adopted homeland. <<< ssT