Alice Rawsthorn, photo by Michael Leckie; Farshid Moussavi, photo by Paul Phung
Farshid Moussavi on Gae Aulenti and Architecture
June 20 2024
Gae Aulenti's Legacy – episode 2
The exhibition Gae Aulenti (1927 – 2012) is accompanied by a podcast series that explores her impact on architecture and design, and her legacy. The podcast, hosted by British design critic and author, Alice Rawsthorn, traces the evolution of Gae Aulenti through the voices of friends, curators and international architects who knew her personally or through her work. The five episodes focus on different aspects of her relationship with architecture, design, art and performance during the course of her career.
The second episode—Farshid Moussavi on Gae Aulenti and Architecture—features Alice Rawsthorn in dialogue with the architect and Harvard University professor. Moussavi discusses Gae Aulenti's influence on architecture and shares her thoughts on the Italian architect's most famous project, the Musée d'Orsay. She also reflects on Aulenti's design attitude as well as what she hopes we can continue to learn from her work.
Musée d'Orsay, Paris, photo by Mario Carrieri
Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), installation view, close up detail of “In Paris, at the Musée d’Orsay, in the nave, 1986”, photo by Alessandro Saletta, DSL Studio
"Today, I think we would call Musée d'Orsay a very successful example of adaptive reuse"
Farshid Moussavi
Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), installation view, in Buenos Aires, on Calle Suipacha 1109, in the showroom of the Olivetti company 1968
"Her work is not about soundbites. It's about an attitude towards design, a commitment to work with context, a commitment to experimentation, and a commitment to human experience"
Farshid Moussavi
Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), installation view, In Zurich, on Beethovenstrasse, in the FIAT showroom, 1973
Farshid Moussavi is an architect, founder of Farshid Moussavi Architecture and Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She was previously co-founder of Foreign Office Architects (FOA). Educated at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, University College London and Dundee University, Moussavi has a longstanding involvement with academic institutions worldwide.
Alice Rawsthorn—born in Manchester and based in London—is an award-winning design critic and author of books on design, including Hello World: Where Design Meets Life, Design as an Attitude and, most recently, Design Emergency: Building a Better Future. She is a co-founder with Paola Antonelli of the Design Emergency project to investigate design's role as a force for positive change. In all her work, Alice champions design's potential to address complex social, political and ecological challenges.
Credits
Hosted by: Alice Rawsthorn
Recording and sound editing: 731 Lab
Produced by: Triennale Milano
On the occasion of the exhibition: Gae Aulenti (1927-2012)
