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VISIONNAIRE REFLECTS ON AN IDEA OF LIVING THAT GOES
BEYOND THE FUNCTIONAL CONCEPT OF ARCHITECTUR-
AL SPACE, THROUGH THE SUBLIMATION OF THE LIFE THAT
TAKES PLACE INSIDE. SPACE, ON ITS OWN, IS UNINHABIT-
ABLE; IT IS THE THINGS WE CHOOSE TO BRING INTO OUR
LIVES THAT GIVE IT THE VALUE OF “HOME” THE PLACE TO
WHICH WE CONSTANTLY RETURN. FROM THIS VIEWPOINT,
DESIGNING ONE’S HOME MEANS ORDERING THE SPACE TO
MATCH OUR EMOTIONS AND OUR GESTURES, GRADUAL-
LY DEVELOPING UNIQUE PLACES THAT FEEL AS SACRED
AS SPIRITUAL MONUMENTS .
IN VISIONNAIRE’S RESEARCH, THE HOME IS A TEM-
PLE MADE OF INDIVIDUAL (OR COLLECTIVE) MEMORY
AND DAILY CEREMONIES. THE ROOMS OF THIS DWELL-
ING-SANCTUARY INSIDE VISIONNAIRE’S STAND AT THE
FAIR – DESIGNED BY ALESSANDRO LA SPADA WITH ARTIS-
TIC DIRECTION BY ELEONORE CAVALLI – ARE NARRATED
THROUGH SIX THEMATIC CHAPTERS ON LIVING: THE WIN-
TER GARDEN, THE ATRIUM, THE CONVIVIUM, THE DAYTIME
OASIS, THE ALCOVE AND THE BOUDOIR. SYMBOLIC PLAC-
ES THAT RELEASE INTENSE EMOTIONS AND ASSOCIATIVE
MEMORIES, IN THE SIMPLE ACT OF HABITATION.
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