Archinect - News

Brazil has turned a corner in its yearslong National Museum restoration project

2022-09-02T18:34:00-04:00

Four years after a devastating blaze wiped out the majority of its incredible 20 million-object collection, the rebuilding of Brazil’s fire-damaged National Museum has reached an important construction milestone in Rio de Janeiro.

According to The Art Newspaper, local firms Velatura Restaurações and Construtora Biapó have now completed the restoration of the historic facade and expect the building to be completely reopened sometime in 2027. The upgraded facilities will eventually include an extra 2,100 square meters (22,604 square feet) of exhibition space with capacity for the display of up to 10,000 items.

Previously on Archinect: National Museum in Rio De Janeiro suffers massive fire after reported neglect

H+F Architects, the team behind its interior restoration, said of the eventual finished product: “There will be a more contemporary atmosphere, with a mixture of elements conserved and restored.”

They also mentioned that the fire apparently served as a “violent intervention” ...

The 'Putin's Palace' architect allegedly owes Italy a massive tax bill

2022-03-30T17:20:00-04:00

Lanfranco Cirillo, the designer of a mysterious 18,000 sq. m mansion on the Black Sea that many believe was built for the Russian President Vladimir Putin, is being investigated by the Italian authorities for allegedly failing to pay a €50m tax bill. Officials raided the 63-year-old Italian architect’s own sizeable villa in February, where they discovered and confiscated a treasure trove of works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, [and] Wassily Kandinsky.

The architect’s private helicopter was also confiscated by Italian authorities, who have been on a tear as of late, seizing yachts and other luxury items from Russian nationals associated with President Vladimir Putin.

Cirillo is well known as the man behind the biggest gem in Putin’s sizable real estate portfolio. In a popular video released in January of last year, imprisoned activist Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation detailed the opulence of the massive 191,000-square-foot Itialiante compound, which reportedly cost around $1.4 billion to construct.

A supposed floor plan for the palace. Image courtesy Alexei Navalny via YouTube

Despite a direct offer of citizenship from Putin, Cirillo has been residing in his native country for the past several years, bouncing in between his own ornate villas and collecting blue-chip art as he enjoys retirement.

“Like 92–93 percent of Russia’s population, I love our president, and I think he is the right man in the right place in the cu...

Saddam Hussain's architectural heritage—and what to do with it

2016-09-13T18:30:00-04:00

During his time in power, as head of state and as leader of the all-powerful, secularist Ba’th party, Saddam would oversee an unprecedented program of monumental development across the historic city of Baghdad. This was not limited to monuments of war and hollow bronze shells, but enormous palatial complexes, museums, art galleries, and civic squares [...] marshal it, awkwardly, unevenly, into the post-industrial age, a modern city shaped by the aspirations and egotistical tastes of a despot.