As part of the series of talks Architecture: Projects, Territory, Relations, we are happy to present this conference and debate around building reuse and, connecting Palermo and Oslo, by showing some examples and experiences from the two cities, starting with the museums and cultural centers Palazzo Butera in Palermo and the Museum of Architecture in Oslo.
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Program:
Art historian Claudio Gulli:
Palazzo Butera, a new laboratory for the city of Palermo
With the restoration completed in 2021, Francesca and Massimo Valsecchi transformed Palazzo Butera into a cultural center for the city, creating an important change in the image of Palermo which, also thanks to the Palazzo Butera project, seems to have given the city a new step that will last.
In the perspective of the transformation of a large private historic residence into an asset shared with the community, a respectful redevelopment of the building was born, and it was inserted in the broader vision of the relationship with the neighborhood. The goal was not only to find the right place to host the Valsecchi collection but to create a wide-ranging cultural project that, through art and culture, could generate social innovation in an international dimension. The Valsecchi collection brings together different eras and styles of contemporary art, old paintings, nineteenth-century English design, watercolors by artist-travelers in an integration between cultures and eras that also belongs to the identity of Palermo.
Architect Martin Dietrichson:
Collaboration with Sverre Fehn at the Museum of Architecture in Oslo and the following years with KIMA architecture.
Martin Dietrichson will in this conference talk about his experience with building reuse in Oslo, beginning with his work with the renown architect Sverre Fehn and his last project: the Museum of Architecture. He will also talk about other structures in Oslo he has been working at, as Sentralen, Telegrafen, Pressens Hus and Tollbodene.
Dietrichson was employed by Sverre Fehn from 2000/2008 and is now owner and partner at KIMA architecture. He has a background from Snøhetta, eight years as head of architect Sverre Fehn’s office and fourteen years in KIMA architecture as one of three founders. He has long experience as an architect and has had leading roles in a number of projects in central Oslo. These include, in addition to the above mentioned buildings, the National Museum of Architecture, the forthcoming expansion of the Norwegian Theatre and part of the Snøhetta competition team for the Opera House in Oslo.
The evening will close with a short debate led by architect Alf Howlid
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The event will take place in English.
