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EVERYDAY WONDERS
CINO ZUCCHI / LUIGI CACCIA DOMINIONI
BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA
VENICE
2018
Presented at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2018, Everyday Wonders was a spatial and conceptual homage to Luigi Caccia Dominioni, curated by Cino Zucchi and commissioned by Biennale curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Installed in the Central Pavilion at the Giardini, the project delved into Caccia Dominioni’s unique architectural vision, deeply rooted in the urban and cultural fabric of Milan.
At the core of the installation was a theatrical, custom-built structure shaped as an elliptical “tholos” — a vaulted interior room clad in glossy black stucco on the outside and a warm Pompeian red render within. This immersive environment provided the setting for a narrative sequence of models, archival drawings, and contemporary photographs, all focused on one of Caccia Dominioni’s most emblematic and complex projects: the building complex at Corso Italia 22–24 in Milan.
The exhibition opened with a "constellation" of black-and-white photographic postcards documenting the vast number of buildings Caccia Dominioni designed across Milan, accompanied by a physical map locating each intervention. Within the “tholos”, four detailed models offered a progressive reading of the Corso Italia project: starting with its urban massing (1:500), moving to an overall architectural study (1:50), a “solidification” of the void space like a modern basilica mold (1:50), and finally zooming into an apartment’s iconic triple-door configuration (1:5), exemplifying the designer’s meticulous approach to spatial sequence and domestic ritual.
The installation also featured original architectural drawings by Caccia Dominioni, sculptures by Francesco Somaini, and a new photographic series, creating a rich dialogue between past and present, city and interior, structure and detail. Everyday Wonders positioned Caccia not just as an architect, but as a designer of atmospheres — someone who interpreted Milanese tradition through an innovative, profoundly personal lens.