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Sep 20, 2023

Norman Foster’s tiny dwelling as the evolution of the minimal house

Rebuilding the story of the minimal house means identifying the overlaps between these three profoundly different forms of domesticity. During the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, Norman Foster is

Rebuilding the story of the minimal house means identifying the overlaps between these three profoundly different forms of domesticity. During the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, Norman Foster is presenting his personal interpretation of the minimal house with the Essential Homes Research Project, sponsored by Holcim with the Norman Foster Foundation. For the moment, the project has been built as a prototype displayed in the Giardini della Marinaressa. The structure is a tunnel whose single common passage space separates the bunks from the wet functions of the kitchen and bathroom on the opposite side. It contains many references to previous work by Foster – the gallery of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in the UK (1974-1978), although different in scale and function – and to the heroes of modern prefabrication – the panels that close the short facades are a clear homage to Jean Prouvé.