Cuore is a multidisciplinary space that brings together more than 300,000 works, objects, drawings, projects, photographs, correspondence, books, from design to art, from architecture to theatre, from graphics to photography and the audiovisual arts. A single, all-encompassing space inaugurated yesterday.
It is a historical archive with an extremely contemporary interpretation, experienced as a platform for maximisation and dissemination located on the ground floor of the Palazzo dell’Arte.
Cuore is a place designed to welcome visitors, the scientific community, scholars and researchers, but also a network that brings together universities, supervisory bodies, public and private foundations, companies.
Stefano Boeri, the President of Triennale Milano, says: “In 2023 we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Triennale and this new space was created as a device that looks both to the past and to the future (…) and underpins Triennale’s cultural proposal, bringing the institution’s heritage to life.”
The concept, the architectural design and the layout of the space were developed by AR.CH.IT Luca Cipelletti. The architectural design is part of a broader series of activities aiming to enhance and restore the original design of the Palazzo dell’Arte created by Giovanni Muzio in 1933, which Triennale is applying to the entire building. The space has been designed to enhance the dialogue between architecture and furnishings, between content and container, creating an environment in which modular elements are intended to be renewed over time.
The entire project follows principles of sustainability and recycling, with a view to reducing environmental impact. The architectural design paid particular attention to the enhancement of space with the recovery of the perspective vanishing point that, from the atrium of the Palazzo, lets the eye reach the large spiral staircase designed by Giovanni Muzio. The intervention also included upgrading the electrical elements, refurbishing the window frames and the horizontal upper closure with glass-cement panels, which had been obscured for decades and are once again a source of light that floods in from above.
Along the entire right wall of the space there is a system of display cases, cabinets and shelves, which covers an area of about 400 sq.m. and makes the materials of the Triennale archives and collections accessible. The entire wall is made of Saviola Ecological Panel®, a wood product obtained by recycling post-consumer wood, i.e. without cutting down trees, which highlights the materiality of regenerated wood and its technical potential.
In the centre of the space, there are 12 tables for temporary exhibitions dedicated to hosting and showing off archives external to Triennale, which can also be the subject of in-depth study through meetings and conferences, as well as installations and multimedia projects. A second area, organised through the composition of 6 tables, allows visitors to consult archive materials or materials from the Triennale collections (by appointment) and welcomes researchers from the Triennale Study Centre.
Three massive LED screens have been installed on the left wall, which can accommodate special insights. At this time it plays host to a video installation created by propp dedicated to the Triennale International Exhibitions, starting from 1923 all the way to the one being prepared for 2025.
The area of the space adjacent to the spiral staircase is equipped with a fourth full-wall LED screen to host temporary events such as talks, lectures, presentations, projections.
Cuore is accessible free of charge during Triennale opening hours (Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.).