Delicious architecture

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design have organized a fun and provocative exhibition to celebrate food and design entitled: "Delicious Architecture."

The exhibition opens at Contemporary Space Athens (46-48 Megalou Vasilious in Rouf/Athens) May 12 and continues through August 1, 2010.

The exhibition premiered at the Fondazione Riccardo Catella in Milan and toured throughout Europe. Electrolux Zanussi Italiaand Poggenpohl Moebelwerke GmbH are major corporate sponsors for the exhibition.

The Athens opening reception takes place on Wedneday, May 12 from 8:00-10:00 PM.

"Delicious Architecture"is curated by Christian K. Narkiewicz-Laine the prominent Finnish architecture and design journalist and critic and Museum President, The Chicago Athenaeum.

Both The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre have invited over 50 of the world's most prominent architects and designers to create a work of architecture that explores artistic decorations and monuments made of food primarily cakes and confectionery fantasies.

The works as drawings are architectural fantasies that reminisce aristocratic banquets and street festivals of 16th- through 19th-Century Europe. The drawings depict towering, fantastical centerpieces and visionary and ephemeral works of architecture created out of sugar paste, marzipan, fruits, pastries, ice, flowers, gilt, and precious metals.

The exhibition explores the historic relationship between food and design and ultimately its final presentation.

The proposed creations range from extraordinary and futuristic towers, pyramids, spires, temples, obelisks, sculpture, even skyscrapers that celebrate the fun in today's contemporary architecture-using food and cooking as the source of their inspiration.

For years, architects and designers have been designing accessories of eating-dishware, glasses, cutlery, dining tables, and chairs-so it is natural, of course, that they would also design food itself.

Participating architects and designers include: Vito Acconci, Florin Baeriswyl, Christopher E. Bangle, Paul Barbieri, Yves Béhar, Mario Bellini, Constantine Boym, Robert Brunner, Paolo Caputo, Julien de Smedt, Elina Drossou, Roger Duffy, Maurizio Duranti, Alessandro Finetto, Toni Follina, Jozeph Forakis, Massimo Iosa Ghini, Riccardo Giovanetti, Jan-Hendrik de Groote, Alfredo Häberli, Roland Heiler, Isao Hosoe, Ioannis Karalias, Perry King, Marc Krusin, Piero Lissoni, Tom Lloyd, Alessandro Loschiavo, Stefano Marzano, Alessandro Mendini, Eric Owen Moss, Ben Oostrum, Henrik Otto, Panos Parthenios, Luke Pearson, Mauro Porcini, Karim Rashid, Bart Reuser, Denis Santachiara, William Sawaya, Peter Sheehan, Borek Sipek, Peter Solomon, and Mehrdad Yazdani.

For "Delicious Architecture," architects and designers have come up with their fantasies on paper -an architectural folly-in their signature design style, in this case translated into another medium-one that happens to be edible.

In Athens, The European Centre and The Chicago Athenaeum worked with chefs from some of the most prestigious hotels in Athens to realize additonal fantasy creations in three-dimensions. Those celebrated Greek chefs include:

Evangelos Agalou, Aldemar Hotels & Spa
Kim Park Chai, Athens Ledra Marriott
Fabien Fayolle, Hotel Grande Bretagne
Athanasios Tzametos, King George Palace Athens
and a Team of chefs from the Athenaeum InterContinental Athens.

The exhibition also highlights L'Art de la Table showing the latest tabletop designs and ornaments by Italian/German/Turkish glass and ceramic manufacturers who have won The Chicago's Athenaeum's prestigious GOOD DESIGN Award. Those manufactureres include: Alessi SpA., Gaia & Gino Decorum, Inc., Ancap SpA., Unitable SpA., Ceramiche Bitossi Flavia SpA., Auerhahn Bestecke GmbH., Sambonet Paderno Industrie SpA., Fratelli Guzzini SpA., Rastal GmbH & Co. KG., and Rosenthal AG.

The Chicago Athenaem is one of the most important architecture and design museums in the world and is based in the world's first city of modern architecture-Chicago.

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and Athens, Greece and has become Europe's first and foremost institution that promotes European architecture, industrial design, landscape architecture and urbanism with programs held throughout Europe and around the world.

For more information contact Ira Livaidioti, Director of Adminstration/Marketing, The European Centre in Athens at +30/210 342 8512 or ira@europeanarch.eu.

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies
28 Butlers Court, Sir John Rogersons Quay
Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel/Fax +353/(0) 1 6708781

CONTEMPORARY SPACE ATHENS
Μεγάλου Βασιλείου 46-48
118 54 Ρούφ/ Αθήνα
Ελλάδα
Τηλ: +30/210 342 8511
Fax +30/210 342 8512
www.europeanarch.eu
info@europeanarch.eu