VERONIKA KELLNDORFER’S TREE HOUSE (CASA DE VIDRO) FEATURED IN ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

September 1, 2019

Veronika Kellndorfer’s Tree House (Casa de Vidro) depicting Lina Bo Bardi’s iconic home and residence in São Paulo is featured in the September issue of Architectural Record. Kellndorfer’s work was acquired for a collector’s New York City home which occupies the 11th floor of Zaha Hadid’s residential complex . The recently completed apartment designed by San Diego–based LUCE et Studio was originally designated for Hadid to live in herself.

As a tribute to Hadid, Jennifer Luce, the principal architect, searched for a device that might replace what would have been a unique architectural element in the apartment, such as a sculptural feature wall, designed by the late architect for every unit. She recalled a work at an exhibition in Brazil by German artist Veronika Kellndorfer, titled Tree House, a silk-screened image of Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro on a glass panel, supported by replicas of concrete pedestals designed by the Brazilian architect. This celebration of an equally dominant woman in architecture, Luce felt, “would be a wonderful way to honor Zaha’s passion for modernism.” Her clients agreed. As passionate collectors of modern and contemporary art and architecture, the placing of this work within the collection addressed both interests—Kellndorfer’s work engages investigations on the intersection of art and architecture. Now, as daylight filters through the vitreous screen separating the living area and matte-glass kitchen, this personal homage to the building’s architect is a focal point of their new home.