Some pack romance novels. Others go for thrillers or crossword puzzles. We packed five architects. No technical manuals, we promise. Just a bit of forma mentis to slip in between your beach towel and SPF 50. Zaha Hadid, Frank Lloyd Wright, Renzo Piano, Tadao Ando and Bjarke Ingels: they may not sound like a summer band, but in their own way, each of them has reimagined how we live and shape space. After all, isn’t summer a kind of life sketch with fewer constraints and more natural light?
Zaha Hadid: getting it wrong, beautifully
No ruler. No symmetry. Just curves, fluid tensions, and a touch of creative chaos. Zaha Hadid taught us that you can be radical and glamorous, off-balance and monumental. Her buildings seem to surf the asphalt, driven by a visionary stubbornness that bent concrete, software and prejudice alike. Here’s your takeaway: imperfection can be a signature. And every sharp corner might be hiding a brilliant idea.
Frank Lloyd Wright: making room for nature
The waterfall house, the floor that “follows” the landscape, the vanishing walls. Wright didn’t build on nature, but with it. He designed the first truly modern home and let it breathe in the woods. Because the environment isn’t a backdrop. It’s a co-star. Ignore it, and sooner or later it’ll come knocking, even on your energy bill.
Renzo Piano: balance, modularity and patience
The man who put wheels on museums (Pompidou) and lightness into concrete (Centro Botín). Renzo Piano is the master of the invisible detail, of technology that hides in plain sight, of architecture as poetic engineering. As he shows us, the perfect design is the one that looks effortless, but took twenty-five prototypes to get right.
Tadao Ando: silence in reinforced concrete
Former boxer, self-taught architect, minimalist poet. Tadao Ando sculpts light more than he builds structures. He gave concrete a sense of spirituality, creating temples of emptiness and calm. Let’s not beat around the bush: sometimes, subtracting is the only way to bring out the essence. (And yes, that goes for silencing your notifications too.)
Bjarke Ingels: the LEGO-loving starchitect
An artificial mountain, a ski slope on a residential block, a panda-shaped masterplan, nothing’s too far-fetched for BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group). Ingels blends ecology, humour and marketing without blinking. He knows the future is built with leisure in mind. After all, if sustainability isn’t fun, it won’t stick. And a touch of humour is often the secret ingredient in any great design.
In the end, we all know: architecture is everywhere. Even under your beach umbrella, somewhere between a granita, a sandcastle and a sideways thought. And these five masters remind us that design isn’t (only) about building. It’s about choosing how we want to live, even in August.
