Wunderkammer

As Williams and Tsien explain in their introduction, the wunderkammer (“wonder-room” or “cabinet of curiosities”) “arose in Renaissance Europe as repositories for all kinds of wondrous and exotic objects.” These two architects collect exotic objects themselves, some of which are shown in photographs at the beginning of this enchanting book, but when invited to participate in the 2012 Venice Biennale Architecture Exhibition, they decided that rather than display their own creations, they would ask 42 of their architect and artist friends (including Richard Meier, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Elias Torres) to “fill a box with objects that inspire them” and as a result, “see if there was a thread that united us through the objects we love.” Williams and Tsien arranged the boxes in the Casa Scaffali (“house of shelves”), a remote, fairy tale–like shed overgrown with shrubbery, remarkably apt for their scheme. In this catalogue, only a few enticing photographs depict the entire collection as displayed; several pages are devoted to individual boxes, with a picture of the work itself, writings about it by its maker, photos of the work in progress, and the discussion of the artist’s process. As Williams and Tsien intended when inviting in “the fabric of the lives” of their friends, they managed “to open a door to their minds without the need for words.” 300 color illus. (Dec.)