The thread that links our articles for November might be in the concept of inner harmony and sensitivity to things, a legacy of oriental culture that, in our interpretation, expresses a dimension of dialogue and constructive interaction between people and places. This can be seen in different ways in the works of architecture – museums, hotels, homes – featured in this issue, all places of public or private life, with a high level of expressive and materic content, where the quality of welcome in spaces is the result of the quality of the design and its actors. Just consider the Soumaya Museum of Mexico City, which fits into a dense urban context with the force of a spectacular landmark. Or the temple restored in Beijing, near the Forbidden City, now a charming hotel and a versatile space for events, revealing an intense relationship with the contemporary world, enlivened by the evocative glow of lights by Ingo Maurer. This idea of profound harmony and sensitivity is conveyed even more vividly by the pursuit of a natural infusion with the spirit of places and specific landscapes, seen in compositions like the house at Melides in Portugal, designed by Pedro Reis, or in the exclusive resort about to be completed, Villa Eden Gardone, on Lake Garda, featuring works by renowned international architects like Richard Meier, Matteo Thun, David Chipperfield and Marc Eutebach. A more personal dialogue, cultivated over years of experience, is that of the home-refuge in Provence of Amos Gitai, the well-known Israeli director and architect, interpreted by the Italian photographer-architect Gabriele Basilico. Our selection of tables with an accent on architecture completes the excursion. Inside these settings of convivial life words like time, the lights and seasons of design, become terms of very current impact.

Gilda Bojardi