Dezeen Magazine

Messner Mountain Museum Corones by Zaha Hadid Architects

"Bad case of fly tipping"

Comments update: readers think Zaha Hadid's new museum in Italy looks more like it has been dumped onto its mountaintop site than buried within it. Read on for more reader debates and don't forget to explore our comments page to keep up to date with the latest discussions.

Summits up: the Messner Mountain Museum Corones by Zaha Hadid features underground galleries and a cantilevered viewing platform, but does the design integrate with its mountainous surroundings?

"It looks like they just piled soil on top of the building; nothing very buried about it," wrote Seamus, while Glenn described the building's earthy roof as looking like a "bad case of fly tipping".

Others disagreed. "Credit where it is due," said Aaron. "This is a striking and quite beautiful piece of architecture."

"Great dialog with the surroundings," agreed Oscar M Manterfield. "Zaha has found her niche... on top of mountains." Read the comments on this story »


Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II blue
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II blue

Star quality: Converse redesigned its iconic canvas basketball shoe, the Chuck Taylor All Star, for the first time in over 80 years, and readers loved it.

"At last, Converse that won't hurt my feet," wrote one commenter. "They are one of the worst shoes for day-to-day wear, although to be fair they weren't designed for that purpose."

According to another reader, the shoes are so iconic that the redesign needn't have included logos. "They'd still be instantly observed to be pairs of Converse," argued Sam, "and it would have reinforced the cache of a design classic."

"There are so many Converse clones," replied a commenter calling themselves Donkey. "The brand mark is surely a necessity?" Read the comments on this story »


Pyramid Tower by Daniel Libeskind
Pyramid Tower for Jerusalum by Daniel Libeskind

Pyramid scheme: plans to construct a pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Jerusalem by Daniel Libeskind divided opinion. As you might expect.

"The architectural desecration of Jerusalem continues," stated Nettah. "Every year, the city becomes more absurd."

Many commenters agreed that the design is too radical for its sensitive context. "Makes you wonder if Libeskind has ever been to Jerusalem," said Amit. "Form, scale and architectural language is out of context and completely out of scale."

"I have to say that this is perhaps my favourite project from Libeskind," countered Leo. "I like the shape and the building seems to be well suited to the climate." Read the comments on this story »


Visual prototype of Morten Grönning's Happaratus power glove
Visual prototype of Morten Grönning's Happaratus power glove

Close shave: Royal College of Art graduate Morten Grønning created a prototype glove for carving hard materials such as stone and wood – a potentially hazardous product for its users, say readers.

"You'll take your face off if you scratch an itch," warned James. "Great potential here though; I love the idea of bridging the gap between your hands and the material."

"It doesn't enable 'hand' sculpting," claimed John. "We already unlocked that when we made basic tools."

"I was a bit sceptical of this at first," concluded Joggl, "but watching the movie and seeing that the examples were actually made with this, I really want it to become a product." Read the comments on this story »