nº87 / RENZO PIANO / DIOGENE / GERMANY
Updated: Aug 10
Italian architect Renzo Piano launches a barely 7-square-meter nano house unit, Diogene, that is not intended as an emergency house but as a voluntary place of peace and retreat.
Review by Sylvain Marcoux
DIOGENE BY RENZO PIANO Diogene is sometimes a Greek philosopher, other times a minimalist, single-occupancy living unit that functions in total autonomy as a self-contained system in the middle of Germany
In the early 2000s, Renzo Piano started developing a minimalist housing project that constituted a long-term personal interest and was undertaken without a client. In 2009, Vitra chairman Rolf Fehlbaum showed great interest in the project, and the two decided to continue together. Three years later, Diogene was launched.
WHAT IF TINY DOES NOT MEAN SMALL?
When our home becomes a smart home, with all the household products, lights, heating, music, and even our toaster controlled by a remote control, when our days overflow with smartphone applications and endless notifications, and utterly useless advertising, when every inch is expected to deliver more and more automated comfort, then a curious little house, Diogene, was born and set on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein (Germany) during Art Basel 2013, whispering the very opposite.
Diogene – it is a luxury of austerity.
PHOTO / Interior - exterior of "Diogene" by Renzo Piano / Photo © Courtesy of Vitra
What if real luxury is no longer living in opulence, but living with simplicity?
Diogene
a barely 7.5 m² house
tiny with only
a bed
a table
a chair
a window overlooking a landscape
and nothing else
Renzo Piano, who is well-known for his iconic architectural works including the Fondation Beyeler (Basel, Switzerland), Centre Pompidou and the Tribunal de Justice (Paris, France), and the Musée Paul Klee (Bern, Switzerland), could have designed an airport, a tower, or another showstopping museum for his next project, yet, he created a tiny house that reveals his most intimate project.
Diogene isn’t a house - Diogene is constructed philosophy.
PHOTO / Exterior of "Diogene" by Renzo Piano / Photo © Courtesy of Vitra
Since his student years, Renzo Piano has pursued the same idea: a kind of architecture that erases everything that is not essential, allowing one to breathe.
The name Diogene is no accident either. Greek philosopher Diogene of Sinope, who slept in a ceramic jar, using a simple lifestyle to criticise social values and institutions of what he saw as a corrupt society, made simplicity a way of thinking about the world.
Renzo Piano imagined a refuge where we no longer own a space; it owns us. It slows us down, and leads us toward a sense of proportion. Everything in this micro-architecture is designed with precision. Self-sufficiency is paramount: rainwater is collected naturally, filtered, reused, and heated, when necessary, by a rooftop boiler. Energy is generated on site; natural ventilation and insulation, assured by triple-glazed windows, are carefully designed to be sustainable. There is sufficient energy to meet all the needs of the cabin, produced by solar panels. There is no remote control on site.
PHOTOS / Maquette and Interior of "Diogene" by Renzo Piano / Photo © Courtesy of Vitra
The house has built-in cross-laminated and meticulously joined timber panels, giving warmth to its interior, and on the outside it is entirely clad in riveted brushed-aluminium, which serves to reflect the heat and delivers a contemporary feel. The inside is divided into two parts: a living area and, beyond a partition, a bathroom (with shower and lavatories), and a small kitchen. Beneath the skylight, there is a pull-out sofa-bed and at the other end, a fold-out table and a chair. Any of the three elements may be used as opened or folded at any time. Finally, the storage that has been incorporated throughout the house - on the walls, in the floors and even under the roof.
Diogene is in conversation with Cabanon by Le Corbusier, and Walden by Henry David Thoreau. These two buildings remind us that living is not so much about space as it is about our way of living in the world. Thirteen years after Diogene debuted on the Vitra Campus, this tiny cabin has not lost an ounce of its impact nor relevance; in fact, quite the opposite.
PHOTO / Exterior of "Diogene" by Renzo Piano / Photo © Courtesy of Vitra
Now that we mentioned simplicity, degrowth, slowly returning to nature, and unplugging, it feels like Diogene was created well before everyone else. Maybe because Renzo Piano never really designed a house. He designed a breath of fresh air. A place where silence finally can have its place back.
What if real progress simply means needing less?
Diogene doesn’t offer an answer; it is an urban nomad, a sanctuary, inviting you to step inside, close the door, and listen to your own heart.
“Diogene gives each person what they need – an office, a shelter, a nano hotel, and that’s all, nothing else.” Renzo Piano
The philosophy of stripping things back to nothing is back.
INDEX
COVER
“Diogene” / Renzo Piano
Photo © Courtesy of Vitra
Cover design © ZOLTAN+MEDIA Paris
PROJECT
“Diogene” / Renzo Piano
Vitra Campus
Weil am Rhein (Germany)
PHOTOGRAPHERS
© Julien Lanoo
© Vitra
VISUALS & WEBDESIGN
© Zoltan Alexander ZOLTAN+MEDIA Paris
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