Antonino Cardillo

Antonino Cardillo is an Italian architect known for atmospheric interiors and psychological themes. His architecture has been described by Francesco Dal Co as operating "in the interval where the improbable becomes verisimilar", constructing spaces in which fiction intertwines with the real and the unreal through nuance, colour and texture.^[1] He discussed his interest in Analytical Psychology and Jungian ideas in a seminar titled "Depth Architecture – The Aesthetic Nature of the Psyche" at the C. G. Jung Institute, Zürich.^[2]

Born in Sicily, Cardillo studied architecture at the University of Palermo under the critic and historian Antonietta Iolanda Lima, graduating before establishing his practice in Rome in 2004.^[3] His early architectural projects – including a proposal for the regeneration of Birnbeck Island in Somerset^[4] – were covered in international design media.^[5] His work gained broader visibility with his inclusion in the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2009.^[3] In 2013 Jack Self published Cardillo's manifesto "Architecture as Entertainment" in the Architectural Association's weekly publication Fulcrum, a platform dedicated to architectural writing and debate.^[6]

Since 2009, Cardillo has created temporary installations and commercial interiors for Wallpaper*, in collaboration with editor-at-large Suzanne Trocmé. These include a boutique for Sergio Rossi (2010) in Milan, centred on a timber‑and‑velvet, cathedral‑like structure within the existing store;^[7] the installation was later featured in Thames & Hudson's Art/Fashion in the 21st Century.^[8] The Postmodern Cafe (2011) for the London Design Festival formed part of the Victoria & Albert Museum exhibition Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970–1990.^[9] The Illuminum perfumery flagship shop (2015) in Mayfair, London, was described by Dezeen as an "Apollonian and Dionysian grotto" coated in volcanic‑ash plaster and conceived as a neutral backdrop for the brand's fragrances;^[10] the project was also included in the Smellscape Catalogue, a research initiative on olfactory and multisensory design at Birmingham City University, where it is presented as a case study in sensory interior design.^[11]

Crepuscular Green (2014), a monochromatic gallery interior in Rome, was interpreted by Ana Araujo as evoking ancient ritual settings and emotional archetypes.^[12] Dezeen linked its atmosphere to the opening scene of Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold.^[13] Pierre Yovanovitch described the project as marked by a distinctive tension and atmospheric intensity, calling it his favourite among Cardillo's interiors in his 2016 selection for the Brazilian magazine Bamboo.^[14]

Specus Corallii (2016), the transformation of the historic Sala Laurentina in Trapani Cathedral, was described by Dezeen as drawing on shell and coral imagery. It also noted that the result evokes a "mysterious underwater dimension".^[15] A review in BauNetz Interior Design by Jeanette Kunsmann characterised Cardillo as an "architect of the classical school", noting how the project continues his cycle of elemental interiors and how its introverted spaces construct a self‑contained narrative world. She highlighted the role of symmetry, the contrast between coral‑coloured stone and textured plaster, and the way light and shadow structure the spatial experience.^[16] Abitare la Terra interpreted the space as a "haven of memory", situating it within local traditions of coral craftsmanship and rupestrian architecture.^[17]

Paradiso (2018), the restaurant Off Club in Rome, was described by Wallpaper* as a cosmopolitan environment combining ancient and modern geometries, rough plaster surfaces and monolithic forms.^[18] Sight Unseen highlighted its "golden shadows and black mirrors", noting the recurring textures characteristic of Cardillo's work.^[19] The project was later included in The Architectural Review typology on nightclubs.^[20] The architectural guide Architekturführer Rom, published by Edition Axel Menges, presented Off Club as one of the representative interior works of contemporary Rome, noting how the city's millennia‑old stratification has shaped interior architecture into a distinctive and historically rooted discipline within its urban fabric.^[21]

Nomura House (2010), a two‑storey timber residence built on a hillside plot in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, was noted by critic Massimo Locci for its early exploration of Cardillo's interest in geometric experimentation and in the dialogue between Japanese domestic traditions and Mediterranean spatial themes.^[22]

House of Dust (2013), a domestic interior in Rome, was described by Dezeen as featuring a rough, grotto-like vaulted ceiling and a sequence of arches creating a cavernous spatial atmosphere, noting that its horizontal division was designed using the geometric ratio of the golden section.^[23] Architects' Journal characterised it as an essay in "design as theatre", while the Architectural Association highlighted its immersive use of pozzolana-based plasters and modulated light.^[24][25] The project was later included in the XXI Triennale di Milano exhibition Rooms. Novel Living Concepts.^[26]

Elogio del grigio (2023), a house in Castiglione delle Stiviere conceived as a miniature palazzo articulated through chiaroscuro spaces, was described by Dezeen as a "miniature palazzo" shaped by textured surfaces and calibrated light.^[27] Yellowtrace emphasised its psychological thresholds of colour, mass and void.^[28] A review in BauNetz noted that the building's austere exterior recalls the Haus Wittgenstein in Vienna, adding a further layer to its play of ambiguity.^[29]

Critics have linked Cardillo's work to themes of ritual, myth, atmosphere and psychological depth. In an essay for The Journal of Architecture, Ana Araujo analysed House of Dust through the lens of haptic perception, drawing on Alois Riegl's notion of Nahsicht to describe how the project intensifies material proximity and blurs the boundary between seeing and touching. She argues that this produces an embodied, tactile mode of visual experience rooted in phenomenology.^[30] She also interpreted several of his interiors in terms of ritual and the "poetics of everyday enchantment", suggesting that their atmospheres evoke archetypal settings where images lose historical specificity to become emotional deposits in the unconscious, drawing on modes of spatial symbolism.^[12]

Colour and materiality play a central role in his interiors. Birkhäuser's Thinking Color in Space analysed the chromatic and material strategies of House of Dust and Specus Corallii, highlighting their use of inherent and applied colour to construct immersive atmospheres and to articulate a spatial approach grounded in architectural aesthetics.^[31]

Cardillo explicitly engaged with Analytical Psychology and Jungian ideas. At the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich he delivered a seminar titled "Depth Architecture – The Aesthetic Nature of the Psyche", discussing the relationship between architecture, depth and the psyche, drawing in part on the archetypal psychology of James Hillman.^[2] In a conversation published in L'Arca International, Paolo Portoghesi noted parallels between Carl Gustav Jung's notion of "primordial images" and themes he identified in Cardillo's work.^[32]

His work has also been discussed in relation to the narrative structures of video games: a lecture at the Royal College of Art referenced Grand Theft Auto IV,^[33] while at the Rome Video Game Lab he took part in a panel discussion at the Cinecittà Studios exploring the relationship between architecture, video games and digital narrative forms.^[34]

Cardillo has presented his work in academic and cultural institutions. In 2015 his sculptural series Min was exhibited at the Sir John Soane's Museum in London, where Ana Araujo discussed its exploration of ritual, materiality and everyday enchantment.^[12]

He delivered lectures at the Architectural Association School of Architecture,^[25] the Royal College of Art,^[35] the Rome Video Game Lab, held at the Cinecittà Studios,^[34] the Dessau Institute of Architecture, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and Bauhaus Dessau,^[36] and at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich.^[2]

He also took part in collective exhibitions, including the DNA Exhibition at the Horse Hospital in London (2009), a group show inspired by the music of John Foxx,^[37] and Wallpaper*'s Future 30 show at the Chabot Museum during the 4th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (2009).^[38]

His works were also featured in the architecture festival Open House Roma. House of Dust was included in the 2021 and 2023 editions,^{[39][40][41][42]} while Off Club – later renamed Anima Restaurant and Club – was selected for the 2024 edition.^[43]

Cardillo's work has been discussed in architectural, design and academic publications. Casabella devoted an essay by Francesco Dal Co to his work, characterising his architecture as operating "in the interval where the improbable becomes verisimilar" and proposing domestic spaces where appearance and form coincide.^[1] Architects' Journal described House of Dust as an essay in "design as theatre", while the XXI Triennale di Milano situated the project within broader histories of interior architecture.^[24][26] In its typological study of nightclubs, The Architectural Review presented Off Club as a case study, highlighting its monolithic geometric volumes, cinematic references and chthonic atmosphere, and noting how Cardillo's textured plasterwork and gold surfaces create a space of hieratic mystery.^[20]

Design and architecture publications such as Dezeen, Wallpaper*, Sight Unseen, Yellowtrace, Casabella, Abitare la Terra and L'Arca have featured his projects, often highlighting their textured surfaces, chromatic atmospheres and theatrical spatial compositions.^{[23][10][15][27][18][44][28]} His interiors were also included in surveys and lookbooks on contemporary uses of colour and plaster, and in reports on innovative luxury spaces.^{[45][46][47][48][49]}

In the 2025 edition of the architectural guide Architekturführer Rom, Stefan Grundmann situated Off Club within a lineage running from Le Corbusier to Carlo Scarpa, emphasising its sharply modelled plaster surfaces, autonomous geometric fragments, theatrical staging and psychological resonance.^[21]

Cardillo's work was cited as an influence by contemporary designers. Oliver Haslegrave of Home Studios noted Cardillo among the references for the interior of the West Hollywood bar Bibo Ergo Sum, alongside Josef Hoffmann, Otto Wagner and Alvar Aalto.^[50] Designer Lara Bohinc has also mentioned Cardillo as one of the architects, alongside figures such as Carlo Scarpa, whose work informs her creative research.^[51]

Pierre Yovanovitch also cited Cardillo as the most radical architect in his selection of four emerging international designers for the Brazilian magazine Bamboo, noting the narrative coherence and expressive force of his interiors, particularly Crepuscular Green.^[14]

International trend‑forecasting agencies also identified House of Dust as a reference within their analyses of emerging aesthetic, material and colour tendencies. WGSN included the project in "Data Divination", a chapter of its macro‑trend report for Autumn/Winter 2015–16,^[52] while LS:N Global discussed it within the design‑direction study Anti‑Materials.^[53] Texworld's Spring/Summer 2015 trend book featured the project in the section "Architectural Cocoon",^[54] and the Noroo Pantone Colour Institute, a colour‑forecasting institute affiliated with Pantone, included it in the "Floating & Ambiguity" chapter of its colour‑forecasting volume Cover All 2018–2019.^[55]

The following projects represent a selection of Cardillo's built works.

• House of Dust (2013), Rome^[23]
• Colour as a Narrative (2015), London^[10]
• Specus Corallii (2016), Trapani^[15]
• Off Club (2018), Rome^[18]
• Elogio del grigio (2023), Castiglione delle Stiviere^[27]

• Official website