- Assistant professor in architectural history, Politecnico di Torinoedit
“Many would consider a country without building materials uninhabitable.” With these words, Minister of Industry Gylfi Þorsteinsson Gíslason opened Iceland’s first and only cement plant in 1958. More than a century before, Portland cement... more
“Many would consider a country without building materials uninhabitable.” With these words, Minister of Industry Gylfi Þorsteinsson Gíslason opened Iceland’s first and only cement plant in 1958. More than a century before, Portland cement was first used as plaster on the walls of the Reykjavík cathedral. At the time, most rural and urban dwellings were still being built from local turf or expensive imported timber. Just a few decades later, Icelandic architects, engineers, and masons were building their country exclusively in concrete. How did this material become so popular that the first decades of the twentieth century are referred to as “the age of concrete”? The Icelandic Concrete Saga focuses on over one hundred years of Icelandic architecture, construction, and technology. It traces the history of an architecture in constant struggle with material scarcity and the natural elements, its outcomes intertwined with Icelandic politics, culture, and society.
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"Icelandic Farmhouses: Identity, Landscape and Construction (1790-1945)" retraces the history of Icelandic rural architecture between the late eighteenth century and the mid-twentieth century. Through the study of Icelandic rural... more
"Icelandic Farmhouses: Identity, Landscape and Construction (1790-1945)" retraces the history of Icelandic rural architecture between the late eighteenth century and the mid-twentieth century. Through the study of Icelandic rural buildings, this book narrates a very special history of architecture: one of adaptation and tradition, scarcity of building materials and transfers of knowledge with Europe. The history of Icelandic farmhouses is intermixed with construction issues, nationalistic debates, and a quest for a much-needed modernization of the standards of living. The book aims to retrace the role of modern building techniques in the development of Icelandic rural architecture and society.
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Questo saggio è dedicato alla vita e alle opere dell’architetto Adriano Marabini. Dagli anni di formazione presso la Reale Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, passando per le prime esperienze professionali durante il Ventennio, fino... more
Questo saggio è dedicato alla vita e alle opere dell’architetto Adriano Marabini. Dagli anni di formazione presso la Reale Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, passando per le prime esperienze professionali durante il Ventennio, fino all’intensa attività progettuale ed edilizia negli anni della ricostruzione, la lunga carriera di Marabini si intreccia con la sua vita personale, creando una complessa rete di relazioni che intercettano molti dei grandi temi dell’architettura italiana del Novecento. Tra questi, la costruzione di memoriali per la Grande Guerra e le architetture celebrative per il regime fascista, tra cui spicca la realizzazione della Casa del Fascio di Imola e alcuni progetti per servizi quali colonie montane e elioterapiche; i piani di ricostruzione urbana avviati nel secondo Dopoguerra, per i comuni di Camposanto (MO) e Solarolo (RA); i progetti di edilizia residenziale, dalle residenze private all’edilizia popolare del Villaggio “La Barca” di Bologna; l’architettura sacra postconciliare legata alla figura del cardinale Giacomo Lercaro; infine, la progettazione architettonica nell’Italia del boom, che include spazi per lo spettacolo, ovvero progetti e restauri di teatri e cinema, e spazi per il lavoro, quali stabilimenti industriali e uffici bancari. Se il baricentro geografico delle opere di Marabini ruota tra le città di Imola e Bologna, con realizzazioni che abbracciano anche la Romagna e le Marche, la sua esperienza tuttavia supera la dimensione locale e affronta tutte le grandi tappe del secolo breve. Ogni momento storico lascia infatti una traccia nella vita di Marabini: l’esperienza militare durante la Grande Guerra, l’affermarsi come professionista durante il regime fascista, il ruolo nei delicati anni della ricostruzione nel secondo Dopoguerra. Attraverso il ricco materiale documentario conservato presso l’Archivio Adriano Marabini della Cassa di Risparmio di Imola e grazie a una ricerca bibliografica specifica, questo saggio vuole tracciare un quadro della vita e della carriera dell’architetto. Inoltre, grazie alla presenza di documenti personali quali corrispondenza privata e fotografie, questa ricerca vuole dare voce non solo al professionista, ma anche all’uomo, con un duplice scopo: comprendere quanto le scelte di vita personale abbiano influenzato la sua opera architettonica, e collocare tale opera all’interno del più ampio quadro dell’architettura italiana del Novecento.
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L’edificio che ospita la Facoltà di Ingegneria dell’Università di Bologna, progettato da Giuseppe Vaccaro nel 1931–35, è insieme raffinata opera d’architettura, scomoda testimonianza del regime fascista, e complesso luogo del trauma a... more
L’edificio che ospita la Facoltà di Ingegneria dell’Università di Bologna, progettato da Giuseppe Vaccaro nel 1931–35, è insieme raffinata opera d’architettura, scomoda testimonianza del regime fascista, e complesso luogo del trauma a lungo rimosso. Moderno organismo funzionale, il complesso nasce come simbolo di una densa retorica politica e militarista. Dopo l’armistizio del 1943 l’edificio è occupato dalla Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana e utilizzato come ufficio politico investigativo, carcere e luogo di tortura. Superata la guerra, come accade in altre sedi pubbliche coeve, gli elementi architettonici e decorativi più controversi sono rimossi. Per decenni, inoltre, si tace sul biennio di violenze perpetrate nelle aule: solo nel 2016 è apposta una lapide nell’atrio, a ricordo di quegli avvenimenti. Il saggio ripercorre la storia pubblica dell’edificio, attraverso fonti a stampa e documenti d’archivio. Obiettivo principale è quello di indagare il rapporto tra architettura di regime e luogo contaminato, analizzando i processi di riconversione e rimozione, e i timidi tentativi di costruire una memoria dentro e intorno a un’importante sede dell’ateneo bolognese.
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By the early 1930s, Giuseppe Vaccaro (1896–1970) had emerged as a leading professional figure in the Italian architectural scene and was the author of three prominent public projects, built throughout the peninsula: the Palazzo delle... more
By the early 1930s, Giuseppe Vaccaro (1896–1970) had emerged as a leading professional figure in the Italian architectural scene and was the author of three prominent public projects, built throughout the peninsula: the Palazzo delle Poste in Naples (1931–36), the Faculty of Engineering in Bologna (1931–35), and the Colonia Marina “Sandro Mussolini” in Cesenatico (1936–38). Vaccaro seldom wrote about his own works and thus placed himself outside of the political debate on architecture shared by many of his contemporaries. On the contrary, his few words show that he was far more interested in the practical details and in the recent developments of building technology. As this chapter argues, this may be one of the reasons why, differently from other architectural legacies of the regime, soon after the war, Vaccaro’s buildings fell into the realm of the ordinary. Today, his projects are still living a silent and undebated life yet sometimes suffering from an even-more-soundless disregard.
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Il contributo analizza le tappe che hanno portato alla progettazione e alla costruzione della Manifattura Tabacchi di Bologna, tra il 1949 e il 1957, opera di Pier Luigi Nervi, con una particolare attenzione alle richieste della... more
Il contributo analizza le tappe che hanno portato alla progettazione e alla costruzione della Manifattura Tabacchi di Bologna, tra il 1949 e il 1957, opera di Pier Luigi Nervi, con una particolare attenzione alle richieste della committenza – i Monopoli di Stato – e alle tecniche costruttive adottate.
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A cinquant’anni dall’inaugurazione nel giugno 1969, questo saggio ripercorre la presenza nelle fonti a stampa del Cimitero Germanico Militare sul passo della Futa. Inserendo il progetto all’interno del più ampio dibattito relativo alle... more
A cinquant’anni dall’inaugurazione nel giugno 1969, questo saggio ripercorre la presenza nelle fonti a stampa del Cimitero Germanico Militare sul passo della Futa. Inserendo il progetto all’interno del più ampio dibattito relativo alle sepolture dei nemici nel secondo dopoguerra, il testo intende indagare le ragioni del lungo silenzio che per decenni ha avvolto il progetto, la costruzione e la presenza fisica del cimitero sull’Appennino tra Firenze e Bologna. Questa ricerca si basa, da un lato, su uno spoglio di testate a scala nazionale (Corriere della Sera, La Stampa) e locale (La Nazione, Il Resto del Carlino), al fine di analizzare come la stampa italiana abbia affrontato la costruzione dei cimiteri di guerra tedeschi a partire dagli anni Cinquanta. Dall’altro, il saggio vuole proporre una storia della critica architettonica sul cimitero alla Futa, sia italiana sia tedesca, al fine di comprendere la sorprendente indifferenza da parte della stampa specialistica e spiegare la recente riscoperta del progetto di Dieter Oesterlen.
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Fifty years after its inauguration in June 1969, this essay aims at retracing the presence of the Futa-pass German War Cemetery in print sources. By including this project within a wider debate on the Postwar burial of the enemies of war, this text investigates the reasons of the long silence that has surrounded for decades the project, the construction and the physical presence of this cemetery on the Apennines between Florence and Bologna. On one hand, this research is based on the analysis of Italian newspapers, both on a national scale (Corriere della Sera, La Stampa) and on a local scale (La Nazione, Il Resto del Carlino), in order to understand how the Italian press dealt with the construction of German war cemeteries since the 1950s. On the other hand, this paper offers a history of the Italian and German architectural critique on the Futa-pass cemetery, with the aim of understanding the surprising indifference of the architectural publications and explaining the recent rediscovery of Dieter Oesterlen’s project.
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Fifty years after its inauguration in June 1969, this essay aims at retracing the presence of the Futa-pass German War Cemetery in print sources. By including this project within a wider debate on the Postwar burial of the enemies of war, this text investigates the reasons of the long silence that has surrounded for decades the project, the construction and the physical presence of this cemetery on the Apennines between Florence and Bologna. On one hand, this research is based on the analysis of Italian newspapers, both on a national scale (Corriere della Sera, La Stampa) and on a local scale (La Nazione, Il Resto del Carlino), in order to understand how the Italian press dealt with the construction of German war cemeteries since the 1950s. On the other hand, this paper offers a history of the Italian and German architectural critique on the Futa-pass cemetery, with the aim of understanding the surprising indifference of the architectural publications and explaining the recent rediscovery of Dieter Oesterlen’s project.
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This paper explores some of the consequences of the 1973 oil crisis on Western industrial design. Between 1973 and 1974, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, designers reacted to the uncertainty caused by the energy crisis with an... more
This paper explores some of the consequences of the 1973 oil crisis on Western industrial design. Between 1973 and 1974, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, designers reacted to the uncertainty caused by the energy crisis with an unprecedented fascination for do-it-yourself solutions. This article discusses Victor Papanek and James Hennessay’s Nomadic furniture (1973–74) and Enzo Mari’s Proposta per un’autoprogettazione (1974), produced by Dino Gavina within the Simon International Metamobile series in the same year. The scope of this essay is to understand to what extent this sudden surge of interest in DIY furniture design, in the USA and in Italy, can be explained within the historical framework of the 1973 oil crisis.
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Lungo elenco di ruderi nel paesaggio o oggetto di trasformazioni più o meno aggressive, il patrimonio architettonico e immobiliare delle ex colonie per l’infanzia in Italia è eterogeneo per località, forme, tecniche costruttive e finalità... more
Lungo elenco di ruderi nel paesaggio o oggetto di trasformazioni più o meno aggressive, il patrimonio architettonico e immobiliare delle ex colonie per l’infanzia in Italia è eterogeneo per località, forme, tecniche costruttive e finalità originarie. Questo contributo intende tratteggiare, a grandi linee, l’attuale stato di conservazione delle più importanti colonie che costellano il territorio italiano. Evidenziando esempi di riuso virtuoso, criticità e stati di abbandono, il testo vuole sottolineare l’importante eredità architettonica e sociale delle ex colonie e il ruolo strategico che queste strutture possono ancora giocare nell’interesse della collettività.
A long series of ruins in the landscape or objects of transformations, the architectural heritage of former holiday camps for children in Italy is very heterogeneous in terms of locations, forms, construction techniques and original purposes. This contribution aims at retracing the current state of conservation of the most important holiday camps scattered along the Italian peninsula. By highlighting virtuous examples of reuse and critical states of abandonment, the essay aims at analyzing the importance of this architectural and social heritage, and the strategic role that former holiday camps can still play as public goods.
A long series of ruins in the landscape or objects of transformations, the architectural heritage of former holiday camps for children in Italy is very heterogeneous in terms of locations, forms, construction techniques and original purposes. This contribution aims at retracing the current state of conservation of the most important holiday camps scattered along the Italian peninsula. By highlighting virtuous examples of reuse and critical states of abandonment, the essay aims at analyzing the importance of this architectural and social heritage, and the strategic role that former holiday camps can still play as public goods.
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Questo saggio intende ripercorrere la complicata relazione che la società italiana ha instaurato con i segni tangibili del regime fascista nello spazio pubblico, dal dopoguerra a oggi, con una particolare attenzione al territorio... more
Questo saggio intende ripercorrere la complicata relazione che la società italiana ha instaurato con i segni tangibili del regime fascista nello spazio pubblico, dal dopoguerra a oggi, con una particolare attenzione al territorio dell’Emilia-Romagna. Si vuole valutare il modo in cui si affronta l’eredità materiale fascista intesa come patrimonio da salvaguardare e restaurare, la cui dimensione storica e politica è talvolta ridotta a canoni puramente estetici e tecnologici.
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This essay aims at retracing the complex relationship between the Italian society and the material heritage of the fascist regime in the public space since the end of the Second World War, with particular consideration regarding the area of the Emilia-Romagna region. The scope of the essay is to understand how the legacy of the fascist regime is now interpreted as a heritage to protect and restore, while its dissonant historical and political dimensions are often reduced to merely aesthetical and technological properties.
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This essay aims at retracing the complex relationship between the Italian society and the material heritage of the fascist regime in the public space since the end of the Second World War, with particular consideration regarding the area of the Emilia-Romagna region. The scope of the essay is to understand how the legacy of the fascist regime is now interpreted as a heritage to protect and restore, while its dissonant historical and political dimensions are often reduced to merely aesthetical and technological properties.
Research Interests:
This essay retraces the early uses of reinforced concrete construction in Iceland in the first decade of the twentieth century. Technical knowledge on reinforced concrete structures reached Iceland much later than other European countries... more
This essay retraces the early uses of reinforced concrete construction in Iceland in the first decade of the twentieth century. Technical knowledge on reinforced concrete structures reached Iceland much later than other European countries and it was deeply connected to the expertise acquired by the first generation of Icelandic engineers at the Polytechnic School of Copenhagen. This study investigates the adoption of the Hennebique patent by Danish and Icelandic professionals, with a case study of the Danish building firm Christiani & Nielsen. The Icelandic buildings where reinforced concrete was first used were not mere technical accomplishments but major cornerstones in the process towards the political and material independence of the country.
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Questo articolo ripercorre la storia delle visite al Cimitero militare germanico al Passo della Futa, progettato dall’architetto tedesco Dieter Oesterlen, a partire dalla sua inaugurazione nel giugno del 1969. Meta per commemorazioni e... more
Questo articolo ripercorre la storia delle visite al Cimitero militare germanico al Passo della Futa, progettato dall’architetto tedesco Dieter Oesterlen, a partire dalla sua inaugurazione nel giugno del 1969. Meta per commemorazioni e luogo del lutto per i familiari dei caduti, il cimitero è stato a lungo ignorato dalla popolazione locale, dalla stampa e dalla critica architettonica italiana. Negli ultimi due decenni, tuttavia, è avvenuta una riscoperta del monumento, che lo ha rivalutato come importante testimonianza di memoria storica per l’intera Linea Gotica.
This article retraces the history of the German Futa Pass War Cemetery as a travel destination. Designed by German architect Dieter Oesterlen, since its inauguration in June 1969 the cemetery has been the destination of many journeys undertaken by the relatives of the fallen soldiers, seeking for a place of remembrance and grief. For a long time the cemetery was disregarded by the local population and also by Italian architectural journals and the local press. However, a rediscovery of this monument has taken place over the last two decades, and the cemetery was reconsidered as a pivotal historical evidence for the whole territory of the Gothic Line.
This article retraces the history of the German Futa Pass War Cemetery as a travel destination. Designed by German architect Dieter Oesterlen, since its inauguration in June 1969 the cemetery has been the destination of many journeys undertaken by the relatives of the fallen soldiers, seeking for a place of remembrance and grief. For a long time the cemetery was disregarded by the local population and also by Italian architectural journals and the local press. However, a rediscovery of this monument has taken place over the last two decades, and the cemetery was reconsidered as a pivotal historical evidence for the whole territory of the Gothic Line.
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This essay focuses on the urban and architectural transformations that took place in the region of Romagna during the Fascist regime, with specific reference to the cases of Predappio, Forlì and Imola. Being the region where Benito... more
This essay focuses on the urban and architectural transformations that took place in the region of Romagna during the Fascist regime, with specific reference to the cases of Predappio, Forlì and Imola. Being the region where Benito Mussolini was born, Romagna was a centre of the Fascist propaganda that used monuments and urban renovations as political representations, with the double aim of defining a local architectural identity and creating a tight link – both physical and symbolic – with the city of Rome.
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The quick modernisation of Iceland, which took place rapidly from the first decades of the 20th century onwards, brought not only fishing trawlers and cars into the country. Among all the techniques of modernity, steinsteypa [concrete]... more
The quick modernisation of Iceland, which took place rapidly from the first decades of the 20th century onwards, brought not only fishing trawlers and cars into the country. Among all the techniques of modernity, steinsteypa [concrete] was to become the key material that changed the built landscape of the island and was soon adopted by the first Icelandic architects, such as Rögnvaldur Ólafsson (1874–1914) and Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950). Interestingly, the main supporter of this material was Guðmundur Hannesson (1866–1946), a medical doctor and town planning enthusiast who wrote several articles and even a guidebook published in 1921, Steinsteypa. Leiðarvísir fyrir alþýðu og viðvaninga [Concrete: A Guidebook for Common People and Beginners]. In a country that was seeking an architectural self-representation, he understood the technical and formal possibilities that concrete could offer. By analysing his articles and publications, this essay aims to discuss the rhetoric of Guðmundur Hannesson and his role in writing an Icelandic chapter of the history of concrete, from its early stage of unmodern trial-and-error to the definition of a modern Icelandic architecture.
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Erik Gunnar Asplund, written by Bruno Zevi and published by the Italian publisher Il Balcone, was the first Italian monograph on the work of the Swedish architect, born in 1885 and died in 1940, and one of the main authors of 20th Century... more
Erik Gunnar Asplund, written by Bruno Zevi and published by the Italian publisher Il Balcone, was the first Italian monograph on the work of the Swedish architect, born in 1885 and died in 1940, and one of the main authors of 20th Century Scandinavian architecture. This small yet in-depth work was part of a larger editorial project - the book series on «The Masters of the Modern Movement» -, edited by the Italian architects BBPR, that collected monographs on contemporary architects from the first publication in 1947 to the closure of the publishing house in 1964. Bruno Zevi’s book on Asplund was published one year after his well known monograph on Frank Lloyd Wright and it became the Italian main bibliographic reference regarding Asplund, whose name was still too much tied to the memory of the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930. Thus, the volume had the aim of overcoming some former wrong opinions on the Swedish architect, thanks to Bruno Zevi’s keen historiographic work and his readings of some earlier Italian critics that dated back to 1930s and the early 1940s. This paper aims to retrace the role of this volume in the Italian Postwar architectural critique and the special contribution by Bruno Zevi, both in the re-discovery of Asplund’s career and in the making of a historical connection between the works of Asplund and the rising of an organic architecture.
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While meat and dairy products are ubiquitous ingredients of the globe’s diet, the facilities that raise living beings to become goods for human consumption are usually kept out of the public eye. The apparently anonymous architecture of... more
While meat and dairy products are ubiquitous ingredients of the globe’s diet, the facilities that raise living beings to become goods for human consumption are usually kept out of the public eye. The apparently anonymous architecture of factory farming hides sophisticated technological systems and practices of biosecurity that seem to pertain more to the expertise of technicians and commercial contractors, than to the authorship of architects. One striking exception is Cedric Price’s unexecuted design for the Westpen (1977–79), a multifaceted corral for sheep and cattle commissioned by British businessman and politician Alistair McAlpine for his West Green House estate at Hartley Wintney (Hampshire, England). The documents related to this project, now collected in the Cedric Price Fonds at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, illustrate the complexity behind an apparently ordinary design. Tasked with the necessity of understanding more about animal behavior, as well as obtaining information on technical equipment, Price collected an extraordinary variety of sources – commercial flyers, handbooks, interviews – to answer his many questions on how to create a structure addressed at livestock. These documents mirror a specific moment in time when, despite the emergence of the animal liberation movement, animal farming was increasingly transitioning to the intensive factory system which we know today – a realm of machineries and rationality which objectifies individual animals and transforms them into commodities. By analyzing Price’s archival documents on the Westpen, the talk aims at shedding some light on the design process behind the spaces for animal farming and questions the designers’ role and agency towards the creation of industrialized forms of life. This talk is part of a larger project titled Cages for non-humans: An architectural history of animal farming, developed during a two-month residency at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in 2023.
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Seminario italo-francese a cura di Nathan Brenu (ENSA Nantes), Gloria Pessina & Oana Tiganea (DAStU, Politecnico di Milano)
Meat and dairy products are ubiquitous ingredients in the globe’s diet. However, the buildings that transform living beings into commodities are usually hidden from the public eye. The architecture of factory farming may seem anonymous... more
Meat and dairy products are ubiquitous ingredients in the globe’s diet. However, the buildings that transform living beings into commodities are usually hidden from the public eye. The architecture of factory farming may seem anonymous and banal, and yet it is made possible by sophisticated technologies and practices of biosecurity. How was the design of intensive animal farming promoted and applied to a great number of species throughout the twentieth century? Sofia Nannini investigates the history of this invisible architecture, which has sustained the great acceleration of our species in the last two centuries and has imposed our dominion on billions of non-humans.
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This proposal aims at retracing the early history of Aktiebolaget Skånska cementgjuteriet, founded in Lomma, near Malmö, in 1887. AB Skånska was Sweden’s first company producing cement and the first reinforced concrete contractor in the... more
This proposal aims at retracing the early history of Aktiebolaget Skånska cementgjuteriet, founded in Lomma, near Malmö, in 1887. AB Skånska was Sweden’s first company producing cement and the first reinforced concrete contractor in the country. The company played a pivotal role in disseminating technical knowledge regarding concrete construction, not only in Sweden but also in Finland and Russia, by extending its trade network all over the Baltic Sea – generating what is one of the world’s largest construction firms today. AB Skånska promoted the construction of countless public and private buildings, as well as infrastructures and industries. At the turn of the century, it was the official Swedish contractor for the Hennebique patent. Furthermore, the company played a key role as a construction hub which fostered a dialogue among professionals, such as engineers and entrepreneurs, creating commercial and technical connections between Sweden and Europe. Not only did AB Skånska publish several texts to advertise the company’s activities, but it also promoted field research on Sweden’s concrete construction challenges.
This proposal builds on archival research conducted at the National Library of Sweden, at the Royal Institute of Technology and at the Tekniska Museet in Stockholm. The chronological timeframe connects 1887, the year of the company’s foundation, and 1941, when a major exhibition on concrete was held at the Tekniska Museet in Stockholm, marking the breakthrough of concrete popularity in Sweden’s building culture.
This proposal builds on archival research conducted at the National Library of Sweden, at the Royal Institute of Technology and at the Tekniska Museet in Stockholm. The chronological timeframe connects 1887, the year of the company’s foundation, and 1941, when a major exhibition on concrete was held at the Tekniska Museet in Stockholm, marking the breakthrough of concrete popularity in Sweden’s building culture.
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Quali tracce materiali lascia una dittatura dietro di sé, dopo la sua caduta? Architetture pubbliche, monumenti, lapidi, odonomastica: i segni del regime fascista di Benito Mussolini in Italia sono numerosi e, a partire dalla fine della... more
Quali tracce materiali lascia una dittatura dietro di sé, dopo la sua caduta? Architetture pubbliche, monumenti, lapidi, odonomastica: i segni del regime fascista di Benito Mussolini in Italia sono numerosi e, a partire dalla fine della Seconda guerra, sono stati al centro di contestazioni, dibattiti, tentativi di distruzione e convivenza. Questo incontro ha l’obiettivo di indagare il rapporto che la società italiana ha instaurato con l’eredità materiale del regime fascista, adottando la definizione di difficult heritage coniata da Sharon Macdonald nel 2009.
Ciclo di seminari "Storie di architettura del Novecento", a cura di Stefano Mais, Università degli Studi di Cagliari
Ciclo di seminari "Storie di architettura del Novecento", a cura di Stefano Mais, Università degli Studi di Cagliari
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"L’altra villa: La casa di riposo per le madri e le vedove di guerra (1937–43)", intervento all'interno del convegno "L'Olimpo sopra Bologna. Villa Aldini e la collina sacra dell'Osservanza", 25–26–27 novembre 2022, Bologna un progetto a... more
"L’altra villa: La casa di riposo per le madri e le vedove di guerra (1937–43)", intervento all'interno del convegno "L'Olimpo sopra Bologna. Villa Aldini e la collina sacra dell'Osservanza", 25–26–27 novembre 2022, Bologna
un progetto a cura di Enrica Sangiovanni e Gianluca Guidotti
coordinamento scientifico di Marcella Culatti
in collaborazione con Elena Pirazzoli
un progetto a cura di Enrica Sangiovanni e Gianluca Guidotti
coordinamento scientifico di Marcella Culatti
in collaborazione con Elena Pirazzoli
Research Interests:
This proposal aims at retracing the history of the Palazzo della Ragione in Ferrara, rebuilt during the postwar years according to the design of Marcello Piacentini. The research will specifically focus on the aesthetic and political... more
This proposal aims at retracing the history of the Palazzo della Ragione in Ferrara, rebuilt during the postwar years according to the design of Marcello Piacentini. The research will specifically focus on the aesthetic and political debates generated by the building and on the pivotal role played by Piacentini, thanks to the extensive body of documents collected at the Biblioteca di Scienze Tecnologiche of the University of Florence and at the City Archives of Ferrara.
AISU, Adaptive Cities Through the Postpandemic Lens, Torino, 6-10 settembre 2022, Session 4.20: Palazzi resilienti. L’architettura civica come specchio e strumento dell’adattabilità urbana (secoli XVIII-XX) / Resilient Palaces. Civic architecture as a mirror and tool of urban adaptability (18th-20th centuries)
AISU, Adaptive Cities Through the Postpandemic Lens, Torino, 6-10 settembre 2022, Session 4.20: Palazzi resilienti. L’architettura civica come specchio e strumento dell’adattabilità urbana (secoli XVIII-XX) / Resilient Palaces. Civic architecture as a mirror and tool of urban adaptability (18th-20th centuries)
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Seminario all'interno del ciclo di lezioni "Archivia – lezioni dagli archivi di architettura", a cura di Lorenzo Mingardi e Simone Barbi, Università degli Studi di Firenze, 2022 La lezione è disponibile qui:... more
Seminario all'interno del ciclo di lezioni "Archivia – lezioni dagli archivi di architettura", a cura di Lorenzo Mingardi e Simone Barbi, Università degli Studi di Firenze, 2022
La lezione è disponibile qui:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehR5PWOCGrI&t=431s
La lezione è disponibile qui:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehR5PWOCGrI&t=431s
Research Interests:
Visite guidate tra le architetture di Glauco e Giuliano Gresleri a Bologna, 15–16–17 luglio 2021, a cura di Luigi Bartolomei, Marianna Gaetani e Sofia Nannini. Evento promosso dal Centro Studi Cherubino Ghirardacci.... more
Visite guidate tra le architetture di Glauco e Giuliano Gresleri a Bologna, 15–16–17 luglio 2021, a cura di Luigi Bartolomei, Marianna Gaetani e Sofia Nannini. Evento promosso dal Centro Studi Cherubino Ghirardacci.
http://www.ghirardacci.org/iniziative.asp#42
http://www.ghirardacci.org/iniziative.asp#42
Research Interests:
Tre ricerche recenti di storia della costruzione / Bruxelles, Reykjavík, Firenze Politecnico di Milano, Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Architettonici e del Paesaggio. Seminario di Storia della costruzione 2021, a cura di Edoardo... more
Tre ricerche recenti di storia della costruzione / Bruxelles, Reykjavík, Firenze
Politecnico di Milano, Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Architettonici e del Paesaggio. Seminario di Storia della costruzione 2021, a cura di Edoardo Piccoli
8 giugno 2021 | h. 9–13.00 | aula virtuale
Politecnico di Milano, Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Architettonici e del Paesaggio. Seminario di Storia della costruzione 2021, a cura di Edoardo Piccoli
8 giugno 2021 | h. 9–13.00 | aula virtuale
Research Interests:
PhD defence at Politecnico di Torino, 19/04/2021
Cultures of the North: Histories of Architecture intends to publish innovative studies on the architectural cultures of Northern Europe. For centuries considered on the fringes of the Western world, Northern civilizations have developed... more
Cultures of the North: Histories of Architecture intends to publish innovative studies on the architectural cultures of Northern Europe. For centuries considered on the fringes of the Western world, Northern civilizations have developed architectural languages, forms and techniques that emerged from peculiar environmental and climatic conditions, material needs and specific urban models. Northern Europe was an area of migrations and settlements, clashes, contacts and exchange among Germanic, Arctic, British and Slavic populations. Between the nineteenth and twentieth century, architecture became a tool to underscore specific local, national, and even international characters, from national romanticism to neo-vernacular movements, until the emergence of modernism. Cultures of the North aims at disseminating the many architectural cultures of Northern Europe among academic and non-academic readers. It intends to publish both original research projects and translations into English of key studies only available in the Nordic languages. Its publications will share a historical-critical point of view on architecture and the city from the Middle Ages until today.
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A book series published by Firenze University Press
Promoters:
Mario Bevilacqua, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”
Sofia Nannini, Università degli Studi di Firenze/Università di Bologna
Advisory board:
Antonello Alici, Università Politecnica delle Marche
Michael Asgaard Andersen, Royal Danish Academy
Mari Lending, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design
Johan Mårtelius, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Atli Magnus Seelow, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Sofia Singler, University of Cambridge
Saverio Sturm, Università di Roma Tre
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A book series published by Firenze University Press
Promoters:
Mario Bevilacqua, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”
Sofia Nannini, Università degli Studi di Firenze/Università di Bologna
Advisory board:
Antonello Alici, Università Politecnica delle Marche
Michael Asgaard Andersen, Royal Danish Academy
Mari Lending, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design
Johan Mårtelius, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Atli Magnus Seelow, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Sofia Singler, University of Cambridge
Saverio Sturm, Università di Roma Tre
Research Interests:
In Italy alone, dozens of abandoned holiday camps for children are scattered throughout the landscape. The size and diffusion of this heritage calls for a scientific debate on the history and future of these buildings, which are often in... more
In Italy alone, dozens of abandoned holiday camps for children are scattered throughout the landscape. The size and diffusion of this heritage calls for a scientific debate on the history and future of these buildings, which are often in a state of serious decay. From Alpine valleys to coastlines, former holiday camps for children tell a long story of educational, architectural, health and social experimentation, which has influenced generations of Europeans in the last 150 years. Holiday camps were hosted in traditional or modern structures, built from long-lasting materials such as reinforced concrete or temporary camping tents. Whatever their nature, holiday camps have left both physical and intangible traces on the European landscape and society. With this issue, in_bo engages in a debate on the history of holiday camps in Europe between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular consideration of contemporary reuse and restoration strategies of this architectural heritage.
Research Interests:
Negli ultimi anni, dal Sudafrica agli Stati Uniti, dal Belgio all’Inghilterra, fino a dilagare per tutta l’Europa, sono sorti diversi movimenti – si pensi a Black Lives Matter – per la rimozione di statue e monumenti percepiti come... more
Negli ultimi anni, dal Sudafrica agli Stati Uniti, dal Belgio all’Inghilterra, fino a dilagare per tutta l’Europa, sono sorti diversi movimenti – si pensi a Black Lives Matter – per la rimozione di statue e monumenti percepiti come simboli di un passato in cui non ci si può più identificare e da cui è necessario prendere le distanze. Questo volume, nato da un dossier della rivista «E-Review», cerca di declinare le peculiarità locali del dibattito: cosa accade in Italia e in particolare nella regione Emilia-Romagna? Si possono ritrovare anche in questo territorio dei nodi memoriali, figure o monumenti attorno ai quali si sono sollevati scontri, contestazioni, discussioni? Seguendo un percorso cronologico che dalla seconda metà dell’Ottocento si snoda per tutto il Novecento e arriva a oggi, vengono presentati diversi casi di statue innalzate, contestate, difese o dimenticate, mettendo in luce il ruolo – in continuo divenire – che questi simboli assumono nello spazio pubblico.
Research Interests:
Numero monografico di in_bo, vol. 10, n. 14 (2019) GLAUCO GRESLERI (1930–2016). PAROLE, PROGETTI, RELAZIONI A cura di Luigi Bartolomei, Marianna Gaetani e Sofia Nannini Full issue: https://in_bo.unibo.it/issue/view/810/showToc Una... more
Numero monografico di in_bo, vol. 10, n. 14 (2019)
GLAUCO GRESLERI (1930–2016). PAROLE, PROGETTI, RELAZIONI
A cura di Luigi Bartolomei, Marianna Gaetani e Sofia Nannini
Full issue: https://in_bo.unibo.it/issue/view/810/showToc
Una raccolta di saggi e ricerche, a firma di studiosi italiani e non, che inseriscono l'opera di Gresleri all'interno di molteplici questioni legate alla Storia dell'Architettura italiana (ed europea) del secondo Novecento. Il volume racchiude anche una ricca documentazione tratta dall'archivio privato del progettista.
GLAUCO GRESLERI (1930–2016). PAROLE, PROGETTI, RELAZIONI
A cura di Luigi Bartolomei, Marianna Gaetani e Sofia Nannini
Full issue: https://in_bo.unibo.it/issue/view/810/showToc
Una raccolta di saggi e ricerche, a firma di studiosi italiani e non, che inseriscono l'opera di Gresleri all'interno di molteplici questioni legate alla Storia dell'Architettura italiana (ed europea) del secondo Novecento. Il volume racchiude anche una ricca documentazione tratta dall'archivio privato del progettista.
Research Interests:
This paper deals with the urban development of Reykjavík during the first half of the 20th century, with particular attention to building techniques and their influence in the construction of a modern capital city for Iceland. By... more
This paper deals with the urban development of Reykjavík during the first half of the 20th century, with particular attention to building techniques and their influence in the construction of a modern capital city for Iceland. By analysing its first building codes (issued in 1903 and in 1945) and some examples of residential typologies built in that same period, this research highlights the special role that concrete played in the growth and modernisation of Reykjavík.
Research Interests:
In 1939, Iceland’s State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950) filed a patent for the “Improvements in or relating to Treating the Surfaces of Buildings and other Structures, particularly of Concrete”. Known as steining in Icelandic,... more
In 1939, Iceland’s State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950) filed a patent for the “Improvements in or relating to Treating the Surfaces of Buildings and other Structures, particularly of Concrete”. Known as steining in Icelandic, the technique had already been used in Reykjavík for a few years, developed by several local builders working for the State Architect. This Icelandic version of pebbledash, whose outcomes were “a very neat appearance” of “already built buildings and other structures, particularly of concrete” and a greater resistance against the “rigorous climatic conditions”, was to cover almost all concrete surfaces of Reykjavík until the late 1950s. The technique consisted in the application of a layer of stone fragments on a thin layer of cement mortar, manually applied, with the help of a trowel. Steining could hide the inaccuracies of concrete surfaces, and it was also a protection against the cold Icelandic climate. Furthermore, steining had visual outcomes: on the one hand, the use of local aggregates such as quartz and obsidian generated a concrete polychromy that spanned from darker to lighter shades; on the other, such fragments became an architectural mirror of the Icelandic geology and, consequently, a built ode to the island’s natural landscape.
Research Interests:
On 12 February 2021, the CHG held its first one-day symposium open to its members and the general public. Speakers had been invited from the members of the CHG who presented in four thematic sessions; each session was coordinated by a CHG... more
On 12 February 2021, the CHG held its first one-day symposium open to its members and the general public. Speakers had been invited from the members of the CHG who presented in four thematic sessions; each session was coordinated by a CHG member and an external discussant.
Research Interests:
A review of Antoine Picon, The Materiality of Architecture. Minneapolis and London: Minnesota University Press, 2020.
Research Interests:
È la prima guerra mondiale (blessað stríðið, la guerra benedetta) a portare la prosperità in Islanda e a sollecitare l’impiego del calcestruzzo per sostituire i casali di torba. Grazie all’attività dell’ufficio tecnico della... more
È la prima guerra mondiale (blessað stríðið, la guerra benedetta) a portare la prosperità in Islanda e a sollecitare l’impiego del calcestruzzo per sostituire i casali di torba. Grazie all’attività dell’ufficio tecnico della Búnaðarbankinn, fondato nel 1929, la costruzione di residenze rurali fu progressivamente gestita in maniera centralizzata, al fine di fornire progetti standard per abitazioni e fattorie, firmati da tecnici e da realizzarsi in calcestruzzo. Il risultato fu una vera e propria rivoluzione materiale e sociale che trasformò per sempre la tradizione architettonica islandese, portando al definitivo abbandono delle costruzioni in torba che da secoli avevano accompagnato la vita quotidiana dell’isola. Il presente contributo intende analizzare il modo in cui Halldór Laxness osserva e descrive tali politiche e il loro segno tangibile lasciato sul territorio islandese in Gente indipendente (Iperborea, 2004). L’idea del valligiano Bjartur di costruirsi una casa in muratura all’inizio del Novecento è una decisione di grande portata, un progetto dispendioso che stimola le fantasie dei figli e le manie di grandezza di un contadino e di un popolo intero, ma che si scontra con condizioni ambientali impietose e con una sostanziale imperizia delle maestranze. Il racconto dell’edificazione stride con la descrizione della dimora di torba con cui si apre Gente indipendente: oscillando tra nostalgia per il passato e speranze per un futuro migliore, per Laxness le nuove costruzioni in calcestruzzo sembrano essere al tempo stesso una promessa di modernità e “rovine di un edificio bombardato in guerra”.
Research Interests:
Barns and warehouses for animal farming are some of the most common buildings in human landscapes at a global scale. Yet, these typologies are seemingly invisible, hiding at their core an industrial process which transforms living beings... more
Barns and warehouses for animal farming are some of the most common buildings in human landscapes at a global scale. Yet, these typologies are seemingly invisible, hiding at their core an industrial process which transforms living beings into commodities. The architecture of factory farming is largely anonymous, unsophisticated, and banal. However, it can be interpreted as the place of the utmost colonial project: that of human domination on non-human species. What are the historical roots of intensive animal farming and how did it become such a popular paradigm at a global level? Which technical literature (handbooks, publications) and what models supported the widespread application of factory farming to a great number of species and in different contexts? This talk aims at investigating the history of this invisible architecture, which has long sustained the development of our species since the industrial revolution and has tragically imposed our dominion on a vast majority of living beings on earth. This talk will discuss the research results of a two-month residency at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (July-August 2023) and the research project titled "Cages for non-humans: An architectural history of animal farming". The research will be based on archival documents owned by the CCA collection, which will allow me to trace the history of animal farming in North America and the twentieth-century architectural experimentations concerning this agro-industrial model. During the talk, I will put forward a few interpretations of the architectural model for animal farming. First, I argue that the architecture designed to host non-humans who are destined for production and slaughter swings between an aesthetic unsophistication and an utmost technological refinement, as it comprises complex machineries which limit the movements of the animals to maximize the economic results. When allowed, the movement of animals must follow strict rules; this is evident in a design case study collected at the CCA: the Westpen project by Cedric Price (1977–79), which includes several diagrammatic sketches controlling livestock movement for activities such as weighing, shearing, and cleaning (CCA Collection, Cedric Price fonds). Furthermore, I suggest that the limitation of livestock movement through architecture is aimed at transforming non-human entities into disabled bodies that are unfit for existence and ready for consumption (Taylor 2017). Finally, I touch upon the silent but pervading presence of the structures for animal farming on today’s industrial landscapes, where they act as efficient machineries that produce capitalistic goods and eject bones, liquids, and gasses – generating clear geological evidence of the Anthropocene.
Keywords: Animal farming; architecture; industrial landscapes; livestock; machines
References:
Alex Blanchette, Porkopolis: American Animality, Standardized Life, and the Factory Farm, Durham: Duke University Press, 2020.
Christophe Bonneuil, Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, The Shock of the Anthropocene. The Earth, History and Us, London: Verso Books, 2016.
Sunaura Taylor, Beasts of Burden, New York: New Press, 2017.
Keywords: Animal farming; architecture; industrial landscapes; livestock; machines
References:
Alex Blanchette, Porkopolis: American Animality, Standardized Life, and the Factory Farm, Durham: Duke University Press, 2020.
Christophe Bonneuil, Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, The Shock of the Anthropocene. The Earth, History and Us, London: Verso Books, 2016.
Sunaura Taylor, Beasts of Burden, New York: New Press, 2017.