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.
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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.