ABUBAKR H. ALI ARCHITECTURAL P O R T F O L I O
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Professional Projects
Academic Work
CONTENTS 01
Patrons of a Ritual
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Nile Hotel
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Work/Live Paradox
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Typo(logical) Corrections
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Omdurman Media City
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Soba Farm Complex
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The Signet
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KOC Desert Camp
Learning from Food 3.0 | GSAPP, Columbia University
Hostipality | University of Khartoum
Paradoxical Efficiencies | GSAPP, Columbia University
Typological Corrections in Alcorcon | GSAPP, Columbia University
Urban Design | University of Khartoum
Farm Complex | ACE Consutants
Luxury Condominium | Page Southerland Page
International Competition | Page Southerland Page
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01 PATRONS OF A RITUAL | DATE:
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June 2016 Speculative Studio GSAPP, Columbia University Joaquim Moreno
“Learning from Food is the encounter of the learning from what surround us attitude that transformed our relation with modernity, with a particular subject that breaches the division between inside and outside: Food; that portion of what surrounds us that we put in our mouths in order to construct ourselves. This outside that is consumed through the mouth is both nature and culture, which makes food a very problematic descriptor of both our objectivity and our subjectivity.” Joaquim Moreno My interest in ritual is highly is influenced by my interest in testing the extremes of architecture’s influence on the behaviour of its inhabitants. Operating across a number of scales, MOUTH, TABLE, KITCHEN and CITY; this project is a meditation on the symmetrical relationship between the everday practice of rituals, the consumption of foot and the spaces that facilitate and influence the our adherence to these rituals. With this in mind I addressed my studio research towards the exploration of the role of ritual in our daily routines and its resonance within our spatial considerations. to this end I designated one of the most practiced food rituals, one familiar to me, Iftar, as the main topic of my research.
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Heirarchy of the Iftar meal
Mining the intrinsic hierarchies embedded and on display in the act of “IFTAR� (breaking fast) during Ramadan I designed an architecture that would accentuate this ritualistic fervor and perhaps re-think the relationship between architecture and ritual spaces. Envisioned as a series of episodic spaces operating across a set time line, (before sunset) when muslims break their fast, the project heightens the spiritual process of preparing food as a personal indulgence in spirituality and then celebrates it by designating shared spaces for the consumption of the food, at times disrupting hierarchy at other times, highlighting it. 6
| Studies of the Juilia Child Cooking show
Re-adjusted food Pyramid
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| Unfolded Plan
The project consists of rooms representing the key stages of meal preparation which are isolated. As patrons will prepare the food in the order of Choosing, Re-shaping, Cooking and Containing. Each choice, within each room directly affects the choices made within the next rooms. The isolation is not complete as the natural light within the rooms is calibrated using small openenings that are designed to lose all light and hence operational capacity at a certain time from sunset. The isolation coupled with the each rooms’ design being tailored to a singular function effectivley ritualizes these banal steps in food preparation. The awarness of the limitied capability of the room the consequention nature of the choices made within the room will levy the importance of the task in the patron’s mind. 9
| Patrons Movement Pattern
| Open vs Closed Event
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Embedded within the “unseen” (poche) spaces of the building are feedback systems. These are involvedi n every process of
the food production. Within the room where the food is to be reshaped, large screens loop film of cooking shows, displaying to the patron the myriad of options available to them. Thousands of cutting, gouging and scraping implements further complicate the task of reshaping the food.
HVAC ducts transfer cooking fumes from the ovens to the other rooms, enticing the patrons of the possibilities ahead. Further testing the spirituality of the patrons the fumes are loaded with expectation and consequently anticipation or
disappointment. As the meal is rolled onto a trolly out to the “public space” the patrons emerge into the share consuming
area. The stair leading to the space shifts from ramps to stairs, moving patrons at different speeds, confusing the sequential order with which the meal was prepared.
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Ritual Space Axonometric
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The Public Space
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NILE HOTEL | DATE:
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April 2012 Nile Hotel Khartoum Sudan Ahmed Abdulla
Meandering through Khartoum, the river Nile, much like the Thames in London or Seine in France, offers sweeping views of the city from its banks. The Nile Hotel was an exercise in orchestrating the flow of spaces and shaping the environments that guarantee the maximum enjoyment of the views afforded from the hotel rooms and facilities. The design aims to reconstruct, reform and re-frame the views available from the northern banks of the Nile. Given the prime location of the site it became imperative to take advantage of the beautiful views that can be obtained from such a privileged position on the nile front. The initial concept experimented with the idea of unobstructed views. This idea revolved around bringing the user to a position whereupon their view of the nile will not be obstructed but framed. To that end I proposed a method to emulate an effect of “soaring� whereupon the guest, from whatever room or function will be free to observe the Nile.
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ELEVATION: Hotel Suites
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SECTION: Multi-purpose rooms
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Work/Live Building
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WORK/LIVE PARADOX | DATE:
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September 2016 Speculative Studio New York City Marc Tsurumaki
“The building sustains the euphoria of the startup. Cheap flexible work/live units are occupied by hungry entrepreneurs, keen on fresh disruptive ideas. Open and exposed to the critical eyes of business colleagues and immersed in an environment rich with diverse influence; professionals from diverse working backgrounds mingle, share services and professional expertise. A sustained production level is necessary to develop and harvest new and unconventional ideas. The extreme reciprocity hybridizes businesses into mutant operations, exploiting niche markets and providing new revenue streams for the residents. However, the building is an ecosystem. Always in balance. The residents operate within a strict contract of reciprocity. Everyone is useful. There is an impetus to share skills, knowledge and services. The system is always in balance. There is no surplus and no shortage, every resident does their part, fulfilling an exact production rate in the ecosystem. Deficit of production hinders reciprocity, leading to eviction. Surplus of production disturbs the balance, leading to eviction. Productivity is capped. Hard work is unnecessary. Leisure calibrates production. Leisure is necessary, rather it is crucial to mitigate excessive production. The result is a mania to have fun.
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F.A.R
F.A.R + Public Space
Kitchen + Fabrication
Kitchen + Fabrication +
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Through block Corridor
Office
Cumalative Block
WORKING KITCHEN FABRICATION OFFICE
The dominant “work spaces� within the building are designed to specification, each block designed to accomodate and perform activities related to small business. Activities such as food prep, fabrication and office work. The act as supplementary workspaces to an work/live condition 25
The Dual condition of work/live is most exacerbated within the office block. The duality of an apartment and open floor office plan blur the
lines between shared business environment, personal business space and living space. It muddies the separation between life an work mirroring a condition now prominent in our lives
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04 TYP(OLOGICAL) CORRECTIONS | DATE:
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January 2017 Typological Corrections in Alcorcon GSAPP, Columbia University Juan Herreros
Tasked with investigating the industrial zone of Alcorcon we looked for areas of interest where perhaps our interventions could yield the most interesting typologies. Instead we, gravitated to the areas of most disinterest. Empty, abandoned unoccupied lots, that represented not just gaps within the urban fabric but were somehow representative of lack of action, ability or imagination. We set ourselves the task of working within the largest and most problematic of these gaps. We carried out a set of typological adjustments testing the malleability of the existing residential typologies and their capability to transform into complex typologies that could host programs such as housing or commerce. Repetition is a perhaps the binding essence of typology, it reinforces the structure of a family of types. We set about repeating what we have learnt from our test on existing typologies, putting to the test the reproducibility of the types we had created anew. The question of type? Our operations of adjusting, repetition and subversion were a way for us to qualify how we create types. Can type transcend program and form?
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EXISTING + INTERVENTION SITE PLAN These investigations yielded possible transformations, their nature embedded within the elements at hand, and through a number of steps we set out to test these new typologies, creating a new addition to the non-linear tradition of the residential/industrial typology. The empty lot provided an immediate testing ground for our new types. We set about introducing these types onto the lot. 32
Infill
Extension
Addition
Penetration 33
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SECTION: Infiltrating Structure
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Idea Panel
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05 OMDURMAN MEDIA CITY | DATE:
July 2013 Urban Design Omdurman Sudan Ibrahim Zakaria
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The Omdurman Media City located in the western part of Sudan’s capital city Khartoum. I envisioned the project as an opportunity to connect the existing vernacular of Urban design in Sudan with the proposal for a new Media City to accommodate the growing media industry. An exercise in urban observations, urban development studies and ultimately urban design; the Media City Design is inspired by international discourse on Urban design but guided by local techniques and ideas. The Media City reconciles the two sectors of media Production and media Consumption. The private and the Public. This project explores and experiments with solutions to mesh these sectors into a coherent, innovative and interesting design. To include all the ideas I had considered for the project into perspective and to make meaningful, connections, categorise and develop them I opted for a panel to display these ideas. My next step was to find connections between them and to elaborate each idea further, ideas begot more ideas. I set about conducting a close survey of local urban artefacts, diagramming and rigoursly study existing urban norms to inform the streetscape design of the project. My surveys took me to Omdurman Market, a live example of the local contemporary urban condition in Omdurman, Sudan.
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Arcades offer shade, buffer and an opportunity to transition access to buildings
Covered alleyways help users move around, informal commerce adds a human element to the pathways
Small scale commerce in intimate spaces adds depth to the links between commerce and individuals
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Urban anomalies in city planning create opportunities for impromptu open space, commercial activity and respite from the elements
To successfully increase the density of usage a balance must be struck between street proportions and methods of access to buildings, such as steps or overhangs
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Sketch - Road Network Study
Sketch -Mobility Routes Study
Sketch - Landscape Patterns
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ROADS The Planned highway is diverted to a tunnel running under the site thereby connecting the site to the existing urban fabric
Mobility Routes Predicted urban “Honey Pots” determine the most usedpaths by visitors of the site. These are extricably linked with commercial and residential centres
Landscape Predicted urban “Honey Pots” determine the most usedpaths by visitors of the site. These are extricably linked with commercial and residential centres
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MEDIA CITY MASTERPLAN 48
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Media City Bird Eye View 50
Media City Public Complex
Designed with the intent to cater to both the public and private aspects of the media the Media City was divided into two main sectors that blended into each other but managed to keep private and public life separate. Inspired by urban strategies found in local markets and Sudanese cities the Media city blends seamlessly into the urban fabric. The open spaces, road networks and private block were all designed utilising tactics that related geographically to Sudabese design norms. The Public area was designed to interact actiley
with the Nile front. Creating clear sightlines to the sea the project experiments with progressive sense of openess that culminates at
the Nile front. This strategy was utilised to create a natural flow of the public from the center of the media city towards the more open and engaging river front.
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PRIVATE SECTOR LONGITUDINAL SECTION
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Consisting of news agency’s offices, commercial space and production space the private sector of the Media City provided a great opportunity to experiment in the spatial chemistry between corporate, commercial and public spaces. Experimenting with courtyards, alleyways and open spaces the buildings were designed to provide an overall feeling of inclusion and ease of access. The Private sector utilises large floor slabs as continous open floor office spaces. These are interrupted by intermittently placed light wells that bring much needed sunlight into the office space. The light wells create a natural division of spaces as collaborative space aggregates towards the open light wells while private spaces recede backeards intot the buildings. The alleys that run through the building also give the oppurtunity for mixed uses to develop, such as small shops and cafes. 53
Main Building Elevation 54
06 SOBA FARM COMPLEX | DATE:
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December 2013-July 2014 ACE Consutlants Khartoum Sudan Urban Design + Residential
The Soba Farm Complex was a large project commisioned by a private client to ACE Constultants. Operating on multiple scales the project was an ambitious attempt to convert the large empty strip (900m x 70m) to a private retreat, complete with a residential villa, landscaped grounds and a Nile terrace. Laden with cultural references, symbolism along with complex spatial requirements; the Soba Farm allowed me to closely study and produce culturally referential architecture. Excavating cultural refrences associated with Nubian architecure, I expreimented with creating a hybridized version of Nubian and Contemporary sub-saharan architecure. The program for the project included a significant residential component. This required a thorough understanding of not just the Nubian symbolic references but also the social context that governed Sudanese living patterns. Working as Project architect I supervised the design development and later on the construction of the project. Through my work and alongside my collegues at the practice, we aimed to construct an architecture that responded to both a historical context at the same time expressing a contemporary Sudanese identity both in a social and aesthetic sense.
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SOBA Farm Complex Master Plan
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Main Building Floor Plan
Short Section
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Elevation: Nubian Facade Arch
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Plaster Cutting Working with local crafts men and artisans to develop the necessary techniques for the construction of the Nubian arches.
Nubian Arches A signature feature of the project, the Nubian arches served a role that corresponded directly to its historical reference. Traditionally employed to signify and decorate entrances, the arches in the project took on a contemporary identity in its construction, however stayed faithful to its original reference. The arches are constructed of chicken wire mesh, welded to steel rods embedded in the Main Villa fairfaced brick facade. The mesh is finished with 5cm thick layer of plaster. The complexity of the patterns applied on the arch required my supervision. I was tasked with outlining the exact dimensions of the patterns on the still wet plaster to make it easier for the plasteres to then create the deep indents that form the geometric patterns. 60
Main Gate Arch Framework
Initial Plaster Application
Final Plaster Application + Decoration
Finished Main Gate Arch
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RESE 62
EARCH 63
AGONISM AND ARCHITECTURAL COMMUNICATION A BOOK OF INTERVIEWS Directed by Cristina Goberna Pesudo Edited by Abubakr Ali, Giovanni Cozzani, Ali Fouladi, Stephanie Hamilton, Jarrett Ley, Andrew Luy, and Gabriel Ruis-Larrea Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Spring 2017
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AGONISM & ARCHITECTURAL COMMMUNICATION | DATE:
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April 2017
Research/Book New York City Interviews/Exhibition
This research explores how various types of non-traditional media construct up-to-date architectural discourse and how Agonism or critical thinking is introduced in their conceptualization, design and content. Due to the availability, multiplication and speed of current communication channels, architects today not only need to be skilful in a wide range of broadcasting technologies but also be aware of the latest international conversations on architectural representation. Taking in consideration that architecture is currently produced and consumed not only by drawings, models and descriptive or academic writing, this research will focus in the historical and current use of non-traditional media as theatre, film, sound, creative writing, alternative publishing, exhibitions, education, documentary etc. and in their use as tools for constructing critical positions on current disciplinary affairs. Selecting afrom a number of nominated offices, my collegues and I conducted research on the communication techniques employed by these offices to unpack their impulses and goals. 65
ARCHITECT AS A CULTURAL PRODUCER
KERSTEN GEERS In conversation with Abubakr Hayder Ali, Ali Fouladi and Giovanni Cozzani
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INTRODUCTION Employing a myriad of nontraditional communication strategies architect Kersten Geers has forged a singular identity in the architectural discourse. His utilization of text, exhibitions and drawings have successfully pushed the boundaries that defined the role of architecture in cultural production. Indeed, identifying himself as a “cultural producer” Geers’ professed fascination with the art world and its influence on him is clearly visible in all his architectural and editorial endeavors, be it exhibitions such as Everything Architecture or magazines such as San Rocco. Through these unconventional methods of communication Geers has managed to introduce new paradigms into the architectural discourse. The architectural magazine of which he is editor, San
Rocco, has successfully provided a platform for broadcasting the immense volume of polemical investigation that he and his collaborators have undertaken throughout their formative years. Additionally his collaboration with artists such as Bas Princen and his incorporation of their work as part of his communication has both critically and visually enhanced his message, imbuing it with critical depth often absent from architectural production. Conducting architectural studios in numerous well known architectural institutions he has consistently subverted the traditional methods of communication, production and representation in the pursuit of architectures of a personal fascination to himself and of a critical importance to the discipline. Kersten Geers is the founding partner of OFFICE KGDVS in Brussels, Belgium. He is also an 67
editor of the architectural magazine San Rocco and a visiting professor at a number of architectural schools Interviewer: The first question is about art,, in the recent interview in 2014 you mentioned in a quote i have a big interest in music and art to be honest i’m more interested in art than architecture i always looking at art and study artist work and it really fascinates me, the first question is why art and how art affect your decision in term of representation? Kersten Geers: You know the word art is a such complicated word i think,I think is very difficult to do architecture and only find inspiration in architecture, we had a conversation few days ago where we opened the exhibition the book of the architecture of the city by rossi and bucar telli who apparently know rossi quite well he said for rossi was never that interested in other architecture up to a point and remember we were with couple of people at the table fansua shabone amnuel cress
thomas putnabanan and i had impression that all of them where agree to it of course he was interested in architecture,i mean we are here in new york next to the Flat Iron and it is a interesting piece of architecture you look at this but i’m not sure if ultimately part from the fact that you study these things and it is part of your background. If you try to understand what kind of project you need to do and how you position yourself if these building apart from providing you with blueprint of how architecture is made if they bring many ideas in terms of strategy, so i guess culture in general maybe art in specific is one way or one source of possible strategies and you can look at let’s say works of conceptual artist minimal artist or more recently very contemporary artist close to us people who work in Brussels very often they come with ideas strategies form sometimes you don’t quite understand which are maybe little bit unresolved which maybe are about something else for themselves, i think for you as an architect
is more inspiring simply because they put certain things in question you i mean of course if as an architect you refer to art i think you have a tendency to refer to art of the one or two generation before you, if you talk to artist they find it rather funny that architects art is always the art which is somehow commodified in the art world. Robert Smithson art is interesting because you look and see he deals with non size somehow, i think that is very attractive to look at that but at the same time i think is very interesting to look at the work of very young and contemporary artist and i’m very good friend with couple of them Arol Tess Yosti tratol who make particular sculptures video set of paintings, sometimes I go and see their work and discuss with them i’m very interested in the work of guntrad dobelle who is an artist with whom we sometimes almost work, and we try to incorporate Michal Velet who is an artist 10 years older than us but who we do very often work together and i have the impression that in
the way they look at composition space the power of form the ambiguity of form and meaning form and function that they bring ideas strategies witch we can use a lot when we were making this exhibition. About our work last year in the bozar in brussels it was very important not so much to show other architecture which i think we show in other occasions, for example the architecture without content series we specifically look for other architecture. How i look at many things they give me energy but that is not of course has nothing to do so much with the functionality of architecture the important of simple plan or the social position of the architecture that has purely to do with where you are as a cultural producer and what you look at to kind of fill your thoughts. How much art and ancestors affects your design strategies? I think they do that a lot, but it’s not something you can quantify, i’m personally interested in the ambiguity with which you appropriate certain things. For example something you get through a book some other things you get through life, black and white photograph, sometimes you get to experience or see me cause you happen to be at an exhibition i think the serendipity of things is very important for me to get certain ideas at the same time all these elements fit in a kind of a realm which is the work you already did the work you are busy with for example david and i have a very specific perspective though things,for example you are at this table and have certain ideas about perforation of the metal mesh and maybe that metal mesh say something to you, i think you have to be aware of these things, i think there is nor formula or recipe of things.
We are interested in the artists you collaborate with, specially bas princen. Do you collaborate with them for the production of material in the office or it’s something very differen? 68
I’m happy you mentioned Bas princen, he should be the first person i mention if i talk about artist, for some reason i mentioned a couple of other names of very good friend as well but yes if you have to single out one person outside our practice who has been perhaps the most important in terms of our own production is bas princen, because he has been with us since 15 years ago in rotterdam when we were trying to figure out what was that take, of course there were other people around us but we were very close, and then each of these different stages there was always somehow Bas. We were looking at things together for example sometimes he would say have you seen the photograph of lewis baltz and how he makes a sequence or how he takes a photograph seemingly trashy photograph but somehow statistics that and it becomes beautiful but it remains the critical documentation of that. So i can not recall i figure out something myself or something which came from a hole amount of conversations with Bas. i don’t
know but what i know that way of looking on how you frame your relationship with reality or what is the static of the project for the photographer, at the same time Bas has been taking photographs of our work, so in a way he has been defining and looking at our work, maybe back then it was not a strategy he was simply a photographer, and you gradually realize there is a conversation going on, maybe after the third and fourth building you understand that in a way it is invisible, the way he looking at our work and our influence of the way he looks at our work by simply the conversations we have and the way we communicate to through our finish work. In your way of representing architecture, working on this duality of black and white line drawings and the perspectives or pictures, you approach it in a very serious way. You don’t try to distort the reality through diagrams in order to emphasize a concept. This makes me think about a question asked to Christian Kerez during 69
a recent lecture at Columbia GSAPP, when he was asked if the ideas reside in the drawings and then the buildings are a finalization of them, or if viceversa the ideas are in the buildings, and the drawings are a mere representation of how the buildings should look like. His position was more in favor of this last condition, but I’m curious to know how would you answer to the same question? i think that is how I see the ambiguity of oeuvre, if I have to use that heavy word. In some cases the drawing is there because you understand that is the only thing that matters, and in some cases the drawing indeed is not much more than a tool to build the building because in some sense you are aware of the fact that the building will be there. In some cases both the drawing, and the prospective, and the Bas photograph, and the building itself somehow contribute to the reality of the building. And the building itself exists outside of the photograph of Bas, but
maybe you need both the photograph and the building and the drawing. Personally I believe that architecture is exactly that cloud that touches all these things. I certainly don’t think that you have a set of ideas that you draw and that sometimes you execute, and that in a way is a vector of propaganda where the idea is first, the drawing of the idea is second and the building as a kind of realization of the idea is third. I’ve been always fascinated by the Sendai Mediatheque of Ito presented as a project when I was roughly a student. I remember when the project was presented at the beginning it was a set of rather ephemeral drawings. Then the building was finally built, and I remember many people being very disappointed that the building was so much materic. But was very fascinating that the actual building was so different from the drawings. It did not make the drawings irrelevant. There were two realities: in the reality of that building many things happened, but I did not see that as compromising. That was just the negotiation between a set of ideas not yet resolved and a particular aspect of the reality. I tend to think that good architecture can very much succeed in that, even after realization both aspects exist, not in conflict.
a way a commercial place, whether you want it or not. You build a building with a budget, with the clients and so forth. So for that reason it’s extremely important that you have space outside of that. But also without pretentions. I think that good news for me about San Rocco is that it doesn’t have a lot of pretentions. You can write silly texts. About the studios, how do you see the new iterations of the studio changing? You started with more architecture without content, how do you imagine that changing moving on? I don’t know that. I cannot say. Ultimately it is really trying to understand where architecture plays a role, where you can still do architecture. Economy of means always comes back, but it’s even that a little of a common place. It’s a lot about trying to free architecture from wanting to be too spectacular perhaps. But it’s also trying to reconnect with the culture of architecture, with history of architecture. It’s trying to understand if there is really difference between Europe and America. It is all these things.
Another question about San Rocco. How is it important to have this kind of independent platform to write, compared particularly to those practises that mainly use academia as a platform for developing knowledge or use academic publications to write? San Rocco has been very important for all of us involved, because indeed it’s like an island where you can develop a couple of train of thoughts. In the end I hope that it’s clear to people that San Rocco as a project is very coherent, which has very few topics. And that’s not so strange because it’s run but a very small group of people and I think it’s a place where we discuss and exchange this interest we share. And of course practice itself it’s ultimately a very different place, it’s in 70
But again, as I said, this project is not finished. There is a tendency from our side to look more at renaissance architecture, for the moment. But in the moment we realize that, like what we do here at GSAPP, it was very important also to embrace soft tech or light high tech or Japanese architecture from the 80’s. And I think also helps you to not walk in the trap to say that now all architecture should look like five hundred years ago, you have to stay open minded. Where do you think your work stands in the history of architecture? Is you work responding to something or is it totally new? Architecture can never be totally new. I feel that as an architect if you take your position seriously, you are a cultural producer. That means that you are in the realm of culture, you have to understand it. Maybe you find inspiration in other cultural expressions, but ultimately the new can be a confusing word. You cannot make architecture as 1000 years ago, but even the architects of 16th century were making something entirely new but at the same time entirely old. There was a lot
of misunderstanding, but you shouldn’t be ashamed of it. I’m a little bit skeptical towards people who seem to claim that they have the truth in their hands. You work in this realm of architecture, trying to understand what was done before, interpreting and appropriating ideas, but maybe what you understood is based on misinterpretation. In this sense architects like Loos on one hand, and all his ambiguous interpretations and claims, and on the other Bramante, with his negotiations with Lombard and Roman traditions, are extremely contemporary. They were without fear in simplifying, in showing the conflict. Rossi in his seminal text Architecture for Museums writes exactly about that. I would like to ask about the ancestors. I’m interested about the reason that push to you the select certain kind of architects rather than other. Is there a specific reason for the selection of them, or is it more an informal process?
other. The only thing that I see right now as a selection criteria is more about intentionality or consciousness. I am fascinated the most by architects that at least appear conscious about what they do. San Rocco is coming into an end, this is the last edition. Where do you see that discourse going? I don’t know if everyone would agree in San Rocco, but personally I think that is time for other people to develop other thoughts, you have to be very realistic about that. We have been discussing architecture in the past, the long life of ideas, but I think there is a limit to all of that. I think is a healthy thing that other ideas now emerge.
I think is a rather informal process, and it has to do with what you discover o rediscover. Some projects get into your radar, and in the end one influences the 71
SHORT ESSAYS ON:
FUMIHIKO MAKI’S 51 ASTOR PLACE
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Contradictions at 51 Astor Place 51 Astor Place, sitting at the exact center of its namesake, the presumptive crown jewel of its neighborhood, is at first glance what we have come to expect from the typical mid-rise construction in Manhattan. Sporting a dark glass façade, encasing a solid monolith and the perfunctory public lobby it appears underwhelming, considering it fetches a king’s ransom of $120 per square foot. Yet these were not the only characteristics that defined 51 Astor place. Deeper observation of the building, its site and the dialogue it engendered with its surrounding environment induces a constant state of confusion. The more the building reveals of itself, the murkier the intentions of its architect become, a strangely inverted relationship that makes 51 Astor place one of Manhattan’s most enigmatic buildings. The North-West side of the building is a solid, black, non-reflective monolith, characteristic of office buildings, bland and simple. The monolith displays minimal interest in its surrounding context, a sign reading “51 ASTOR PLACE” announces, in a matter-of-fact manner, the location of the entrance. A thin uncompromising line, striking the monolith at a 45 degree angle announces the end to this nonchalant attitude to its context. Thrusting us into a tectonic of formal interplay on the South-East side of the building; characterized by sharp angles, grey mullioned hyper-reflective facades and incremental vertical set-
backs. Its façade stretches out like a canvas, reflecting the scene surrounding it. Light and engaging, it initiates a symmetrical relationship with the city, its reflective façade disappearing into a backdrop of mid-rise constructions and blue skies. This puzzling change in track, style and form, coupled with the stark contrast present between the two halves of the building, is uncharacteristic of Maki & Associates. The transition, merciless and crude in execution raises questions about the architect’s intentions. Is the building the product of compromise between architect and client, both aiming to achieve the ideal combination of iconicity, functionality and square footage? Or was this perhaps a reflection of the architect’s attempt to engage in meaningful dialogue with the surrounding 73
neighborhood? Attempting perhaps to justify its own presence? It is my opinion that the latter had a larger effect on the composition of the building, with Cooper Union and St. Marks Place wooing the architect into a form of dialogue, the architect responding in kind. While this may explain the somewhat “Frankenstein” like amalgamation of styles and forms, it does not explain the crudeness or indeed the abruptness with which this change in style is executed. This confusion, experienced from observing the building, was indeed compounded by the observations on the plaza located on the South-West portion of the site. On such a prime piece of real-estate, the existence of the plaza itself is somewhat contentious. As a large portion of the site is emphatically surrendered to the pub-
lic, wasting valuable potential income. This was yet another paradox to add to the growing list of contradictions on display. Unassuming in nature and with the restraint of minimalist design, the plaza charts a route across the site with an imperceptible slope and an array of wood benches, quietly absorbing the foot traffic passing through Astor place. Employing svelte lighting fixtures and peripheral vegetation, the plaza is successful in transmuting the vector nature of the sidewalk into a wide open space, removing obstructions at eye-level, effectively facilitating the transition of people into the site. Progressing along the length of the plaza, moving South to North, the street furniture undergoes a peculiar transformation. The wood benches offering seating to the public grow pro-
gressively smaller in size. This might seem like a logical compromise given the triangular nature of the plaza. However careful examination of this progression provides insight to the extent of skill on display. By incrementally decreasing the seating spots available and facing the benches in opposite directions the architect is successful in responding to the myriad of relationships that will occupy these benches. Transforming benches that seat 6 individuals to benches that seat 2, the architect offers a multiplicity of atmospheres to the public, ranging from the casual to the intimate, the hurried to the relaxed and the formal to the informal. Fumihiko Maki did not just surrender square footage to the passerby; he also surrendered the identity of the plaza to them, imbuing the space with chameleon like qualities, allowing it to conform to the needs of all walks of life. Here the plaza seats all, the tired tourist in a state of dĂŠrive, the office
74
colleagues congregating for lunch, lovers looking for an intimate setting and the drifting homeless man trying to organize his belongings. The eloquence with which this relationship between the plaza and the street was forged and skill with which Maki orchestrates the atmospheres that would occupy the plaza at any given time, stand in stark contrast to his attitude towards the relationships governing the building itself. This confusing approach to the integral elements that make up 51 Astor Place fuels the relentless paradox that Maki posits over and over again through his design of the building. These contradictions manifest themselves in the performative aspects of the building as well. If we were to explode the elements that constitute the building mass, (the black monolith, the hyper-reflective formally complex facades and the plaza), they can be reconstituted as IBM HQ, a concoction of office and exhibition spaces (St. John University offices and Christies) and an outdoor seating space respectively. The containers for these functions are designed almost separately with no attempt made to unify their forms, airbrush their discrepancies or make allegorical allusions to their functions. When brought together these elements are in a natural state of contradiction. Indeed, the crux of these contradictions takes its literal and physical form at the 45 degree line that strikes the solid black monolith, launches us into the formally complex facades and is the tipping point where sidewalk merges with the plaza.
51 Astor place makes no attempts to cover up its contradictions, instead it brazenly displays them, stating its deliberate intent in creating this disparity. The defining features of 51 Astor place are its relentless flirtation with juxtaposition and the intriguing dialogue it engenders with the city. This intentional display of contradiction, crystallized by the thin line that divides the elements composing the building alludes to a certain, principled, code of ethics that Maki subscribes to. Conforming to neither the rigid axioms sacred to modernists or the commercial tropes peddled by contemporary architecture; Maki forges a third path, one that stands in clear defiance of these two schools of thought. His stance however provokes a number of questions. In an architectural scene where our pluralist attitude has blurred all subjective boundaries and diluted the value of critique in the architectural discourse, is there any value in taking a stance against the contemporary sentiments influencing architectural design? Can Maki’s critique perhaps been seen as a push to reclaim the agency of the architect over architectural discourse? 51 Astor place embodies this stance, a building designed to question the pluralist state of architecture. A provocation, challenging the range of ideas influencing architectural design, from modernist disciplines to “anything goes� architecture. This is a rare instance and indeed an opportunity that Maki has taken to make his stance, a refreshingly bold and provocative critique on the current state of architectural design.
75
TERRAGNI’S DANTEUM THE TRANSL ATION OF A LITERARY ALLEGORY INTO ARC HITECTURE
76
The purpose of this paper is the investigation of a certain case study, specifically its mode and methods of visualizations and the paradoxical relationship between these representations and the professed aim of the project. The case study in question is that of the Danteum project, designed and described by Giuseppe Terragni in his practice in fascist Italy in the 1930-40. Through the investigation of sketches, watercolor panels and the model (one was made) used to represent this project, this paper aims to understand the tenuous ties between literary, religious and nationalist rhetoric and its subsequent translation through modernist avant garde visualization techniques
Terragni’s selection as the architect
sensibilities that made Terragni the ar-
into tangible instructions for the con-
of the Danteum was closely related
chitect of choice for this project.
struction of an allegory.
to his previous engagement with his
Attempts to illustrate, represent and
role as architect of the Casa del Fas-
elucidate Dante’s Divine Comedy
Although Terragni was responsible for
cio in Como, Italy and the relationship
were common during the Italian re-
the design of the Danteum, the incep-
enjoyed by his partner Pietro Lingeri
naissance period, Artists such as Bot-
tion of the project took place within a
with Valdameri. Terragni and Lingeri
ticelli, heavily influenced by Dante’s
discourse explicitly unrelated to the ar-
had designed several projects for Val-
writings, produced a number of paint-
chitectural circles of the Italian Avant
dameri and was highly valued as one
ings, sketches and drawings of various
garde. Conceived first in 1938 by Fas-
of the architects at the forefront of the
scenes of the Divine Comedy. Even
cist party member Rino Valdameri, the
Italian avant-garde. Thomas l Shum-
surrealists such as Salvador Dali at-
Danteum was to be built in time for the
acher describes Terragni’s rational-
tempted in numerous occasion to rep-
Exposition of 1942. It was intended to
ism as “…..a true classicism based on
resent the most visually engaging of
disseminate the work of famed Italian
purity, the absolute, proportion, math-
the cantos describing the Inferno. The
poet, Dante, and also most explicitly
ematics and the “Greek spirit”…”. It
inherent specialization of the world of
“to suggest and aid those initiatives
is perhaps these qualities coupled by
the dead depicted in the poem, espe-
that foster and attest to the character
his personal attachment to the texts of
cially the detailed descriptions of the
of imperial Fascist Italy”. Giuseppe
Dante and his catholic and nationalist
Inferno, provided rich material for al-
77
legorical expression by artists.
to, the influences that affected him and
within this conflicting and unconven-
Terragni’s attempt at an architectural
the nature of his architectural practice
tional position that Terragni’s Casa del
translation of this allegory, is repre-
at the time. Thomas. L Shumacher
Fascio is situated.
sented through the use of 17 large
says of Terragni, “He created abstract
1:100 scale water color plates. These
architecture and an architecture of
The main sources of inspiration for
were comprised of five exterior per-
connotation in the facades of the Casa
Terragni’s design approach are the
spectival drawings of the building
del Fascio in Como, calling the build-
Basilica of Maxentius and the Villa
within its context, 9 interior perspec-
ing the glass house of fascism. His
Stein by Le Corbusier at Garches.
tive views from the human eye view
abstraction was Italian, displaying
Through readings of Terragni’s most
and three 2 dimensional drawings rep-
the abstract surface characteristics of
illuminating document, the Relazi-
resenting elevations of the building.
that style. His symbolism was Italian,
one, it possible to see Terragni striv-
Plates #3, #6, #7 and #9 are drawings
making political metaphors, and Inter-
ing for an all-encompassing relational
of different orthogonal and perspec-
nationalist, residing beneath the sur-
composition between his design and
tival character however all share some
face qualities of imitated detail, within
the Divine Comedy. The literary nu-
form of photographic content collaged
the realm of parti.” This statement is
merical divisions of the Divine Com-
onto the drawings. Accompanying
illustrative of the conflict that colored
edy afford Terragni an opportunity to
these drawings was a site plan of the
Terragni’s design sensibilities and in-
attain higher absolute mathematical
project, collaged onto this site plan
deed the conflict that afflicted most of
value. The resultant geometrical and
were two photographs of the Karnak
the modernist, avant-garde Italian ar-
mathematical correspondences repre-
temple complex in Egypt and the Pal-
chitecture. The modernist movement
sent to Terragni an irrefutable truth,
ace of Sargon in Persia. These draw-
made its forays into the Italian archi-
one that satiates the ideological void
ings where produced for an audience
tectural scene after fascism had estab-
vacated by the International Style, a
with then Fascist leader of Italy, Beni-
lished itself in Italy. T.L Shumacher
truth that is supported by both mod-
to Mussolini. The rational overture
observes that the avant-garde made
ern and classic influences. These geo-
permeating the design of the project
“strenuous” efforts to disassociate it-
metrical and mathematical references
begs for the consideration of the Dan-
self from the International style fol-
stemming from Terragni’s aesthetic
teum as a political mission as well as
lowing the Ethiopian war, to ensure it
sensibilities, also owe their existence
an architectural design, overlaying of
wouldn’t be mistaken for liberal lean-
to his ability to stretch the notion of
rationalist methodology and irrational,
ings. This presented a predicament for
correspondence to the breaking point.
Fascist conservative ideology.
the avant-garde movement, which at-
He attempts through a number of pre-
tempted to maintain as much moderni-
liminary sketches to formulate these
To understand the resultant methods
ty (in terms of architectural forms) as
geometrical and mathematical rela-
of visualization employed by Terrag-
possible without ceding prominence
tionships. The sketch in fig. 1, the
ni, it is imperative to observe the de-
to the machine aesthetic that might
only sketch that represents Terragni’s
sign ideology that Terragni subscribed
supersede national characteristics. It is
alternative schemes for the Danteum
78
shows some of Terragni’s design intentions, such as “sulle facciate, tutti verse della D.C” (on the façade, all the verses of the Divine Comedy), an idea that was clearly abandoned but indicative of Terragni’s attempt to synthesize his own representational style with the actual content of the poem. Sketch #0250 ,fig.1, shows Terragni’s
1. Sketch of Danteum Floor Plan, Danteum,
experimentation with the overlapping
T.L. Shumacher, Princeton, N.J.
geometries inspired by the Basilica Maxentius. His seemingly tentative sketches of floor plans are somewhat indicative of an everyday design process undertaken by an architect. The sketches are not organized within a layout, rather they are two dimensional diagrams illustrating the process of the transversal displacement of the shifted squares, cumulative attempts at achieving the golden rectangle geometry for the building plan. They illustrate the thinking process and inform us as to how Terragni meant to create the Danteum, he sought to establish an objective relationship between certain parts of the building. The Relazione reveals a contradictory thinking process one that alternates Terragni’s emphatic fascist, nationalist sympathies. In contrast, the sketches of various plan geometry seem detached from the semantic value embedded within the project program, the Divine Comedy.
Shumacher in his decomposition of the golden compares the geometrical properties of Villa Stein, the Basilica of Maxentius and the Danteum. Using the plan view, fig. 2, to illustrate the similarities of the geometrical compositions, it is possible to categorize them within a certain taxonomy of composition. However these projects have extremely different programs. The Villa Stein is a residence, the Basilica a house of worship and the Danteum, a memorial building which in its most pragmatic manifestation, an interior promenade passing through multiple rooms. Yet utilizing the plan view, Terragni was able to establish the geometrical and mathematical correspondences that he valued. While Terragni utilized sketch plans and sections to systematically explore the actual physical manifestation of the allegory of the Divine Comedy, he leaned heavily on perspective draw79
ings, interior and exterior, to illustrate the experiential qualities of the project. He uses the plates in a sequential progression from a distance, progressively altering the representation method used in order to convey a more human experience. The site plan denotes the location of the Danteum within the urban context of the City of Rome. Terragni uses this opportunity to give example of his references and to create ideological connections to classical works. The placement of two collaged photographs, the Karnak temple complex and the Palace of Sargon in Persia, according to Shumacher, construct Terragni’s concept of historical relevance. “To begin with he subsumed the Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans under one category of ancient architecture. Part of this tendency may be attributed to Terragni’s desire to identify with architectures and peoples who once
lived under Pax Romana; part may be
allowing the viewer to see the building
context. The following plate (#3) fol-
his desire to find common theoretical
from multiple positions while making
lows the same principle and provide
ground for all architectures�. To this
references to the surrounding context.
an even closer more detailed view
end, the use of a photograph which is
Perhaps most striking in these plates
of the building. It highlights in great
cited on the site plan, may be viewed
is the representation method chosen
detail the materiality of the building
as an attempt to utilize a method of
to accentuate the differences between
and through the collaged pictures of
representation synonymous with evi-
the building and its context. The con-
the Sironi reliefs offers a glimpse a
dence rather than speculation. Pho-
text is illustrated through watercolors,
diagrammatic indication of what the
tographs of the two buildings rather
the brush strokes blurring the distinc-
building façade would show.
than illustrative drawings or sketches
tive details of the buildings, making
Terragni then uses the plates #4-#7
of them serve as evidence of a real,
clear only the distinctive architectural
to reiterate the rational, modernist
tangible source of inspiration for Ter-
forms such as the arches of the Colise-
aesthetic embedded within the proj-
ragni, a validation and verification of
um or uniform solids of the churches.
ect. Shifting to a higher vantage point
his sources. It is an attempt to erase
The Danteum however is clearly illus-
for plate 4, fig 5-7, he illustrates the
all doubt about his aesthetic sensibili-
trated and detailed clearly. Located at
project, this time in simple line draw-
ties and to cement the links between
the center of both plates, it is drawn in
ing, eschewing all color the building
the Danteum and ancient architectures
some detail. Proposed façade artworks
entrance and its surrounding context.
firmly in the realm of present day.
and even stone courses are illustrated
Looming in the background is the dis-
in lines in the perspective. The water
torted but pristine ruin of the Colos-
The following Plates (#1-2) ,fig.3, sit-
colors are used sparingly, immediate-
seum. Again little detail is afforded to
uate the viewer outside the building,
ly setting the building apart from the
the context with most of the line work
80
illustrating the material qualities of
age of the building, appropriating the
ences of the building, fig.8, enhanced
the Danteum. A scaled figure is col-
language he used previously for the
deliberate and successfully by an in-
laged onto the plate as a possible indi-
building context to re situate the build-
creased investment on detailing and
cation of the building scale, however,
ing within a physical context. Plate 7,
painting prowess. The perspectival
the collaged figure is not pictured in
a blown up detail of the façade con-
drawings of the entrance, the court and
perspective, rather in elevation. Per-
taining the Sironi reliefs is a restricted
the interiors are all positioned from
haps fittingly, in this plate as opposed
view of what Shumacher describes as
the human eye view. The drawings,
to all others, the human figure is most
the found objects that Terragni utilized
in contrast to earlier exterior perspec-
out of place, literally and metaphori-
to validate his aesthetic approach and
tives, are devoid of any human pres-
cally pasted onto the diagrammatic
to establish the referential relation-
ence, invoking a solitary experience of
perspective explanation of the build-
ships.
the space. This lack of human figures
ing. Plates #5-#6 continue this more
or references within the drawings is
abstract method. The plates show two
The remaining plates contain per-
probably best explained by Giorgio
different elevations, illustrating the
spective drawings exploring the path
Ciucci’s description of Terragni de-
different building facades and con-
through the Danteum, presenting a se-
sign intentions. Ciucci writes of Ter-
cerned obsessively with the geometri-
quential walk through the building to
ragni “… the objects that Terragni has
cal logic of the façade and its material
convey the experience within it. This
designed wander, like silent travelers,
patterns. A single line indicates the
is Terragni’s most conventional use of
in an everyday reality from which they
“ground line’ while Terragni resumes
architectural visualization in the proj-
have been uprooted and with which
his use of water colors to soften the
ect. A series of simple perspectival
they are in conflict. The object itself
overall rendition of the virtual im-
views detailing the interior experi-
is abstract, unreal and metaphysical.
81
However, the possibility of creating
this text that Terragni’s most emphatic
in the case of Dante’s works these are
and communicating myths is born
political, religious and aesthetic sensi-
evidently numerical meanings”. Af-
from this conflict between everyday
bilities are fused together into a narra-
ter perhaps crystallizing Terragni’s
reality and magical objects.” These
tive that seeks to establish a rational
beliefs, he continues “Architectural
unreal, abstract metaphysical objects
identity. While the plates illustrating
monument and literary work can ad-
wander in spaces that are voids which
the Danteum are somewhat objective
here to a singular scheme without los-
do not need the beholder to exist. This
in their rendition of the building, a
ing, in this union, any of each’s work’s
point made by Ciucci, highlights the
political symbol; it is the Relazione
essential qualities only if both possess
classic equilibrium which Terragni’s
sul Danteum that is the most illumi-
a structure and a harmonic rule that
spaces achieve as pure objects, objects
nating and damning representation
can allow them to confront each other,
he pays homage to in his deserted per-
of the project. The Relazionein this
so that they may then be ready in a
spectives. The objects are real, certain,
repertoire was most probably written
geometric or mathematical relation of
pure, true, contrasted with the abstract,
after the documents were presented to
parallelism or subordination”.
unreal and metaphysical wanderer.
Benito Mussolini during the audience
These various methods of visualiza-
made possible by ardent supporter of
The Relazione along with the drawing
tion, sketches, plans, collage, eleva-
the project Rino Valdameri. In the text
plates of the project assume a politi-
tion and perspective were all utilized
Terragni aimed to shed light on his de-
cal character through their association
in the process of translation of the Di-
sign process and to bolster his claims
with powerful figures influencing
vine comedy through the medium of
of relationship to the fascist, national-
the fascist political climate of Italy
Terragni’s niche, conflicting rational-
ist narrative. It makes for an interest-
through the 1940s. Shumacher lists a
ist architectural avant-garde aesthetic.
ing document. A subjective rendition
number of documents that circulated
These visualizations, somewhat banal
of the Danteum project, its language is
within the press and the inner circles of
in representation go a great distance in
somewhat divorced from the abstract
the elite fascist figures in Italian poli-
awarding some credibility to the de-
representational styles employed in
tics, including the Danterum Statute of
sign process and interpretation of the
the visualization of the project. Within
1938. Excerpts from communications
project program, the allegory of the
the text Terragni recognizes the com-
in, fig.9 and 10, with the office of Mus-
Divine Comedy.
plexity of translating myths and sym-
solini illustrated in Shumacher’s book
bols into architectural constructions.
show the circulation of the project in
Perhaps tellingly what undermines the
He says “…..Meanwhile it was impos-
these political circles and advocate the
relentlessly rational character of rep-
sible to escape our preoccupation as
consideration of the project not only
resentation is the report prepared by
designers with the problems of graft-
as a translation of an allegory but also
Terragni, the Relazione sul Danteum.
ing onto geometric schemes for the
as a manifestation of fascist symbol-
This text, written by Terragni, aimed
monument-from the very beginning-
ism in the 1940s. Indeed, the numer-
to explain the rationalist design pro-
meanings, myths, and commonly held
ous audiences granted in favor of the
cess adhered to by Terragni. It is in
symbols as a spiritual synthesis. And
project review and the sums of money
82
allocated for its development, coupled
ni’s interpretive non-literal approach
political ideologies and the everyday
with the distinct political and ideolog-
to the representation of the allegory in
phenomenological character of build-
ical aims illustrated in the Danteum
rational documentation.
ings, facilitated through architectural
report, places the project in a com-
drawings and form. This was impos-
pany of political documents reserved
Most poignant perhaps is the extent of
sible because of the inherent ideologi-
for revolutionary manifestos. It could
the involvement of the project in the
cal differences that drove the abstract
be seen that the careful deliberation
political landscape. This may afford
representational techniques and the
with which this project was designed,
an opportunity to decipher the Dante-
rational compositional codes that in-
the rational elements that guided its
um and its architectural visualization
formed the building form. It is impos-
development and its final representa-
perhaps not so much as an attempt to
sible to know whether Terragni was
tion as rational architectural drawings
translate an allegory but rather as an
aware of the paradoxical nature of his
make the Danteum project an architec-
honest documentation of the political
project and his approach to its design
tural visualization of the Fascist state
climate of Italy during the 1930-40s
and representation, yet it resulted in
of Italy under Benito Mussolini.
and the conflicting ideologies that in-
a fascinating example of architecture
formed the rational yet classical inter-
entwined with political ideology.
pretation of the Divine Comedy. The Although the investigation of the ar-
representational technique, the build-
chitectural visualization of the Dan-
ing form and the political impetus that
teum project by Terragni yielded some
drove the project are closely related.
interesting insights, it remains difficult
Terragni attempted to reach a com-
to make conclusive statements as to the
promise between warring ideologies,
extent to which the project achieves its
to conceptualize the Divine Comedy,
aims of relating architecture to literary
abstract it’s meaning through drawing
content or of creating rational draw-
yet confirm its role as a cultural prod-
ings of a three dimensional design of
uct. The Danteum Project is a marker,
an allegory. One might call the Dan-
an apt description of the Italian avant-
teum a failed project, supported at the
garde conflict with its northern Euro-
time by the political fervor it courted
pean neighbors and a manifestation of
and rather perversely, represented
the ruptures that occur when architec-
most clearly by the “written” report
tural style, aesthetic and visualization
that accompanied its drawings. How-
acquire a political identity. In the case
ever, a case can also be made for the
of the Danteum the political identity
rational translation of the allegory as
of the Fascist party in Italy. The mani-
fitting the political atmosphere that
festation of this identity required the
fostered it and for recognizing Terrag-
formation of clear links between grand 83