Carlo Scarpa: il Maestro in Metamorphosis

Carlo Scarpa il Maestro in Metamorphosis

Architectural History Thesis MSc2 Frédérique Sanders

Architectural History Thesis Carlo Scarpa, il Maestro in Metamorphosis Keywords: Scarpa, Analysis, Spoils, Gestalt-Laws university: Delft University of Technology faculty:

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences programme: MSc2 hand-in date: 2015.06.05 author:

Sanders, F.C.J.E. mentor:

Rutte, R.J. study number: 4089421 email:

F.C.J.E.Sanders@student.tudelft.nl

Carlo Scarpa, il Maestro in Metamorphosis

table of contents

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prologue introduction

PART 1 11 1.1 carlo scarpa as a person, his life and study 15 1.2 the champion of craft, materials and detail PART 2 21 2.1 methodology of analyze

2.2 three representative transformation projects 27 2.2.1 project 1: bridge, fondazione querini stampalia (1959-1963) 35 2.2.2 project 2: meditation pavilion, brion-vega cemetery (1968-1978) 43 2.2.3 project 3: entrance tolentini, IUAV (1984, built posthumously) 51 2.3 projects examined 53

conclusion

55 57

bibliography table of illustrations

prologue In the spring of 2013 I followed my minor from my bachelor at the IUAV, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia. It was such a wonderful time in such a beautiful city. At the lectures the name of ‘Carlo Scarpa’ was mentioned several times. This mysterious man was known by everyone at the university, except by me. The intellect spirit designed various edifices for the IUAV, had been Professor and dean and even made the design for the tables we worked on every day at the university. It had to be till the hundredth time they said his name, that I thought it would be clever to do research who this mysterious god is. What Scarpa made in his live, his style, his architecture, his glass designs and especially his details, in one word: bellissimo! For this history thesis I thought it would be the perfect chance to have a closer look in his wonderful work.

Frédérique Sanders, June 2015

< 1 me in front of the Tolentini entrance part of the IUAV

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Motivation Transformation of cities and buildings is one of the main challenges in the architecture of today and tomorrow. Still the education at Architecture faculties all over the world may predominantly concern new buildings and new urban developments. After the coming 15-20 years – a decisive period for sustainable development – 90% of the built environment will consist of exactly the same elements as we have now. (1) The assignment of the coming decades for us, the young architects, is to find solutions for the transformation, modification, restoration and energy innovation of existing buildings. This metamorphose allotment is much more complicated than designing a new building, as not all measures are possible, requiring ingenuity to significantly improve the design in order to reflect the current man’s needs, values, beliefs and fantasies.

Carlo Scarpa, an Italian architect (1906-1978) who was active in Venice and its surroundings, was already in his time a great innovator in bringing together the old and the new.

Still his buildings and designs are modern and progressive. Scarpa perceived history as the constant accumulation of experiences and knowledge, and not as isolated points in time. The environments of the Veneto lagoon in which the wealth of ancient traditions had converged, created an unique and heterogeneous culture. This venitianitas or ‘Venetian heritage’ influenced the contemplative mind of Scarpa. (2) His style is an example of an architecture that recognizes historic values while acknowledging the changing forces of time and new perceptions of the present.

The Italian architect and theorist who studied with Scarpa, Marco Frascari, defined Scarpa’s architecture as architettura di spoglio or ‘architecture of spoils’ that “refers to buildings partially or totally composed of elements and fragments taken, either actually or conceptually, from preexisting buildings produced in other times or by other cultures”. (3) This practice of re-composition in architecture was not new to the lagoon city since many of its buildings - think of the Basilica San Marco and Palazzo Ducale - were partially built from spoils brought from fallen cities and carried by traveling merchants.

Research goal and thesis structure Scarpa’s architettura di spoglio distinguishes itself of the great achieved synthesis of the different elements and fragments. Scarpa was a master of detail and a connoisseur of materials; old and new or inexpensive and expensive building parts, he knew very well how to merge these parts to one united form. The book “De visuele waarneming van de gebouwde omgeving” (The visual perception

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introduction of the built environment) by the Dutch TU Delft Professor Niels Luning Prak seeks to establish a link between a number of psychological tests and the form of the built environment.

Architects practice by means of their design influence on the observation of forms. (4) Using the theory from Prak and a therefrom derived methodology is a good way to decompose the design structures from Scarpa in the original single elements and fragments (spoils).

This study of Scarpa’s oeuvre is particularly relevant because it contains valuable teachings regarding the importance of the knowledge of ‘making’ in the design and building process, and of the incorporation of history and tradition in architectural production. His work could be seen as a didactic example for the important building transformation challenge of today. The purpose of this thesis is to explore various aspects of the work of the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa in order to identify ways in which he succeeded in creating an architectural production that reflected his understanding and interpretation of the cultural and historical moment. The focus will be on the famous ingenious details where the existing structure and Scarpa’s new design proposal come together. The analyze of these qualitative precedents, serves as a didactic inspiration for the transformation assignment of today.

To give direction to the research of this history thesis, the outline of this work will consist of two parts. In the first part Carlo Scarpa as a person, his live and study will be described, followed by setting out his specific architecture style. The second part of this thesis consist of firstly clarify the methodology derived from the theory from Prak. Thereafter this methodology will be used to analyze three representative transformation projects where Scarpa fused the different building elements or spoils to one perceptible form. The three case studies will be compared and examined to reveal Scarpa’s expertise of metamorphosis.

Dobbelsteen, A. van den. (2014). Smart & Bioclimatic Design. Delft: Faculty of Architecture, p. 25-26 Salazar, D. (1997). The Function of Form: Meaning in the work of Carlo Scarpa. Lubbock: Texas Tech University, p. 13 Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 23 Prak, N.L. (1979). De visuele waarneming van de gebouwde omgeving. Delft: Delft Universitaire Pers, p. VII

(1) (2) (3) (4)

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part 1

1.1 Carlo Scarpa as a person, his life and study “Se son rose fioriranno” (If they are roses, they will bloom) (1) This characteristic answer was given to the student Guido Pietropoli when he asked about the reason for Scarpa’s reticence. Carlo Scarpa was a Maestro who worked in silence, one who did not elaborate much about design philosophies and did not go out of his way to promote his own work, but instead left it to survive the test of time by itself.

Carlo Alberto Scarpa was born in Venice, on June 2, 1906. His father, a strict Catholic, was the elementary school teacher Antonio Scarpa, and his mother, Emma Novello, a dressmaker. When Carlo was two years old, the family moved to Vicenza where his mother opened a tailor’s workshop while his father commuted between Vicenza and Venice. From a very tender age Carlo used to draw dress patterns for his mother’s clients. The Italian architect and art historian Manlio Brusatin relates this to Scarpa’s personal development by stating “Tailoring, with its precise cutting and ‘montage’ of various parts, as the prime example of painstaking artistic work.” (2) From dressmaking, he must have learned, earlier than most people, how two-dimensional drawings can be transferred to three-dimensional products, and experienced the importance of the careful joining and handling of edges.

In Palladio’s city Vicenza, Scarpa spent a normal childhood which he described as happy, playing marbles among the attic bases of the colonnade of the Palazzo Chiericati, and spending his holidays with his brother Gigi in the countryside in the richness of the eighteenth-century palazzeto of his godparents. Already from a young age fine architecture was impressed on him.

After finishing elementary school, Scarpa entered the Technical High School in Vicenza with the blessing of his father, who had earlier noticed the boy’s outstanding talent for drawing. In 1919, Scarpa’s mother died and the family returned to Venice, his home for most of the remainder of his life. Scarpa was proud of the Veneto lagoon and her intense environments in which he was born and raised, and where he mostly worked throughout his career.

“When I visited Florence for the first time I was immediately aware of the enormous architectural difference between the two cities. I can’t deny that I’m impressed by Tuscan architecture, but such precision, such certainty are not part of my being. I am a true son of my region [the Veneto] and have a strong feeling for my roots.” (3) < 2 Carlo Scarpa, circa 1970

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The year of his mother’s death, when he was thirteen years old, Carlo decided to take the admission test for the Accademia Reale delle Belle Arti in Venice. He failed, but following the encouragement of his father he succeeded at the second attempt. The Accademia was not only a place of vocational training but also the stage for his introduction to the marvelous design process and the metamorphosis of materials. In this institution Scarpa received the only formal education in architecture that he ever gained, although architecture was not in his mind when he entered the Accademia. It was not until his fifth year at the Academia that Scarpa chose architecture as his specialization.

Graduated from the Accademia in Venice in 1926, with the title of Professor of Architecture, he apprenticed with the architect Francesco Rinaldo. Later Scarpa married Onorina Lazzari or Nini, the niece of Rinaldo. After World War II Scarpa refused to sit the pro forma professional exam administrated by the Italian Government. As a consequence, he was not permitted to practice architecture without associating with an architect. Hence, those who worked with him, his clients, associates, craftspersons, called him ‘Professor’ instead of ‘architect’. After his death he will receive the award of honoris causa in architecture. (4) Scarpa’s drawing skills were legendary. His drawings for school projects were always exuberant and often filled the margins, a habit that he nurtured for the rest of his life. He could have an idea in an afternoon and spend three months refining it, right up to the moment of construction. Francesco Zanon, an original metalworker from Venice, collaborated a lot with the master. He tells that Scarpa was able to draw something with his left hand and, at the same time, draw another idea with his right hand. “He [Scarpa] could draw with both hands at the same time as if he had two separate thought tracks working on the same project, but different form each other.” (5)

This creative feeling and experimenting was a good characteristic while working as a glass designer. During the late 1920s, Scarpa commenced work for almost twenty years as an art consultant and designer for the Murano glass manufacturers Capellin & Co and Venini Glass Works and worked with the master glass-blowers of Murano. Endlessly experimenting with color and textures, Scarpa went far beyond his role as a designer, spending long hours at the glass furnaces. His innovative glass designs were soon noticed at Venice Biennales. As was so often with Scarpa, they were the result of intense collaborations with craftsmen long into the night. (6) Perhaps more than anything else, Scarpa’s experience at Murano released his innate feeling for color and materials.

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In 1978 while in Japan, the place he loved the most after the Veneto lagoon, Scarpa died after falling down a flight of concrete stairs. He survived for ten days in a hospital before succumbing to the injuries of his fall. Between the arcs of the Brion Cemetery at San Vito d’Altivole in the Veneto, he chose his grave in an isolated exterior corner where he is buried standing up and wrapped in linen sheets, a style of a medieval knight. (7) Scarpa once said: “When my time comes, I shall rest here, in no man’s land in the municipal copse. Cover me than with these words, ‘I am a man of Byzantium who came to Venice by way of Greece.’ ” He was a Byzantine at heart, an European sailing towards the Orient. (8)

Ikeda, H. (ed.). (1993). Carlo Scarpa: Villa Palazzetto. Tokyo: The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, p. 34 Brusatin, M. (1989). The Architecture of Life. In Noever, P. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Other City. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn, p. 319 Crippa, M.A. (1986). Carlo Scarpa: Theory, Design, Projects. Cambridge: MIT Press, p. 14 Brusatin, M. (1989). The Architecture of Life. In Noever, P. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Other City. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn, p. 319 Grigor, M. (directed). (n.d.). Carlo Scarpa: a profile [video]. Retrieved May 5, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com Salazar, D. (1997). The Function of Form: Meaning in the work of Carlo Scarpa. Lubbock: Texas Tech University, p. 24 Wikipedia (n.d.). Carlo Scarpa. Retrieved May 5, 2015 from http://en.wikipedia.org Grigor, M. (directed). (n.d.). Carlo Scarpa: a profile [video]. Retrieved May 5, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

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1.2 The champion of craft, materials and detail At the time Scarpa entered the Accademia in Venice, the Art Nouveau movement - commencing approximately in 1890 - challenged the then in force Neo-Classicism by taking advantage of the new, industrial materials like iron and glass. The Art Nouveau proponents tried to emphasize structural honesty and a revival of craftsmanship. In addition the Vienna Secession - the Art Nouveau’s Austrian parallel - had enormous influence upon the Venetian art of the period between the great World Wars, as a result of the historical bond and geographical proximity of Vienna and Venice. (1) By the end of the First World War, the new movement had made its impression on the lagoon city, providing a favorable ambiance for its full development. The style of the Secessionists invaded the Accademia and Scarpa with its emphasis on “feeling for materials, the combination of textures put across by their cornices, the care they took in their joints, their clever details, all indicate a consummate skill which one feels impelled to use upon learning of it.” (2)

Manlio Brusatin suggest in his article “Carlo Scarpa, Architetto Veneziano” (1972) in Controspazio - an influential Italian magazine of architecture and urban planning - that through Scarpa’s interest in ancient architecture, his love of design and ornament, he generated curiosity in the Viennese Secessionist movement. (3) To Sergio Los, his student, assistant and collaborator of many projects, Scarpa repeatedly mentioned that despite the indifference of most of its professors “at the Accademia prevailed, more than at the Departments of Architecture, a craft atmosphere that was reminiscent of a building site”. (4) Scarpa’s understanding of architecture was furthered in his her-worship for Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). He regarded him with a measured deference and used the most original of Wright’s models to develop the varied language of his own craftsmanship. It was at his time as a Professor of architectural drawing at the Instituto Universitario di Architettura of Venice, he finds this interest in the American’s organic, geometric shapes and historic sense, in his employment of novel materials and building procedures that were the hallmark of Wright’s Modernist architecture. Scarpa nurtured many students in the study of Wright and took them even to the United States to see his work in person. (5)

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The historian Francesco Dal Co - and Professor of History at the IUAV - has proposed the intellectual affinity between the two architects, both of whom he called “tenacious observers” and “collectors of images”. Their most important link can perhaps be perceived in the relationship the both man establish with their own cultural tradition. But differences existed there as well, Dal Co points out, noting that while Wright desired to establish new traditions and values, Scarpa rejected such ‘ideological’ learnings. Dal Co also notes that the only foreign tradition for which both Wright and Scarpa demonstrated enthusiasm was orientalist in general and Japanese architecture in particular. (6)

Scarpa met Frank Lloyd Wright for the first time in person in Venice in 1951. The occasion was the conferring of an honorary doctorate on the famous American architect from the IUAV University. The story about this encounter is very characteristic. At that point of time Scarpa was an unlicensed architect and therefore not among the welcoming committee of official architects who met Lloyd Wright from his airplane. Lloyd Wright brusquely refused to acknowledge the committee; instead he called out “Which one of you is Scarpa?” and selected the absent Scarpa to be one of his two-man escort around the city. (7) Another notable Modern Movement figure that influenced Scarpa, was the Russian-American architect Louis Kahn (1901-1974). Scarpa met him for the first time during his 1967 journey to the States. Scarpa’s approach to architecture was closely related to Kahn’s - like Wright’s - in his attention to detail and their use of Beaux Arts principles. The Italian architect considered this American counterpart “the last great architect.” (8) For the 34th Biennale in 1968, Scarpa exhibited his own projects in conjunction with Kahn’s. Through that experience they developed a warm friendship, Kahn even wrote a laudatory poem on the work of Scarpa:

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“In the work of Carlo Scarpa ‘Beauty’ the first sense Art, the first word Then Wonder, then the inner realization of ‘Form’ the sense of the wholeness of inseparable elements.

Design consults Nature to give presence to the elements A work of art makes manifest the wholeness of ‘Form’ the symphony of the selected shapes of the elements.

In the elements the joint inspires ornament, its celebration.

The detail is the adoration of Nature.” (9)

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In this poem Kahn appoints - like Frascari who defined Scarpa’s architecture as architettura di spoglio, the practice of re-composition - Scarpa’s ‘Wonder’ of inner realization of form, of the wholeness of the symphony made from the selected elements. Also Vincent Scully, Professor Emeritus of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, detained in an essay this skillfulness of Scarpa to merge different parts in one whole: “How beautifully intricately, always everything is fitted together. In some realm beyond space Scarpa seems to find his deepest love, in the obsessive joining of physical elements and their silent unlocking, suggesting something taking place in one of his haunted museums at night when all the people have gone.” (10) In conclusion you can say that Scarpa was a Modern architect, but not a partisan of the Modern Movement. The permanent effect that Art Nouveau and the Vienna Secession, and the influence of Wright and Kahn, had on Scarpa can be seen in his work, especially in his use of a wide repertoire of materials. They allow substantial personal expression to be revealed: a refined sense of decoration, and the principle of fantasy is omnipresent in Scarpa’s work.

But above all Carlo Scarpa was a master of detail and craftsmanship with an almost sacred respect for the ancient. Brusatin suggests this devotion to craft was developed as a glassblower where his sense of quality found in material was heightened. However, he also suggests that this endeavor served finally to limit his ability as an architect; whose attitude towards modern industry was that it produced bad architecture. Scarpa’s passion yields work of high quality, however costly.

(11)

Salazar, D. (1997). The Function of Form: Meaning in the work of Carlo Scarpa. Lubbock: Texas Tech University, p. 20 (1) Los, S. (1993). Carlo Scarpa: Architect. Nuremberg: Benedikt Taschen, p. 22 (2) Brusatin, M. (1972). Carlo Scarpa: Architetto Veneziano. Controspazio, (2), p. 6 (3) Los, S. (1993). Carlo Scarpa: Architect. Nuremberg: Benedikt Taschen, p. 8 (4) Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 76-77 (5) Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.). (1985). Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli, p. 46-49 (6) McCarter, R. (2013). Carlo Scarpa. London: Phaidon Press Ltd, p. 5 (7) Salazar, D. (1997). The Function of Form: Meaning in the work of Carlo Scarpa. Lubbock: Texas Tech University, p. 37 (8) Kahn, L.I. (1965). Louis Kahn at Rice. Rice Publications, p. 4 (9) Scully, V. (1985). Between Wright and Louis Kahn. In Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli, p. 267 (10) Brusatin, M. (1972). Carlo Scarpa: Architetto Veneziano. Controspazio, (2), p. 34 (11)

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part 2

2.1 Methodology of analyze The modest Maestro who preferred to work in silence and had an aversion to elucidate his design philosophies and theories, told his student Pietropoli that “if his buildings were roses, they will bloom by themselves.” (1) Scarpa rarely gave lectures or presentations and rarely wrote essays or let slip an architectural statement. Rather he locked himself in his studio and let himself go at his drawing table. Consequently is that the reason why at these days in the architectural archives a lot of literature from others about him available is, but not literature directly from him. Instead numerous of beautiful drawings and sketches have been preserved. These drawings testify to Scarpa’s obsessive study of a specific problem, particularly of the working out of details, variations of which he would sketch several times over. This seemingly uncertain approach has prompted some of his critics to call him “Il dubbio metodico” or ‘the methodical dubious’. (2)

As mentioned in the previous chapters, Scarpa’s archittetura di spoglio - his fragmentary architecture style - distinguishes itself because of the incisive attention that he paid to the details or joints in the construction and connection of the different architectural elements. The word ‘detail’ usually suggests the small part of a larger whole, and the word ‘joint’ refers to a junction or connection of two or more materials or elements. In modern architectural practice, according to Marco Frascari, “any architectural element defined as detail is always a joint, since the detailing or specific designing of architectural elements implies the adequate connection between its parts, and the joining of the element with the building”. (3) Carlo Scarpa’s details and drawings are in most of the literature photographed as artifacts, out of context and sequence. Therefore, it is important to analyze and illustrate his use of details in relation to the whole. In the book “De visuele waarneming van de gebouwde omgeving” (The visual perception of the built environment) by the Dutch TU Delft Professor Niels Luning Prak, the perception psychology is applied to the design of buildings. It shows how the contrast or the cohesion of the parts of a building may be increased or reduced, and why some buildings look complex and other simple. It treats on the basis of a number of psychological tests the perception of forms, directions and space and the denotative and connotative meanings of forms. Visual perception is understood in this book as a process of information processing. (4)

< 3 Carlo Scarpa drawing in his time as artistic director at the Venini Glass Works

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The visual system of humans and animals is particularly sensitive to the perception of differences and changes in the environment: the perception focuses on the new rather than the familiar, ordinary and known. The complementary character of the new and the familiar is emphasized in the information-theory. Each observation contains information (the new, unexpected and unpredictable) and redundancy (the known, expected and predictable). To illustrate, our residential street is redundant, but the positions of cars and people in it is information. Symmetrical figures are redundant because the parts on both sides of an symmetry-axis are identical.

The four Gestalt-Laws show how the visual system works as efficiently as possible in the field between information and redundancy. One recognizes the redundancy (Law of Equality) and brings the elements of the observed under in full-size groups (Law of Proximity). He does not add new information (Law of Continuity) and continuously reduces figures to parts with each respectively a maximum of redundancy (Law of Simple Main Form). These Gestalt-Laws are conditional and not hierarchical. One time dominates the one law, other times just another law. In illustration 4, points of the upper row of figures be observed such as the middle row, and not like the bottom one. In the first, third and fifth figure wins the Law of Simple Main Form; in the second and fourth figure the Law of Proximity. (5) The Gestalt-Laws are probably more innate than learned, given the equal results of some experiments with animals. (6)

The Gestalt-Laws are in the illustration demonstrated with flat, abstract figures. Parallels in music show that the underlying principles - sharpening of contrasts in figure-and-ground and reduction of information - are of a very general nature. Therefore, they probably hold not only for flat figures, but for three-dimensional space as well. Where a flat figure has a contour as a boundary, a three-dimensional object has a surface. (7)

< 4 point configurations showing the not-hierarchical relationship of the Gestalt-Laws

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In the lecture A Thousand Cypresses (1978) given by Carlo Scarpa himself at the end of his life, he reflected: “If the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel it’s good effects without noticing. The environment educates in a critical fashion. As for the critic, he discovers the truth in things.” (8) By saying this he confirms the importance of the synthesis or symphony of inseparable elements in one wholeness or form.

The German word “Gestalt” literally means ‘form’ and comes from the notion of the whole, that which is given by the relations of the elements. In this sense, the whole has unique properties of its own, ones that are not merely given by the sum of the properties of the elements. In other words: 1 + 1 = 3, hereby referring to the added value of the whole. Moreover, frequently the properties of the whole have no relationship to those of the parts and cannot be predicted from them (and vice versa). For example, in illustration 5 the four round white dots separately have no squareness in them. Only together - and in a certain relationship to one another - they make a square. The fact that the separate units may be triangles or circles, does not change the squareness of the whole: it is the patterns or relations of the parts which contribute the essential quality of the whole. The crucial test of a Gestalt quality would be a test of transposition; replacing the elements with other elements while retaining the quality of the whole. If transposition is successful, the relationships are independent of the elements. The example of the square is a transposition in the spatial domain. (9) The organizational Gestalt-Laws can assist with the decomposition of the details in Scarpa’s archittetura di spoglio and show how the different spogli or spoils are formed in one wholeness. In the next chapter three details of representative transformation projects of Scarpa will be disjoint and analyzed on the base of the four Gestalt-Laws to reveal Scarpa’s expertise of synthesis and metamorphosis of the different elements in one wholeness.

Ikeda, H. (ed.). (1993). Carlo Scarpa: Villa Palazzetto. Tokyo: The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, p. 34 Damisch, H. (1985). The Drawings of Carlo Scarpa. In Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli, p. 209 Frascari, M. (1984). The Tell-The-Tale Detail. The Journal of Architectural Education, 7, p. 23 Prak, N.L. (1979). De visuele waarneming van de gebouwde omgeving. Delft: Delft Universitaire Pers, p. VII Ibid., p. 14-21 Ibid., p. 11 Ibid., p. 46 Scarpa, C. (1978). A Thousand Cypresses. In Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli, p. 286 Haber, R.N., & Hershenson, M. (1973). The psychology of visual perception. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, p. 191

< 5 transposition of the elements in a square pattern without affecting the whole

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)

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project 1 Bridge, Fondazione Querini Stampalia Venice, Italy ; 1959-1963

General Information The museum Querini Stampalia is a historical sixteenth century Palazzo, formerly inhabited by a patriarch of Venice and embellished by stucco and frescoes. The museum preserves one of the richest art collections of the lagoon city with over four hundred paintings from the nineteenth century. (1) The Palace was restored by three different architects with three different styles. Carlo Scarpa - under Giuseppe Mazzariol’s supervision, director of the Fondazione - was commissioned to do the restoration of the ground-floor and garden at the rear of the building between 1959 and 1963.

Between the 1980s and the 1990s, Valeriano Pastor designed a connection system among the floors of the Palace and the various buildings of this complex. In 1994 Mario Botta carried out a substantial renovation of the residence by reorganizing its rooms and services. (2)

The renovation works by Scarpa are based on a balanced combination of old and new elements, as well as on a great workmanship of the materials. At the time Scarpa was commissioned, the ground-floor and back garden of the old Venetian Palazzo were in a state of extreme neglect and degradation. Mazzariol, beside director also a good friend and supporter of Scarpa, deemed these areas unusable for exhibitions, congresses and other initiatives due to frequent seawater flooding. Furthermore he stated: “A century ago, [the interior] had been devastated by a theatrical arrangement of vaguely neo-classical nature, with decorative columns and a banal wood lining, which had definitely ruined the original, basic perspectives of the building.” (3) It was necessary to proceed gradually and removing the added elements to rediscover the original forms. By this way the portego was re-identified: the large enclosed space leading from the canal to the garden.

Giuseppe Mazzariol wanted to improve the organization of cultural activities and reconstruct the entrance of the Palace by moving it onto the Campiello Querini Stampalia façade instead onto the previous narrow Calle Querini. Consequently a new bridge had to be formed to give access to the museum. In illustration 7 the ground floor plan before and after the restoration

by Scarpa are showed. In the corner left under the new bridge is visible in the new floor plan. This little bridge is spanning the Rio Santa Maria Formosa and leads directly into the anteroom and entrance of the museum. It interprets the typical morphology of the small Venetian bridges in a completely new way by his exceptional tension and lightness. (4)

< 7 ground floor plans before and after the renovation by Scarpa

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Materialization The access to the palace is via four ascending steps, which are followed by a horizontal element and five descending steps; as the entrance level of the Palazzo is lower than that of the opposite campiello (small square). The bridge is mainly constructed from three materials: stone, iron and wood. The main construction of the bridge is an arc resting and attached at the palazzo side on a block of Istrian stone - pietra dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Istria - and at the opposite side on the white stone curb of the square. The arc is divided into two semi-arcs consisting of concave iron plates; massive iron elements in rectangular shapes are interposed and attached in the centre. The support of the railing is made of welded and screwed iron plates which are carrying the handrail made from teakwood by using an welded iron pipe plate. This pipe and the handrail are finished on the front side with curved bronze cylinders. The curve of the railing has three straight sections which is globally equal to the curve of the arch. The riser and horizontal part are made of larch wood. (5)

A detail of the bridge is visible in illustration 8. It depicts the junction between the second and third ascending step: a bended iron plate preserves on a graceful way a certain distance between the step of white stone and the step of larch wood. In addition the detail shows the aperture or distance between the two iron plates of the bearing arc under the steps. These distances or intervals accentuate Scarpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use of different building spoils and materials.

< 8 detail of the ascending stair treads

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Synthesis of spoils Illustration 9 shows the blueprint of the definitive version of Scarpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design for the bridge. The analysis of this project will focus on the zone where the ascending steps at the front site of the bridge come together with the campiello site; or in other words, where the new and the old elements meet each other. The purple-red color in the analysis of the drawing represents the Law of Equality, the orange color the Law of Continuity, and the yellow color the Law of Simple Main Form. The forth Gestalt-Law - the Law of Proximity - is not in force in this stair design and hence in this analysis left out of consideration.

As visible in the decomposition the upper three steps merge into each other by using the Law of Equality in the contour shape of the steps. In addition the Law of Continuity in the use of the same white stone material, enables an unity between the first two steps and the square on which the bridge is resting. The total wholeness of the riser of the bridge is amplified by the Law of Simple Main Form by using the simple conventional form of steps.

In conclusion the second step is essential, since the three different Gestalt-Laws are applied on this particular step. It would have been logical to materialize this step also from larch wood, but by making it out of the white stone the step becomes the melting point between the three laws and ensures the synthese of the different spoils or elements. By this way - making a twist in the use of the Gestalt-Laws - Scarpa both made a fluent transition between the existing campiello and the new bridge as created a exciting field of tension in the appearance of the beautiful bridge.

MIMOA. (2009). Querini Stampalia Bridge. Retrieved May 20, 2015 from http://mimoa.eu Fondazione Querini Stampalia Onlus. (n.d.). Carlo Scarpa. Retrieved May 20, 2015 from http://www.querinistampalia.org Santini, P.C. (1979). Global Architecture: Carlo Scarpa. Tokyo: ADA Edita, p. 6 Ibid., p. 7 Albertini, B. (1989). Scarpa: Architektur im detail. TĂźbingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, p. 214

< 9 blueprint of the definitive side elevation of the bridge

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

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project 2 Meditation Pavilion, Brion-Vega Cemetery San Vito dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Altivole, Italy ; 1968-1978

General Information The Brion-Vega Cemetery in San Vito d’Altivole near Treviso is one of the major works of Carlo Scarpa. Scarpa began designing the addition to an existing municipal cemetery in 1968. Although he continued to consider changes to the project, it was completed before his accidental death in 1978. The enclosure is a private burial ground for the Brion family, commissioned by Giuseppe Brion, the founder of the Italian electronics company Brionvega. (1) Scarpa is - as mentioned in chapter one - buried in an isolated exterior corner of the Brion sanctuary standing up and wrapped in linen sheets.

The enclosure, which is commonly called Tomba Brion or cemetery Brion, is a spacious terrain in the form of an L. Under a large arc in the corner of this L, situates the arcosolium - a symbol of unification - are the graves of the owners, Giuseppe and his wife Onorina Brion. Not far away is another chapel, a tent-shaped concrete building, which is reserved to the deceased members of the Brion family. As visible in the cardboard model in illustration 11 the funeral complex is accessible from two entrances (one from the old cemetery and one from the street) with a free sequence plan of various buildings. All of them are realized in concrete. (2) The top of the cardboard model shows the zone with the private mediation pavilion floating in water.

Notable to say is that the ‘viewing device’ in the wall which leads to the pavilion of meditation, suggests a vesica piscis: a shape that is the intersection of two circles with the same radius, intersecting in such a way that the center of each circle lies on the perimeter of the other.

This vesica piscis (literally meaning ‘bladder of a fish’) or solar eclipse and its mathematics are in the past often used by architects and artists in their sacred buildings and artwork to reflect their religious beliefs, as even it is a repeated leitmotif in Scarpa’s architecture. (3)

The architect said about this remarkable project: “I would like to explain the Tomb Brion. I consider this work, if you permit me, to be rather good and which will get better over time. I have tried to put some poetic imagination into it, though not in order to create poetic architecture but to make a certain kind of architecture that could emanate a sense of formal poetry. The place for the dead is a garden. I wanted to show some ways in which you could approach death in a social and civic way; and further what meaning there was in death, in the ephemerality of life other than these shoe-boxes.” (4)

< 11 cardboard model of the Brion-Vega Cemetery

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Materialization In a big pond with water lilies at the opposite end of the arcosolium, a concrete platform is located for rest and meditation: it is the only private place whose entrance is closed by a glass door, which can be opened by means of a counterweight-mechanism. Over the platform a small canopy is floating, which is supported by a metal structure in a square section (side length: 9 cm) which in turn consists of four massive, solid elements even in square sections (side length: 35 mm) realized.

Each column is alternately separated into two elements, of which the lower one is the shortest. Both the freestanding upper ends carry a symbolic element of Muntz metal: a shining, hollow semicircle (h = 5,5 cm). Each support stands out of the water while the concrete base is below the water level. The asymmetric arrangement of the columns is based on the rectangular base of the pavilion, and each of the four is connected to the covering structure, which consists of hidden iron casings. (5)

The canopy of the mediation pavilion has a roofing made of larch wood with inlays of ebony, an assembly of light and dark wood. The boorish boards are fastened to the continuous, underlying surface. The drawing of the final combination in a free scheme of axes of different length - which was found after Scarpa made many studies - follows graphic motifs of the expressionist Swiss-German painter Paul Klee (1879-1940). Further inside green lacquered panels extend to an eye level in order to limit the view of the visitor, who meditates on the platform. (6)

Illustration 12 shows a photo of the mediation pavilion in current state; the photo at the front page of this chapter (illustration 10) is a digital visualization of the original state. The gray coloring, adopted by the wood after years in sunshine and rain, was planned and willed conscious

by Scarpa. The elongated form and the gray color of the wooden boards refer to the horizontal direction of the lanes of gray concrete in the walls behind the pavilion.

< 12 the meditation pavilion in current state

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Synthesis of spoils The colored hand drawing made by Scarpa visible in illustration 13, is the final version for the side elevation of the meditation pavilion. As may be seen three silhouettes of woman figures are drawn in the middle. This locus of bodies in Scarpa’s hand drawings often appears and generates the locus of the event in his drawings. Figures of women - instead of men - predominate: stupendous nudes formed of contours and lines in constant dialogue with the architectural artifacts proposed in the drawings.

Frascari notices about this aspect: “For Scarpa the image is poetic; his architecture, like his figures of women, is a continuous research into a beauty not canonical and abstract, but real.” (7)

The analysis of Scarpa’s design focuses on the synthesis of the different materials and forms used in the meditation pavilion. The purple-red color in the analysis of the drawing represents the Law of Equality, the red color the Law of Proximity, the orange color the Law of Continuity, and the yellow color the Law of Simple Main Form. The decomposition shows that the columns are in line with the vertical wooden boards (Law of Continuity). The main elements of the pavilion are symmetrical (Law of Equality) and the concrete platform looks attached to the columns by using the Law of Proximity.

In conclusion it can be stated that at first sight the mediation pavilion presents itself as a simple formation (Law of Simple Main Form), but on closer observation reveals that Scarpa created a field of tension by making small modifications in this simple main form. For example, the placement of the columns is not at the corners and the composition of the wooden boards is not in a logical manner, but still in balance. The columns themselves exist not out one part but are assemblies of several components. The first observation of the pavilion contains the redundancy (the known, expected and predictable), whereafter comes the information (the new, unexpected and unpredictable). Scarpa played consciously with the Gestalt-Laws to create an exciting and wonderful pavilion.

Architectuul (2014). Brion-Vega Cemetery. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http://architectuul.com Meroni, F. (2013). Brion Tomb, Carlo Scarpa. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from https://www.behance.net Architectuul (2014). Brion-Vega Cemetery. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http://architectuul.com Scarpa, C. (1989). Can Architecture Be Poetry. In Noever, P. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Other City. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn, p. 17-18 Albertini, B. (1989). Scarpa: Architektur im detail. Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, p. 210 Ibid., p. 230 Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 75-76

< 13 blueprint of the definitive side elevation of the meditation pavilion

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

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project 3 Entrance Tolentini, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia Venice, Italy ; 1984, built posthumously

General Information The Tolentini premises - the main seat of the Instituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia with the rector’s office, main administration offices, lab system and central library - are located near Piazzale Roma and include the monastery of the Tolentini church and certain surrounding structures such as the entrance way, the small ex-Palma house and a pavilion. The Tolentini premises were designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi in the sixteenth century and restored by Daniele Calabi in the early 1960’s. (1) In 1984 the entrance way was transformed according to the project by Carlo Scarpa.

Scarpa developed the project in three phases: a first one from 1966, a second one from 1972 when he is designated dean of the IUAV, and a last phase from 1976-1978 when he passes in an accident in Japan. This last phase was finished by architect and IUAV Professor Sergio Los in 1984, using the blueprints that Scarpa left before his death. (2)

Scarpa’s project began with two sketches on the back of cigarette boxes. To these two genetic sketches should be added a third on letterhead paper showing a stone door frame located in a pool of water. These three sketches contain the principal elements of the design of the gate, which would further unfold in the different versions of the project. For the solution of the entry to the Tolentini, Scarpa elaborated as said three different design proposals during the time span of a decade. The third design, a more advanced reflection on the juxtaposition of the elements in the other two, was never completely unfolded; as a consequence, the second version was the one that was built by Sergio Los. (3) Illustration 15 shows the side elevation of the first design proposal from Scarpa in 1966; at the background the Tolentini church is visible.

The builded entrance gate is distinguished by a big sloping canopy, suspended between thick leaning walls lined on the inside with terracotta, and by the original recovery of an ancient doorway found during the restoration of the nearby Tolentini convent. On the basis of Scarpa’s drawings, this was laid down and immersed in water in an off-center position in the small access yard. (4) The small enclosed campo is a fanum, the city of Venice is a pro-fanum, and the altar is in the gate between the profane city of the professionals and the sacred space of the professors. This metaphorical relationship, becomes evident by the surface of the campo which is raised as in a campo dei morti, the dramatic Venetian sacred burial ground utilized during the plagues. To solve the problem of too many infected corpses and no ground to inter them, the solution devised by the Venetian government was to lay the corpses on the ground, a small campo, where they were then covered with quicklime and dirt. The completion of this procedure was to apply a new stone paving over it, making the final surface of the campo higher than the surrounding area. (5)

< 15 side elevation of the first design proposal for the Tolentini entrance, 1966

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Materialization During the restorations and transformation of the monastery of the Tolentini as the new seat for the IUAV, the stone frame of a monumental door was found in the big refectory hall. Daniele Calabi, the architect in charge of the restoration, thought of using the architectural spoil as the focus for the new entry to the Institute; the basic concept was to insert the door as a gate in a wall to be built to enclose the Campiello dei Tolentini. Since then, up to the moment of contract, the frame of the door was lying on the ground more or less in the same position where Scarpa locates it in its design. (6)

This Istria stone frame placed parallel to the ground - encircling a pond which reflects the surrealistic light of the sky in the water - shows the ironic nature of architecture, its origin in spoils, in the fragments of antiquity. This fragment visible in illustration 16 becomes an entry gate to the realm of images within the architecture of spoils: it is a sacred spoil stolen from the building just as the body of Saint Mark is a sacred spoil stolen from Alexandria. The Venetians built their city by pilfering stones and saints. The Palazzo Ducale and many buildings of the city were made by using the collections of spoils carried as ballasts by the Venetian merchants in their return trips. (7)

Through his own sensibility to small facts, Carlo Scarpa presents the Giovanni Battista Vico’s concept in an ironic way in the entry gate to the Tolentini building. The entry place is enclosed by a shadowless wall and closed by a technical wonder, a stone-glass gate balanced on a track by a ‘solo’ wheel (illustration 14). On the stone slap, the famous Latin Viconian motto is carved, which encapsulated the concept of the reciprocation between artifact and the real, with a little Scarpion twist added: vervm I.psV.m fA.ctV.m

The acronym of the school has been inserted in the Viconian dictum. It says “verum ipsum factum”, or “truth through facts”. In the second line of the small Roman letters inscription, the four letters I.V.A.V. are marked in capital letters enlightened in gold leaf. With this poetic line at the entrance of the school of architecture, Scarpa wished to underscore the concept that one can reach the truth only through the actual realization of the idea, through “the formal decision, that quid [something] that renders the form into a precise fact, in no way mistakable”. He believed fervently in learning by doing, in his case by drawing and by the persistent dialogue and close cooperation maintained with his artisans who provided a constant source of inspiration. (8) The inscription was conceived by Scarpa during the second design of the entry complex. He was so fond of the idea of interweaving Vico’s motto with the school acronym, that studies of the graphic form of the acrostic can be found not only in the drawing of the project of the entry but also as marginalia in the drawings of other contemporary projects. During his tenure as director of the school, Scarpa maneuvered to have the Viconian phrase with the acronym of the school inserted and printed as the identification of the school in the degree diplomas in the hope that the gate would be built. (9) < 16 the Istria stone frame in the small enclosed campo of the Tolentini entrance

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Synthesis of spoils Scarpa decided to close the entrance space with a wall, the interior of which is covered with brick, creating a titled plane. With this solution he prevents a dark space with no interest that a vertical wall would have created. The titled forms are aligned with the elevated perimeter that surrounds the passage, but separating itself from this passage by a small height difference and a vertical gap. In the interior, the access highlights the old Istria stone entrance frame. The mobile gate door is as well made out of Istria stone and full of details, and closes the access along with a part of glass that allows passers to see the ongoing events. The gate is protected by a tilted concrete wall. On the right side of the opening leading to the main courtyard, a bronze cast replica of Le Corbusier’s open hand stops you before entering (visible in illustration 14 behind the glazed door). The open hand - La Main Ouverte - is a recurring motif in Le Corbusier’s architecture, a sign for him of “peace and reconciliation. It is open to give and open to receive.” It represents the exchange of ideas. (10)

Two long prestressed beams mark the sides of the space in the first design proposal (1966) of Scarpa, as visible in illustration 17. They are oversized flower containers or elongated urns for remembering, or prefiguring the role of the science of construction in the making and contemplation of architecture. In the second version of the project, they are replaced by an already mentioned urban metamorphosis, the raised campo dei morti. The decomposition of the first design proposal from Scarpa as visible in the analysis of illustration 17 indicates the Law of Equality in purple-red and the Law of Proximity in red; the orange color represents the Law of Continuity, and the yellow color the Law of Simple Main Form.

The length of the passage is emphasized by the equal prestressed beams. The Law of Continuity and Proximity are used to give direction to the passage and indirect indicate the way the visitors have to follow to the Tolentini library. The simple rectangular main forms of the enclosed campo are interrupted by diverse elements to create an exiting field of tension. In conclusion Scarpa used again the Gestalt-Laws to create the main storyline or narrative; while simultaneously he twisted with these Gestalt-Laws to make the entrance thrilling and attractive.

IUAV (n.d.). Tolentini. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from http://www.iuav.it (1) Architecture Weekend (n.d.). Tolentini Entrance. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from http://www.architectureweekend.com (2) Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 58-60 (3) Beltramini, G., & Zannier, I. (2007). Carlo Scarpa: Architecture and Design. New York: Rizzoli, p. 295 (4) Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 60-61 (5) Ibid., p. 58 (6) Ibid., p. 61-62 (7) Salazar, D. (1997). The Function of Form: Meaning in the work of Carlo Scarpa. Lubbock: Texas Tech University, p. 73-74 (8) Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 54-56 (9) Architecture Weekend (n.d.). Tolentini Entrance. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from http://www.architectureweekend.com (10)

< 17 definitive plan of the first design proposal for the Tolentini entrance, 1966

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gestalt-laws law of equality law of proximity law of continuity law of simple main form

2.3 Projects examined Scarpa never sought to return a historic building to an earlier image, but manipulated its fragmentary condition to reveal the best of its different layers. The synthese in his architecture of spoils - the practice of reusing architectonic elements so popular in ancient Venice - is present in the work of Scarpa as visible in the three project described in the previous chapters. It is not an architecture of prefabricated romantic ruins, or of post-modern ‘instant history’, but it is a way of producing architecture as the assimilation of prior architectural artifacts. As Frascari describes: “Buildings are cultural texts that are generated by assembling fragments, excerpts, citations, passages, and quotations.” (1) Every building is then both an identification and a transformation of other buildings.

As visible in the three projects or case studies (illustration 18 shows an overview of the three analyzes), Scarpa has a deep expertise of synthesis and metamorphosis from different elements in one wholeness. The organizational Gestalt-Laws are consciously used by the master to form one wholeness of the different spogli. In the first project - the beautiful bridge which leads to the Fondazione Querini Stampalia - the old en new spoils come together by applying three GestaltLaws on one of the ascending steps. This particular step becomes the melting point of the metamorphosis of the old and the new. The different material spoils in the Meditation Pavilion of the Brion-Vega Cemetery - the second project - appear at first sight as a redundant wholeness, but on closer observation reveals Scarpa’s creation of a field of tension by making small modifications in the redundant main form, such as the off grid placement of the columns and the balanced composition of the wooden boards. The third analyses of the Tolentini entrance from the IUAV, shows again Scarpa’s use of the Gestalt-Laws to create a main storyline or narrative; while simultaneously he twisted with these Gestalt-Laws to make a tensed and attractive design.

The ‘differences’ between these three projects lies in the use of the different types of spoils.

In the first project the spoils which are used symbolize the past and the present, in the second project the spoils are the different materials and in the third project the spoils consist of different forms (hence the entrance is built posthumously; the knowledge which materials Scarpa wanted to use is not available). The similarities between the three project lies in the fact that the spoils - in any form - are melted in one wholeness by use of the four Gestalt-Laws. The first observation of the projects contains the redundancy (the known, expected and predictable), whereafter comes the information (the new, unexpected and unpredictable). Scarpa played consciously with the GestaltLaws to create exciting and wonderful creations.

Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 22 (1)

< 18 the analyzes of project one, two and three (clockwise)

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The assignment of the coming decades for us, the young architects, is to find solutions for the transformation, modification, restoration and energy innovation of existing buildings; taking in account that after the coming 15-20 years 90% of the built environment will consist of exactly the same elements as we have now. The study of Scarpa’s oeuvre contains valuable teachings regarding the importance of the knowledge of ‘making’ in the design and building process, and of the incorporation of history and tradition in architectural production. He was a master of detail and a connoisseur of materials; old and new or inexpensive and expensive building parts, he knew very well how to merge these parts to one united form. His work could be seen as a didactic example for the important building transformation challenge of today.

Much of the work of Scarpa on old buildings within historic sites was characterized by innovation, a stand that is always a source of controversy. It is within historical contexts that Scarpa’s architecture of juxtaposition found the perfect stage for development, where a dialogue between past and present could take place. Whenever confronted with restoration, Scarpa chose not to submit to the reluctant historicism that such restrictions would impose on his work. He viewed the entire process as renovating more than preserving an edifice. He believed that a building is raw matter to be modeled: “By restauro I do not mean to only repair old buildings; our duty is rather to give them a new lease of life so that we may be able to live today and tomorrow. (…) In architecture, all the existing buildings form part of the matiere.” (1) It is important to recognize that Scarpa would not only restore what had been lost, but he developed simultaneously an entirely modern language complimentary to the existing one.

In order to articulate the contrasts, Scarpa used modern materials “like concrete, metal, and wood [which] are (…) juxtaposed with the older surfaces to create intricate textual contrast.” (2) Sensitive to context and history, Scarpa remained receptive always to the potential use of materials and a modern awareness of space. A keen knowledge of materials and techniques was the prerequisite for his design philosophy. It is logical to derive this knowledge from the fact - as mentioned in the first chapter - that the young Carlo Scarpa became aware of the built world among the treasures of Vicenza and Venice. Moreover, he was already introduced to the art of threedimensional making in his mother’s dress-makers shop, learning the delicate craft of montage through pattern making; the transformation of two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional forms. It was an experience later to be repeated with the glass blowers of Murano, the furniture makers of Venice and architecture itself.

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conclusion Some critics consider that Scarpa’s design methodology is inapplicable today, precisely because of his originality. The art of making as well as the use and development of local traditions and crafts was of capital importance in the work of Scarpa, and it is true that the sort of crafts that he used are out of reach for the most architects and clients of today. However, even if there are no skilled craftsmen available, it is still feasible to teach architecture students how to build architectural craft as part of the design process. Teaching students how things are made and how the building elements and fragments come together should have a positive impact on the designs; instead of the current education at Architecture faculties predominately focusing on new building designs.

Following the analysis and examination of the work of Carlo Scarpa in this thesis, I believe that the message that Scarpa’s work has to offer lies beyond the forms and rich ornamentation of his buildings, and is located in his very controlled design methodology, architectural principles and cultural vision. He said it clearly, “If they are roses they will bloom.” (3) The use of fantasy and the workings of the subconscious mind of the architect cannot be codified, but several elements in his method producing meaningful architecture, like the great achieved synthesis of the different elements and fragments in Scarpa’s architettura di spoglio, can be identified and certainly put to use by one.

Soroka, E. (1989). Point & Counterpoint: The Art of Interface in the Work of Carlo Scarpa. Modulos, 19, p. 44 (1) Iyer, C. (1991). Urban Metamorphosis. Architecture and Design, (2), p. 102 (2) Ikeda, H. (ed.). (1993). Carlo Scarpa: Villa Palazzetto. Tokyo: The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, p. 34 (3)

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Albertini, B. (1989). Scarpa: Architektur im detail. TĂźbingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag.

Architecture Weekend (n.d.). Tolentini Entrance. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from http://www.architectureweekend.com/venice/highlights/architecture-universityinstitute-entrance/ Architectuul (2014). Brion-Vega Cemetery. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http://architectuul.com/architecture/brion-vega-cemetery Beltramini, G., & Zannier, I. (2007). Carlo Scarpa: Architecture and Design. New York: Rizzoli.

Brusatin, M. (1972). Carlo Scarpa: Architetto Veneziano. Controspazio, (2).

Brusatin, M. (1989). The Architecture of Life. In Noever, P. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Other City. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn.

Crippa, M.A. (1986). Carlo Scarpa: Theory, Design, Projects. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.). (1985). Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli.

Damisch, H. (1985). The Drawings of Carlo Scarpa. In Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli.

Dobbelsteen, A. van den. (2014). Smart & Bioclimatic Design. Delft: Faculty of Architecture.

Fondazione Querini Stampalia Onlus. (n.d.). Carlo Scarpa. Retrieved May 20, 2015 from http://www.querinistampalia.org/eng/ contemporary/architecture/carlo_scarpa.php Frascari, M. (1984). The Tell-The-Tale Detail. The Journal of Architectural Education, 7.

Frascari, M. (1991). Monsters of Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectural Theory. Savage: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Grigor, M. (directed). (n.d.). Carlo Scarpa: a profile [video]. Retrieved May 5, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KxXgkEWK1U Haber, R.N., & Hershenson, M. (1973). The psychology of visual perception. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Ikeda, H. (ed.). (1993). Carlo Scarpa: Villa Palazzetto. Tokyo: The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art.

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bibliography IUAV (n.d.). Tolentini. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from http://www.iuav.it/English-Ve/About-Iuav/maps/in-Venice/Tolentini/index. htm Iyer, C. (1991). Urban Metamorphosis. Architecture and Design, (2).

Kahn, L.I. (1965). Louis Kahn at Rice. Rice Publications.

Los, S. (1993). Carlo Scarpa: Architect. Nuremberg: Benedikt Taschen.

McCarter, R. (2013). Carlo Scarpa. London: Phaidon Press Ltd. Meroni, F. (2013). Brion Tomb, Carlo Scarpa. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from https://www.behance.net/gallery/11539407/Brion-Tomb-(Tomba-Brion)-Carlo-Scarpa MIMOA. (2009). Querini Stampalia Bridge. Retrieved May 20, 2015 from http://mimoa.eu/projects/Italy/Venice/Querini%20 Stampalia%20Bridge Prak, N.L. (1979). De visuele waarneming van de gebouwde omgeving. Delft: Delft Universitaire Pers.

Salazar, D. (1997). The Function of Form: Meaning in the work of Carlo Scarpa. Lubbock: Texas Tech University.

Santini, P.C. (1979). Global Architecture: Carlo Scarpa. Tokyo: ADA Edita.

Scarpa, C. (1978). A Thousand Cypresses. In Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli.

Scarpa, C. (1989). Can Architecture Be Poetry. In Noever, P. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Other City. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn.

Scully, V. (1985). Between Wright and Louis Kahn. In Dal Co, F., & Mazzariol, G. (ed.), Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works. New York: Rizzoli.

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0 Portrait Scarpa

Westall, M. (2012). Carlo Scarpa ritratto a Venezia fine anni settanta. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http://fadmaga zine.com/wp-content/uploads/carlo-scarpa-ritratto-a-venezia-fine-anni-settanta.jpg

1

Me in front of the Tolentini entrance part of the IUAV own photograph

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Carlo Scarpa, circa 1970 ArchDaily (2012). Carlo Scarpa: Venini 1932–1947 at Rooms for Glass, Selldorf Architects. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1338688183-scarpa-ritratto-1003.jpg

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Carlo Scarpa drawing in his time as artistic director at the Venini Glass Works ArchDaily (2012). Carlo Scarpa: Venini 1932–1947 at Rooms for Glass, Selldorf Architects. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1338688197-scarpa-ritratto-1004.jpg

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Point configurations showing the not-hierarchical relationship of the Gestalt-Laws Prak, N.L. (1979). De visuele waarneming van de gebouwde omgeving. Delft: Delft Universitaire Pers, p. 21

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Transposition of the elements in a square pattern without affecting the whole Haber, R.N., & Hershenson, M. (1973). The psychology of visual perception. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, p. 191

6 Bridge, Fondazione Querini Stampalia; Venice, Italy; 1959-1963

Brown, D. (2006). Querini Stampalia Bridge. Retrieved May 20, 2015 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/d_brown/ 673666334/in/album-72157600570190830/

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Ground floor plans before and after the renovation by Scarpa Santini, P.C. (1979). Global Architecture: Carlo Scarpa. Tokyo: ADA Edita, p. 45

8 Detail of the ascending stair treads

Brown, D. (2006). Querini Stampalia Bridge - Detail. Retrieved May 20, 2015 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/d_ brown/673666376/in/album-72157600570190830/

9

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Blueprint of the definitive side elevation of the bridge Albertini, B. (1989). Scarpa: Architektur im detail. Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, p. 72-73

table of illustrations 10 Digital visualistion of the Meditation Pavilion, Brion-Vega Cemetery; San Vito d’Altivole, Italy; 1968-1978

ATLAS Studio (n.d.). Tomba Brion by Carlo Scarpa. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http://www.atlas-studio.co.uk/viz. html 11 Cardboard model of the Brion-Vega Cemetery

Meroni, F. (2013). Brion Tomb, Carlo Scarpa. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from https://www.behance.net/gallery/ 11539407/Brion-Tomb-(Tomba-Brion)-Carlo-Scarpa 12 The meditation pavilion in current state

Stuart Shield Garden Design (2015). Retrieved May 28, 2015 from https://stuartshieldgardendesign.files.wordpress. com/2015/03/carlos-scarpa-brion-3.jpg 13 Blueprint of the definitive side elevation of the meditation pavilion

Archivo Carlo Scarpa, Museo di Castelvecchio (n.d.). Padiglione sull’ acqua. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from

http://www.archiviocarloscarpa.it/web/ricerca_dsemplice.php?pageNum_disegni=3&totalRows_disegni= 218&opera=157&lingua=i&interrogazione= 14 Entrance Tolentini, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia; Venice, Italy; 1984, built posthumously

Pinterest (n.d.). Tolentini. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4d/f9/ff/4df 9ffeb7697683ab8c412ab9ca9e7e0.jpg 15

Side elevation of the first design proposal for the Tolentini entrance, 1966 Los, S. (1967). Carlo Scarpa: Architetto Poeta. Venice: Edizioni Cluva, p. 110

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The Istria stone frame in the small enclosed campo of the Tolentini entrance MIMOA (2015). IUAV’s Main Gate: Tolentini. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from http://www.mimoa.eu/images/6144_l.jpg

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Definitive plan of the first design proposal for the Tolentini entrance, 1966 Los, S. (1967). Carlo Scarpa: Architetto Poeta. Venice: Edizioni Cluva, p. 105

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The analyzes of project one, two and three (clockwise) own illustration

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