[Re]mapping the Neo-Avant Garde
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2 Peter Eisenman
An investigation into how to remap and imagine a nonfascist intervention utilising Neo-Avant Garde methods, which arguably are inherently fascist.
3 Zaha Hadid
Firstly, it is important to accept that Neo-Avant Garde architects such as Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind, are attempting to produce an architecture of the Other. The Other, in this case, is defined as something different to the dominating modes of architectural practice. Their methodology relies heavily on the cartesian plane and orthographic projection in order to present their vision of the Other. Construction is seen as a method of extruding their architecture from two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional reality. The Neo-Avant Garde approach to architectural practice ignores the challenges of reality in favour of a limitless paper space which can be controlled by the author. Any form of human interpretation beyond the author is consciously removed.
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Daniel Cornell
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Curiously, a key influence for Eisenman’s practice is the fascist architecture of Giuseppe Terragni. Terragni was a pioneer of the Italian Rationalist movement and worked under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. His architecture was tailor made for Mussolini as it utilised classical tropes within a modernist cartesian logic to both symbolically and visually link fascist Italy with ancient Rome. These influences can clearly be seen at Terragni’s most famous work, the Casa del Fascio (Page 5), an important branch of the National Fascist Party.
Benito Mussolini
Nevertheless, Eisenman choses to read Terragni’s buildings as purely formal investigations in order to legitimise his appreciation of the works. For him the works are ‘a set of marks’ which are open to complex and varied interpretation which he defines as ‘critical textual readings.’ However, to achieve this metaphysical understanding, any form of reality must be repressed along with all political, historical and social issues embedded within the work. Consequently, all that is left is the authority of the author, an approach which is synonymous with the Neo-Avant Garde.
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Analysis of Terragni’s Casa del Fascio by Eisenman
Ordered to be built by Mussolini, the Via dei Fori Imperiali was constructed between 1924 and 1932. An area of around 40,000 yards was demolished in order to make way for the road which sought to both visually and symbolically link fascist Italy with the ancient Romans in order to legitamise their regime.
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12 Parallels can be drawn to Mussolini’s reanimation of Renaissance and ancient Roman architecture within fascist Italy. In order to legitimise his regime, Mussolini redesigned Rome’s urban layout to connect his government with that of the Caesars. The most significant of these projects was the Via dei Fori Imperiali which was built to directly connect the fascist headquarters, at the Palazzo Venezia, with the Colosseum, arguably the greatest symbol of ancient Rome. It’s design was rigid, uncompromising and cartesian. Any building which stood between Mussolini and his vision was destroyed. The author must remain present within both fascist and Neo-Avant Garde work otherwise there is no authority behind it. All connections to reality disappear leaving behind nothing more than cartesian experiments.
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Giuseppe Terragni
Drawing of House II by Eisenman
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Peter Eisenman’s Cannaregio Project
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Mapping of Contemporary Site
The site for this investigation exemplifies both of these characteristics, Piazza Venezia. The Piazza takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia originally built as the embassy of the Republic of Venice. During fascist rule, the Palazzo was used as Mussolini’s headquarters with many of his public speeches given from its balcony overlooking the square. However, its geometric nature was produced long before fascist rule. Between 1870 and 1922, a series of demolitions took place to make way for the Vittoriano, a monument to the first King of Italy (Vittorio Emanuele II) and the author of the Piazza. Any structure which stood in its path was either obliterated or moved (depending on subjective historic value) to make space for the monument. Indeed, its sheer scale, measuring 135 metres wide by 130 metres deep by 70 metres high, eliminates any form of individual experience or identity within the square. Moreover, through its materiality the monument further positions itself as Other with Botticino Marble imported from Brescia as opposed to the local stone, travertine.
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Image from Peter Greenway’s The Belly of an Architect
23 Peter Greenway uses the Vittoriano as a backdrop for his film The Belly of an Architect. The Vittoriano is used as an ever-present spectre for lead protagonist Stourley Kracklite and ultimately plays host to his death. The monument is the metaphorical author of Kracklite’s story. It gives Kracklite’s life meaning, providing the setting for his exhibition on the work of Étienne-Louis Boullée. However, once his exhibition has been taken away from him, his existence is meaningless. Kracklite is unable to disrupt the control of author and so takes his own life jumping from the top of the monument.
The Vittoriano’s control over the Piazza and of human experience and identity is unrelenting much akin to the authorship of Neo-Avant Garde architects. Consequently, the first step required to remapping the Neo-Avant Garde must be to disrupt the authority of the Author, starting with the Vittoriano. In order to do so, one must begin to reconstruct how the site looked prior to erection of the Vittoriano. Using perspectival images, this collage focuses upon beginning to understand how lived human experience was manipulated through the construction process of the Vittoriano. (Turn to Page 48 for a Neo-Avant Garde interpretation of this collage). The following pages contain detailed studies of some of the buildings lost in the wake of the Vittoriano.
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Torre di Paolo III @ 1:200
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Initial Collage made to reflect upon NeoAvant Garde and Fascist Cartesianism, featuring Bruno Zevi
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A small elevated covered passage connected the Torre di Paolo III with the Palazetto Venezia. The passage was supported by a series of tall arches and spanned over 70 metres. This was also demolished as part of the building works for the Vittoriano. Image Sources: Figures 29, 30 Figures 27, 28, 31
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The Palace was designed in 1608 by Carlo Fontana. In 1807 it was purchased by the Torlonia family who decorated it with many art pieces including works by Canova. Palace underwent a restoration in the 19th century by the architect Giovannu Battista Caretti. However, in 1903 the building was demolished in order to allow the Piazza Venezia to become symmetrical to the Via del Corso.
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Designed by the architect Iacopo Meleghino, the Torre di Paolo III once stood at the top of the Capitoline Hill. Initially built between 1535 and 1540 for Pope Paolo III summer stays, it passed hands in the late 16th century to the friars of the Ara Coeli. In 1870 it was transformed into a barracks for the Police before its demolition in 1886 to make way for the Vittoriano.
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In 1909, the Palazzetto was dismantled and rebuilt in line with the west façade of Palazzo Venezia. The move was the final element that allowed Piazza Venezia to become a rectilinear shape. The reconstruction also involved some changes to the overall design of the Palazzetto changing its distinctive trapezoidal plan to a square.
As defined throughout the portfolio, there is little form of human interaction or experience found within the site. My initial response was to focus on the chaotic movement of traffic around the site as possible route to remapping the Piazza and the Neo-Avant Garde. Instances of human interaction can be found at pedestrian crossings, junctions between adjoining roads and the incessant sounding of horns between motorists.
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Following the collage depicting the deconstruction of Piazza Venezia, I created a series of drawings which aimed to abstract the scars inherent within the site. These drawings could then be interpreted in order to construct a new environment which reconstructs this destruction without simulating it. By elevating the memory of those buildings which were lost, the proposal would challenge the authority of the Vittoriano. However, without a methodology these drawings are just a set of marks which are then interpreted by an author. Such an approach is similar to that of Eisenman’s reading of Terragni’s fascist architecture and so does not constitute a critical remapping of the Neo-Avant Garde.
However, the piece itself does not represent this analysis and it too suffers from a lack of human tactility. The abstracted mappings of various infrastructures and its focus upon cartesian representation give no reference to human scale. Consequently, the piece remaps the Neo-Avant Garde onto the site rather than critically appraising their methods.
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Detailed Study Three
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Detailed Study One
“Why should we be obliged to prefer a nostalgia for the future to that for the past? ... Could not this ideal city … behave, quite explicitly, as both a theatre of prophecy and a theatre of memory?”
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Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter, Collage City, New Ed edition (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1978), 49.
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Any images of Rowe and Koetter’s proposal remain cartesian, stuck in a limitless paper space, removed from human experience. Moreover, the proposed city becomes a set of simulative fragments which aim to conjure the experience of the original. Image Sources: Figures 42-46
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In many senses, the Vittoriano is an attempted simulation of the Campidoglio. Both share a geographic location (Capitoline Hill), formal arrangement and aim to symbolise the unification of the people of Italy. However, as contended by Coleman, the Vittoriano is a pathological reconstruction of the constitutive Campidoglio. It’s construction permanently disfigured the Capitoline Hill, a symbol of civic pride for Romans, and destroyed any recollection of human identity in the surrounding area. The Vittoriano partially erased the very memory it was built to celebrate.
Handmade layering study
55 Section Sectionthrough throughthe theSimon SimonFraser FraserUniversity UniversityBuilding Buildingwhich whichspans spansbetween betweenFigures Figures5050and and5555
However, this is not the case as through Civilia’s collaged representation irregularities and discrepancies occur. The city is not complete and instead allows the viewer to imagine spaces in-between not only each figure, but also between the layers of the collage.
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Figure 50 from Civilia
Instead, Civilia should be understood as a method to reverse the hierarchy of traditional practice which privileges planimetric and Cartesian representations. Hastings and Browne’s design process starts with human inhabitation and experience rather than ending with it. However, they fail to expand upon Civilia’s collaged vistas. Thus, by understanding Civilia through section, the method’s focus upon human inhabitation can remain whilst integrating it within the realities of traditional architectural practice. As part of my Linked research project on Civilia we created a series of handmade and computer studies which aimed to spatialise the city. These layered models allowed us to create depth so that we could physically locate individual buildings within the site at Hartshill, Nuneaton. From these studies we were able create a film to show how the city could be experienced in threedimensional reality. Nonetheless, these studies remain external to the spaces of inhabitation. By understanding the city through section, we can reveal both the demands of inhabitation and, the issues surrounding the physical construction of the city.
Within both architectural pedagogy and practice, it is Collage City that remains a notable resource whereas Civilia is completely unknown. It could be argued that this is due to Civilia’s representation which at face value positions the city as complete. Traditionally, perspectival vistas are used after all of the design work has been completed to show the final manifestation of the project. Consequently, without traditional orthographic representation, i.e. plan, section and elevation, Civilia could have been disregarded as yet another unsubstantiated vision of a utopian city.
Therefore, Collage City cannot remap the Neo-Avant Garde as there is still no relationship to the human body. Moreover, by simulating architectural elements which are positioned as good, Collage City does not challenge the notion of the author. Instead it reinforces this concept by suggesting what should and should not exist. Instead, we must look to a design methodology which positions human experience central to its discourse.
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49 Published in 1971 by the Architectural Review, Civilia: The End of Suburban Man presented a visual approach to utopia. Constructed through a series of perspectival collages, Civilia used the architectural Other of postwar Britain, Brutalism, as a remedy for the failures of British town planning. Here, the town is represented from the point of view of a nomadic observer allowing a cinematic portrayal of everyday life.
On the other hand, the design of the Campidoglio relies on enhancing human perspective and unifying those who visit with a feeling of civic pride. It is experienced sequentially, allowing the body to gather all senses before physically assembling with others atop the hill. Whereas the Neo-Avant Garde, Collage City and Vittoriano have no relationship to the body, the Campidoglio is dependent on human experience.
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44 Indeed, by reintroducing these fragments into the context of the Piazza we can begin to disrupt the authority of the Vittoriano. Such a process which collages historical fragments alongside contemporary works in order produce something Other is reminiscent of Collage City. Developed as a utopian vision of urban design, Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter proposed a city constructed from architectural elements both past, present and future. Inspiration was found from functioning scientific; picturesque, antique, contemporary, rational and disordered examples in existing cities. Here, utopia is understood as Other however, Collage City remains distance from reality.
Image Sources: Figures 55, 56, 58 Linked Reserch Project by Author, Richard Mayhew, Tommy Reeves, Lisa Schneider, Steve Parnell & Koldo Lus Figure 57 Author
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Image from Linked Research Project on Civilia
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Representation of Rowe and Koetter’s collage city was limited to orthographic projection
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Historical Overlay of Piazza Venezia
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Please watch accompanying film
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Figure 138 from Civilia
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Site SiteSection Sectionshowing showingthrough throughthe theMarina Marina(Left), (Left),Citadel Citadel(Middle) (Middle)and andCoventry CoventryCanal Canal(Right) (Right)
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Palazzo Bolognetti-Torlonia Atrium Study @ 1:50
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Physical Model Interpretation
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Fascist architecture. This is to reflect the uncomfortable relationship to historical precedent that both the NeoAvant Garde and Fascist architecture have. However, through this method, reality remains distant and so it is necessary to engage with the physical process of construction and the challenges associated with it.
Additionally, the reintroduction of lost historical elements back into the Piazza disrupts the authority of the Vittoriano. Their spectre like quality aims to haunt the Vittoriano whilst juxtaposing, both graphically and formally, the images of Neo-Avant Garde and
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Secondly, through the process of collage the existence of a single author is disrupted. Visually, the structure can
no longer be positioned as the work of primarily one creator as it contains the work of numerous architects. Moreover, by juxtaposing images to create irregularities and discrepancies, the viewer is encouraged to construct their own mental interpretation of the image in front of them.
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As contended earlier, the reconstruction of historical facades within the Piazza must be treated as a reconstruction rather than a simulation. The difference implied here is that a reconstruction is an impression rather than a deception. Although each façade is assembled with local travertine stone, it’s construction as a suspended cladding system presents itself as false. Therefore, history takes on the appearance of a stage set which, as established by the author of the site, the Vittoriano, is entirely removeable.
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Any components which come into contact with the human body such as doors, floors or handrails are treated as additional elements to the primary structure. This is to reflect both architectures difficult relationship to the body.
Piazza Venezia, the Neo-Avant Garde and Fascism all rely heavily upon cartesianism and geometry to repress issues of reality. Consequently, all that is left is the authority of the Author. By reconstructing historical fragments back into the square, we can immediately disrupt the Vittoriano’s authority. However, it is important to understand these fragments are spectres rather than simulations. Simulations do not concern themselves with human interaction and instead focus upon their faithfulness to the original. By taking on the form of a spectre, the historical fragments haunt the Vittoriano symbolising the destruction of human inhabitation. Indeed, this relationship with the human body can be enhanced by remapping Neo-Avant Garde works through Civilia. Civilia’s focus upon the eye reimagines Neo-Avant Garde works as experiential rather than cartesian. Moreover, through the sequential build-up of its collages, Civilia builds a city based upon how we construct memory. However, Civilia as a method remains distant from reality as it does not deal with the physical process of construction. Through Carlo Scarpa, construction can be seen as a critical position which aims to solve the challenges posed by reality. Thus, the project can be understood as sequential build-up of detailed moments which once experienced allow a wider understanding into their context, symbolised by the collaged plan. Consequently, this investigation highlights not only the corruptions within Piazza Venezia, the NeoAvant Garde and Fascist architecture but establishes a formula for remapping them to produce, arguably, a non-fascist intervention.
74 Palazzetto Venezia Intersection Section @ 1:10
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connection created through the original collage and drawings. Moreover, the proposal symbolises the extruded nature of the Neo-Avant Garde. Consequently, it does not remap the corruptions of the Neo-Avant Garde, it simply remaps these issues onto to Piazza Venezia. (Turn back to Page 11 for an alternative method).
Therefore, in order in engage with these issues it is necessary to collaging images from the model into site. The images below show how this proposal sites itself within the context of the square. However, through this methodology the project still remains distant from limitations of physical construction. Indeed, even the very media of the collages erases any form of human
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The juxtaposition between history and the architectures of both the Neo-Avant Garde and Fascism is further emphasised by treatment of the ground. The historic route which one ran beside Palazzo Bolognetti-Torlonia and Palazzetto Venezia to the bottom of the Capitoline Hill is mapped out in travertine stone pavers in order to retain its contextual connotation. This is opposed to the precast concrete slab which resides beneath the steel frame. The man-made nature of concrete aims to reinforce the connection to the body.
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Perspectival Collage One Finally, the project is represented in plan as a collection of these different moments throughout the structure. The cartesian plan is completely subservient to the design of the project rather than an instigating driver. It serves purely as a locational tool to enable the viewer to process the relationship of these moments within the wider context of the Piazza.
In comparison, a concrete frame is used as the primary structure of the Neo-Avant Garde and Fascist elements. Their strictly gridded nature, alongside their uncompromising attitudes, is well suited to a heavy material language.
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59 Therefore, by using Civilia as method, we can remap both Neo-Avant Garde and Fascist architecture to gain a closer relationship to the body. Firstly, by constructing an environment through the eye of a nomadic observer, we are able to move away from traditional planimetric methods which immediately distance human experience. Indeed, this perspectival representation focuses on the experiential qualities of Neo-Avant Garde and Fascist architecture in order to link them with the body.
Palazzo Bonaparte
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The following pages outline various construction details which animate the proposal. Each representation aims to solve challenges posed by physical construction in order to position the project closer to reality. The project is therefore experienced as a sequential build-up of these detailed moments rather than a totalising image. Such an approach reflects how the human body constructs memory through the acknowledgment of significant instances.
As previously mentioned, construction is seen by the NeoAvant Garde as a method of extruding their architecture from two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional reality. On the other hand, Carlo Scarpa sees construction as an essential challenge of the design process rather than a limitation of it. Traces of human interaction, which are so clearly evident within his drawings, are replicated within the physical manifestation of his architecture. Moreover, the physical process of construction relies on human labour and the interaction between bodies and materials. Thus, construction is a powerful method for reengaging with the body and a tool to remap the NeoAvant Garde.
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Consequently, each mark was drawn to denote an element of construction, detail, ground, wall or roof. These marks were then categorised as either cut, fold, or glue lines in order to create a three-dimensional representation of the site. Thus, the drawings lose their cartesian restraints and become an experiential environment. However, through this methodology the project remains distant from the context of the physical site and from human scale.
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Peter Eisenman
Zaha Hadid
Daniel Libeskind 2
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Firstly, it is important to accept that Neo-Avant Garde architects such as Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind, are attempting to produce an architecture of the Other. The Other, in this case, is defined as something different to the dominating modes of architectural practice. Their methodology relies heavily on the cartesian plane and orthographic projection in order to present their vision of the Other. Construction is seen as a method of extruding their architecture from two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional reality.
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The Neo-Avant Garde approach to architectural practice ignores the challenges of reality in favour of a limitless paper space which can be controlled by the author. Any form of human interpretation beyond the author is consciously removed.
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Curiously, a key influence for Eisenman’s practice is the fascist architecture of Giuseppe Terragni. Terragni was a pioneer of the Italian Rationalist movement and worked under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. His architecture was tailor made for Mussolini as it utilised classical tropes within a modernist cartesian logic to both symbolically and visually link fascist Italy with ancient Rome. These influences can clearly be seen at Terragni’s most famous work, the Casa del Fascio (Page 5), an important branch of the National Fascist Party. Nevertheless, Eisenman choses to read Terragni’s buildings as purely formal investigations in order to legitimise his appreciation of the works. For him the works are ‘a set of marks’ which are open to complex and varied interpretation which he defines as ‘critical textual readings.’ However, to achieve this metaphysical understanding, any form of reality must be repressed along with all political, historical and social issues embedded within the work. Consequently, all that is left is the authority of the author, an approach which is synonymous with the Neo-Avant Garde.
6 Analysis of Terragni’s Casa del Fascio by Eisenman
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7 Drawing of House II by Eisenman
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Ordered to be built by Mussolini, the Via dei Fori Imperiali was constructed between 1924 and 1932. An area of around 40 the road which sought to both visually and symbolically link fascist Italy with the ancient Romans in order to legitamise
Peter Eisenman’s Cannaregio Project
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Benito Mussolini
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0,000 yards was demolished in order to make way for their regime.
12 Parallels can be drawn to Mussolini’s reanimation of Renaissance and ancient Roman architecture within fascist Italy. In order to legitimise his regime, Mussolini redesigned Rome’s urban layout to connect his government with that of the Caesars. The most significant of these projects was the Via dei Fori Imperiali which was built to directly connect the fascist headquarters, at the Palazzo Venezia, with the Colosseum, arguably the greatest symbol of ancient Rome. It’s design was rigid, uncompromising and cartesian. Any building which stood between Mussolini and his vision was destroyed. The author must remain present within both fascist and Neo-Avant Garde work otherwise there is no authority behind it. All connections to reality disappear leaving behind nothing more than cartesian experiments.
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Mapping of Contemporary Site
The site for this investigation exemplifies both of these characteristics, Piazza Venezia. The Piazza takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia originally built as the embassy of the Republic of Venice. During fascist rule, the Palazzo was used as Mussolini’s headquarters with many of his public speeches given from its balcony overlooking the square. However, its geometric nature was produced long before fascist rule. Between 1870 and 1922, a series of demolitions took place to make way for the Vittoriano, a monument to the first King of Italy (Vittorio Emanuele II) and the author of the Piazza. Any structure which stood in its path was either obliterated or moved (depending on subjective historic value) to make space for the monument. Indeed, its sheer scale, measuring 135 metres wide by 130 metres deep by 70 metres high, eliminates any form of individual experience or identity within the square. Moreover, through its materiality the monument further positions itself as Other with Botticino Marble imported from Brescia as opposed to the local stone, travertine.
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Image from Peter Greenway’s The Belly of an Architect
23 Peter Greenway uses the Vittoriano as a backdrop for his film The Belly of an Architect. The Vittoriano is used as an ever-present spectre for lead protagonist Stourley Kracklite and ultimately plays host to his death. The monument is the metaphorical author of Kracklite’s story. It gives Kracklite’s life meaning, providing the setting for his exhibition on the work of Étienne-Louis Boullée. However, once his exhibition has been taken away from him, his existence is meaningless. Kracklite is unable to disrupt the control of author and so takes his own life jumping from the top of the monument.
The Vittoriano’s control over the Piazza and of human experience and identity is unrelenting much akin to the authorship of Neo-Avant Garde architects. Consequently, the first step required to remapping the Neo-Avant Garde must be to disrupt the authority of the Author, starting with the Vittoriano. In order to do so, one must begin to reconstruct how the site looked prior to erection of the Vittoriano. Using perspectival images, this collage focuses upon beginning to understand how lived human experience was manipulated through the construction process of the Vittoriano. (Turn to Page 48 for a Neo-Avant Garde interpretation of this collage). The following pages contain detailed studies of some of the buildings lost in the wake of the Vittoriano.
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The Palace was designed in 1608 by Carlo Fontana. In 1807 it was purchased by the Torlonia family who decorated it with many art pieces including works by Canova. Palace underwent a restoration in the 19th century by the architect Giovannu Battista Caretti. However, in 1903 the building was demolished in order to allow the Piazza Venezia to become symmetrical to the Via del Corso.
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In 1909, the Palazzetto was dismantled and rebuilt in line with the west faรงade of Palazzo Venezia. The move was the final element that allowed Piazza Venezia to become a rectilinear shape. The reconstruction also involved some changes to the overall design of the Palazzetto changing its distinctive trapezoidal plan to a square.
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A small elevated covered passage connected the Torre di Paolo III with the Palazetto Venezia. The passage was supported by a series of tall arches and spanned over 70 metres. This was also demolished as part of the building works for the Vittoriano. Image Sources: Figures 29, 30 Figures 27, 28, 31
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Historical Image of the Arco di San Marco 31
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Designed by the architect Iacopo Meleghino, the Torre di Paolo III once stood at the top of the Capitoline Hill. Initially built between 1535 and 1540 for Pope Paolo III summer stays, it passed hands in the late 16th century to the friars of the Ara Coeli. In 1870 it was transformed into a barracks for the Police before its demolition in 1886 to make way for the Vittoriano.
Image Sources: Figures 24, 26 Figure 25
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42 Colin Rowe
43 Fred Koetter
Representation of Rowe and Koetter’s collage city was limited to orthographic projection 20
“Why should we be obliged to prefer a nostalgia for the future to that for the past? ... Could not this ideal city … behave, quite explicitly, as both a theatre of prophecy and a theatre of memory?” - Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter, Collage City, New Ed edition (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1978), 49.
44 Indeed, by reintroducing these fragments into the context of the Piazza we can begin to disrupt the authority of the Vittoriano. Such a process which collages historical fragments alongside contemporary works in order produce something Other is reminiscent of Collage City. Developed as a utopian vision of urban design, Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter proposed a city constructed from architectural elements both past, present and future. Inspiration was found from functioning scientific; picturesque, antique, contemporary, rational and disordered examples in existing cities. Here, utopia is understood as Other however, Collage City remains distance from reality. Any images of Rowe and Koetter’s proposal remain cartesian, stuck in a limitless paper space, removed from human experience. Moreover, the proposed city becomes a set of simulative fragments which aim to conjure the experience of the original. Image Sources: Figures 42-46
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46 Historical Overlay of Piazza Venezia 21
In many senses, the Vittoriano is an attempted simulation of the Campidoglio. Both share a geographic location (Capitoline Hill), formal arrangement and aim to symbolise the unification of the people of Italy. However, as contended by Coleman, the Vittoriano is a pathological reconstruction of the constitutive Campidoglio. It’s construction permanently disfigured the Capitoline Hill, a symbol of civic pride for Romans, and destroyed any recollection of human identity in the surrounding area. The Vittoriano partially erased the very memory it was built to celebrate. On the other hand, the design of the Campidoglio relies on enhancing human perspective and unifying those who visit with a feeling of civic pride. It is experienced sequentially, allowing the body to gather all senses before physically assembling with others atop the hill. Whereas the Neo-Avant Garde, Collage City and Vittoriano have no relationship to the body, the Campidoglio is dependent on human experience. Therefore, Collage City cannot remap the Neo-Avant Garde as there is still no relationship to the human body. Moreover, by simulating architectural elements which are positioned as good, Collage City does not challenge the notion of the author. Instead it reinforces this concept by suggesting what should and should not exist. Instead, we must look to a design methodology which positions human experience central to its discourse. Image Sources: Figures 47, 48
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49 Published in 1971 by the Architectural Review, Civilia: The End of Suburban Man presented a visual approach to utopia. Constructed through a series of perspectival collages, Civilia used the architectural Other of postwar Britain, Brutalism, as a remedy for the failures of British town planning. Here, the town is represented from the point of view of a nomadic observer allowing a cinematic portrayal of everyday life. Within both architectural pedagogy and practice, it is Collage City that remains a notable resource whereas Civilia is completely unknown. It could be argued that this is due to Civilia’s representation which at face value positions the city as complete. Traditionally, perspectival vistas are used after all of the design work has been completed to show the final manifestation of the project. Consequently, without traditional orthographic representation, i.e. plan, section and elevation, Civilia could have been disregarded as yet another unsubstantiated vision of a utopian city. However, this is not the case as through Civilia’s collaged representation irregularities and discrepancies occur. The city is not complete and instead allows the viewer to imagine spaces in-between not only each figure, but also between the layers of the collage. Image Sources: Figures 50 Figures 49, 51-54
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Figure 138 from Civilia
51 Hubert de Cronin Hastings
52 Kenneth Browne
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54 25
Section through the Simon Fraser University Building which spans between Figures 50 and 55
Site Section showing through the Marina (Left), Citadel (Middle) and Coventry Canal (Right) 26
56 Handmade layering study
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Instead, Civilia should be understood as a method to reverse the hierarchy of traditional practice which privileges planimetric and Cartesian representations. Hastings and Browne’s design process starts with human inhabitation and experience rather than ending with it. However, they fail to expand upon Civilia’s collaged vistas. Thus, by understanding Civilia through section, the method’s focus upon human inhabitation can remain whilst integrating it within the realities of traditional architectural practice. As part of my Linked research project on Civilia we created a series of handmade and computer studies which aimed to spatialise the city. These layered models allowed us to create depth so that we could physically locate individual buildings within the site at Hartshill, Nuneaton. From these studies we were able create a film to show how the city could be experienced in threedimensional reality. Nonetheless, these studies remain external to the spaces of inhabitation. By understanding the city through section, we can reveal both the demands of inhabitation and, the issues surrounding the physical construction of the city. Image Sources: Figures 55, 56, 58 - Linked Reserch Project by Author, Richard Mayhew, Tommy Reeves, Lisa Schneider, Steve Parnell & Koldo Lus Figure 57 - Author
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58 Handmade layering study 27
Please watch accompanying film
Therefore, by using Civilia as method, we can remap both Neo-Avant Garde and Fascist architecture to gain a closer relationship to the body. Firstly, by constructing an environment through the eye of a nomadic observer, we are able to move away from traditional planimetric methods which immediately distance human experience. Indeed, this perspectival representation focuses on the experiential qualities of Neo-Avant Garde and Fascist architecture in order to link them with the body. Secondly, through the process of collage the existence of a single author is disrupted. Visually, the structure can 28
no longer be positioned as the work of primarily one creator as it contains the work of numerous architects. Moreover, by juxtaposing images to create irregularities and discrepancies, the viewer is encouraged to construct their own mental interpretation of the image in front of them. Additionally, the reintroduction of lost historical elements back into the Piazza disrupts the authority of the Vittoriano. Their spectre like quality aims to haunt the Vittoriano whilst juxtaposing, both graphically and formally, the images of Neo-Avant Garde and
59 Fascist architecture. This is to reflect the uncomfortable relationship to historical precedent that both the NeoAvant Garde and Fascist architecture have. However, through this method, reality remains distant and so it is necessary to engage with the physical process of construction and the challenges associated with it. Image Sources: Figure 59
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Drawings by Scarpa of Castelvecchio
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As previously mentioned, construction is seen by the NeoAvant Garde as a method of extruding their architecture from two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional reality. On the other hand, Carlo Scarpa sees construction as an essential challenge of the design process rather than a limitation of it. Traces of human interaction, which are so clearly evident within his drawings, are replicated within the physical manifestation of his architecture. Moreover, the physical process of construction relies on human labour and the interaction between bodies and materials. Thus, construction is a powerful method for reengaging with the body and a tool to remap the NeoAvant Garde. Image Sources: Figures 60, 61, 62
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Palazzo Bolognetti-Torlonia Atrium Study @ 1:50
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The following pages outline various construction details which animate the proposal. Each representation aims to solve challenges posed by physical construction in order to position the project closer to reality. The project is therefore experienced as a sequential build-up of these detailed moments rather than a totalising image. Such an approach reflects how the human body constructs memory through the acknowledgment of significant instances.
Image Sources: Figures 63, 64
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65 Detail between the reconstructed facade of Palazzo Bolognetti -Torlonia and the Atrium @ 1:5 Scale Bar 1:5 0
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As contended earlier, the reconstruction of historical facades within the Piazza must be treated as a reconstruction rather than a simulation. The difference implied here is that a reconstruction is an impression rather than a deception. Although each façade is assembled with local travertine stone, it’s construction as a suspended cladding system presents itself as false. Therefore, history takes on the appearance of a stage set which, as established by the author of the site, the Vittoriano, is entirely removeable. Image Sources: Figures 65, 66, 67
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In comparison, a concrete frame is used as the primary structure of the Neo-Avant Garde and Fascist elements. Their strictly gridded nature, alongside their uncompromising attitudes, is well suited to a heavy material language. Image Sources: Figures 68, 69, 70
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Any components which come into contact with the human body such as doors, floors or handrails are treated as additional elements to the primary structure. This is to reflect both architectures difficult relationship to the body. Image Sources: Figures 71, 72, 73
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The juxtaposition between history and the architectures of both the Neo-Avant Garde and Fascism is further emphasised by treatment of the ground. The historic route which one ran beside Palazzo Bolognetti-Torlonia and Palazzetto Venezia to the bottom of the Capitoline Hill is mapped out in travertine stone pavers in order to retain its contextual connotation. This is opposed to the precast concrete slab which resides beneath the steel frame. The man-made nature of concrete aims to reinforce the connection to the body. Image Sources: Figures 74, 75, 76, 77 -
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Finally, the project is represented in plan as a collection of these different moments throughout the structure. The cartesian plan is completely subservient to the design of the project rather than an instigating driver. It serves purely as a locational tool to enable the viewer to process the relationship of these moments within the wider context of the Piazza. Piazza Venezia, the Neo-Avant Garde and Fascism all rely heavily upon cartesianism and geometry to repress issues of reality. Consequently, all that is left is the authority of the Author. By reconstructing historical fragments back into the square, we can immediately disrupt the Vittoriano’s authority. However, it is important to understand these fragments are spectres rather than simulations. Simulations do not concern themselves with human interaction and instead focus upon their faithfulness to the original. By taking on the form of a spectre, the historical fragments haunt the Vittoriano symbolising the destruction of human inhabitation. Indeed, this relationship with the human body can be enhanced by remapping Neo-Avant Garde works through Civilia. Civilia’s focus upon the eye reimagines Neo-Avant Garde works as experiential rather than cartesian. Moreover, through the sequential build-up of its collages, Civilia builds a city based upon how we construct memory. However, Civilia as a method remains distant from reality as it does not deal with the physical process of construction. Through Carlo Scarpa, construction can be seen as a critical position which aims to solve the challenges posed by reality. Thus, the project can be understood as sequential build-up of detailed moments which once experienced allow a wider understanding into their context, symbolised by the collaged plan. Consequently, this investigation highlights not only the corruptions within Piazza Venezia, the NeoAvant Garde and Fascist architecture but establishes a formula for remapping them to produce, arguably, a non-fascist intervention.
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Appendix
Semester One Esque Board
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80 Initial Collage made to reflect upon NeoAvant Garde and Fascist Cartesianism, featuring Bruno Zevi
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As defined throughout the portfolio, there is little form of human interaction or experience found within the site. My initial response was to focus on the chaotic movement of traffic around the site as possible route to remapping the Piazza and the Neo-Avant Garde. Instances of human interaction can be found at pedestrian crossings, junctions between adjoining roads and the incessant sounding of horns between motorists. However, the piece itself does not represent this analysis and it too suffers from a lack of human tactility. The abstracted mappings of various infrastructures and its focus upon cartesian representation give no reference to human scale. Consequently, the piece remaps the Neo-Avant Garde onto the site rather than critically appraising their methods.
Image Sources: Figures 79, 80
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Following the collage depicting the deconstruction of Piazza Venezia, I created a series of drawings which aimed to abstract the scars inherent within the site. These drawings could then be interpreted in order to construct a new environment which reconstructs this destruction without simulating it. By elevating the memory of those buildings which were lost, the proposal would challenge the authority of the Vittoriano. However, without a methodology these drawings are just a set of marks which are then interpreted by an author. Such an approach is similar to that of Eisenman’s reading of Terragni’s fascist architecture and so does not constitute a critical remapping of the Neo-Avant Garde. 48
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Physical Model Interpretation
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Palazzo Assicurazioni Generali
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Consequently, each mark was drawn to denote an element of construction, detail, ground, wall or roof. These marks were then categorised as either cut, fold, or glue lines in order to create a three-dimensional representation of the site. Thus, the drawings lose their cartesian restraints and become an experiential environment. However, through this methodology the project remains distant from the context of the physical site and from human scale.
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Perspectival Collage One
Therefore, in order in engage with these issues it is necessary to collaging images from the model into site. The images below show how this proposal sites itself within the context of the square. However, through this methodology the project still remains distant from limitations of physical construction. Indeed, even the very media of the collages erases any form of human
97 Image Sources: Figures 97, 97
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connection created through the original collage and drawings. Moreover, the proposal symbolises the extruded nature of the Neo-Avant Garde. Consequently, it does not remap the corruptions of the Neo-Avant Garde, it simply remaps these issues onto to Piazza Venezia. (Turn back to Page 11 for an alternative method).
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