ITALIAN ARCHITECT

ALDO ROSSI

NOTION OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

NEO – RATIONALISM.

REPETITION AND FIXATION.

Presentation POST MODERNISM.

Title 2 INFLUENCE FROM ITALIAN PAINTERS.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY

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DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
NEO-RATIONALISM REPETITION AND POST MODERNISM INFLUENCE FROM PAINTERS
FIXATION

• A BELIEF OR • ALDO ROSSI • REJECTED • SOME OF HIS DESIGNS WERE HEAVILY

THEORY THAT, ENGAGES IN A ASPECTS OF INFLUENCED BY WORKS OF THE
OPINIONS AND DETERMINED MODERNISM AND PAINTERS, DE CHIRICO AND SIRONI
ACTIONS SHOULD SEARCH FOR UTILISED A PAINTING BY THE ITALIAN
BE BASED ON ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF ARTIST, DE CHIRICO.
REASON AND FORMS BASED HISTORICAL
KNOWLEDGE ON WHAT IS STYLES. A
RATHER THAN ON REFERRED TO DRAWING DONE
RELIGIOUS OR AS BY ALDO ROSSI,
EMOTIONAL ‘REPETITION DEPICTS HIS
BELIEVES. AND INFLUENCE OF
FIXATION’. USING HISTORIC
FORMS. Contoso Ltd.
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HIS FAMOUS WORKS

○ CEMETERY OF SAN CATALDO, 1971-84.

○ HOTEL IL PALAZZO. 1987-94.

○ GALLARATESE HOUSING, 1969-73.

○ BONNEFANTEN MUSEUM, 1995.

○ TEATRO DEL MONDO, VENICE.

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CLASSIFICATION OF CITIES BY FUNCTION

ADMINISTRATIVE CITIES
PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS

CULTURAL FUNCTIONS

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DEFENCE FUNCTIONS RECREATION FUNCTIONS 6
CHAPTERS

1. CHAPTER ONE: THE STRUCTURE OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

2. CHAPTER TWO: PRIMARY ELEMENTS AND THE CONCEPT

OF AREA

Presentation 3. CHAPTER THREE: THE INDIVIDUALITY OF URBAN

ARTIFACTS

Title 2 4. CHAPTER FOUR: THE EVOLUTION OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY

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CHAPTER ONE: THE STRUCTURE OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

• THE CITY IS SEEN AS A GIGANTIC MAN-MADE OBJECT,

GROWING OVER TIME.

• SECOND, AS URBAN ARTIFACTS CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR

OWN HISTORY AND FORM. THESE TWO ASPECTS RELATE TO
THE QUALITY AND UNIQUENESS OF THE URBAN ARTIFACT.

• ROSSI STATES THAT THE FORM OF THE CITY IS

SUMMARIZED BY THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY, SINCE
IT IS CONCRETE DATA OF REAL EXPERIENCES.

• URBAN ARTIFACTS ARE SUPERIOR TO NEWLY CONSTRUCTED

BUILDINGS IN TERMS OF HISTORIC RICHNESS.

• THE QUALITY AND UNIQUENESS OF URBAN ARTIFACTS ARE

THE PALATINE HILL DERIVED NOT ONLY FROM THEIR FORM WHICH WAS
DEVELOPED IN BOTH TIME AND SPACE, BUT ALSO FROM
THE ROMAN FORUM THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AS WORKS OF ART.

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CHAPTER ONE: TYPOLOGICAL QUESTION AND NAIVE FUNCTIONALISM

PALLAZODELLA RAGIONE
• GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF THE PALAZZO DELLARAGIONE AS
IT HAS EXISTED FROM THE BEGINNING UP TO TODAY,
ACCORDING TO THE RECONSTRUCTION BY A. MOSCHETTI.
THIRTEENTH-CENTURY WALLS IN BLACK.

• IN ROMAN ARCHITECTURE, AN INSULA WAS A KIND OF

APARTMENT BUILDING THAT HOUSED MOST OF THE URBAN
CITIZEN POPULATION OF THE URBAN CITIZEN
POPULATION OF ANCIENT ROME, INCLUDING ORDINARY
PEOPLE OF LOWER OR MIDDLE CLASS STATUS AND ALL
BUT THE WEALTHIEST FROM THE UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS.

INSULA WITH THE HOUSES OF

AURIGHI AND SERAPIDE AND
BATHHOUSE IN THE MIDDLE,
OSTIA ANTICA, ROME
PALLAZODELLA RAGIONE Contoso Ltd.
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CHAPTER ONE: TYPOLOGICAL QUESTION AND NAIVE FUNCTIONALISM

• IN PRECISELY THIS SENSE OF TRANSFORMATION THE

FIRST FORMS AND TYPES OF HABITATION, AS WELL AS
TEMPLES AND MORE COMPLEX BUILDINGS, WERE
CONSTITUTED. THE TYPE DEVELOPED ACCORDING TO
BOTH NEEDS AND ASPIRATIONS TO BEAUTY.

• A PARTICULAR TYPE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A FORM AND

A WAY OF LIFE, ALTHOUGH ITS SPECIFIC SHAPE
VARIED WIDELY FROM SOCIETY TO SOCIETY.

THE ORDERS
• THE CONCEPT OF TYPE THUS BECAME THE BASIS OF
ARCHITECTURE, A FACT ATTESTED TO BOTH BY
PRACTICE AND BY THE TREATISES.

• THE QUALITY AND UNIQUENESS OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

ARE DERIVED NOT ONLY FROM THEIR FORM WHICH WAS
DEVELOPED IN BOTH TIME AND SPACE, BUT ALSO FROM
THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AS WORKS OF ART.

TYPES OF FOUNDATION Contoso Ltd.

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CHAPTER ONE: TYPOLOGICAL QUESTION AND NAIVE FUNCTIONALISM

PLAN OF GREEK HOUSE

PLAN OF SCIPIONE MAFFEI SHOWING
HALF OF THE MARKETPLACE OF VERONA

PLAN OF ROMAN HOUSE

VIEW OF THE SHOPS OF EXTERNAL VIEW OF THE WALL

ENCIRCINIG THE MARKETPLACE Contoso Ltd.
MARKET PLACE 10
CHAPTER ONE: MONUMENTS AND THE THEORY OF PERMANENCES

MEZQUITA CATHEDRAL

• CITIES TRY TO MAINTAIN THEIR AXIS OF

DEVELOPMENT BY RETAINING THEIR ORIGINAL
LAYOUTS AND EXPANDING ACCORDING TO THE
MEANING OF THEIR URBAN ARTIFACTS.

• MOSQUE GOT CONVERTED INTO A CATHEDRAL.

PANTHEON, ROME
• ALTHOUGH MANY STUDIES ADDRESS
THE PROBLEM OF TYPOLOGY IN
RELATION TO FUNCTION, ROSSI
ARGUES THAT THEY FAIL TO GO
BEYOND THE PROBLEM FUNCTION. HE
REJECTS FUNCTION AS AN
EXPLANATION OF URBAN ARTIFACTS
BECAUSE THE FUNCTION OF URBAN
ARTIFACTS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
OVER TIME. Contoso Ltd.
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CHAPTER ONE: MONUMENTS AND THE THEORY OF PERMANENCES

• ROSSI UNDERLINES THAT THE VALUE OF THE CITY AND

THE URBAN ARTIFACT IS ESTIMABLE NOT BY THEIR
FUNCTIONS BUT BY THEIR PERMANENT FORMS.

• THE FORM OF THE CITY IS CLOSELY BOUND UP WITH

TIME OF THE CITY, WHILE THE FUNCTIONS ARE
CHANGEABLE AND CAN BE LOST OVER TIME

VIEW OF THE CATHEDRAL

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EVOLUTION OF PLAN SECTION OF MEZQUITA 12
CHAPTER TWO : PRIMARY ELEMENTS AND THE CONCEPT OF AREA

• IN THE SECOND CHAPTER, THE AUTHOR SAYS THAT

THERE ARE SPECIFIC AND DISPARATE (ESSENTIALLY
DIFFERENT IN KIND; NOT ABLE TO BE COMPARED)
QUALITIES WITHIN PARTS OF A CITY DUE TO ITS
SOCIOLOGICAL, FORMAL, AND SPATIAL
CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE FORMED BY TIME AND
SPACE.

• IN THIS SENSE, HE OPPOSES ROBERT PARK AND ERNEST

BURGESS’S STUDY ABOUT THE ZONING OF THE CITY OF
CHICAGO

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CHAPTER TWO : PRIMARY ELEMENTS AND THE CONCEPT OF AREA

• FOR ROSSI, PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF A PART OF THE

CITY COULD BE DERIVED FROM OVERALL ASPECTS SUCH
AS PSYCHOLOGY, LINGUISTICS, GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY
AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS.

• IN ORDER TO SUPPORT HIS OPINION, ROSSI DESCRIBES

THE DWELLING AREA DUE TO ITS CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
WITH URBAN STRUCTURE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE FORM OF
VIENNA WAS DERIVED FROM THE HOFQUARIERSPFLICHT

1. VIENNA IN 1683
2. OLD DISTRICTS OF THE 18TH AND BEGINNING OF
THE 19TH CENTURY WITH THE WALLS OF 1703.
3. THE RING
4. DISTRICTS OF 1860
5. DEVELOPMENT FROM THE END OF THE 19TH AND
BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY Contoso Ltd.
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CHAPTER TWO : PRIMARY ELEMENTS AND THE CONCEPT OF AREA

THE CHANGE OF BERLIN’S URBAN STRUCTURE WAS AS A

RESULT OF POLICE REGULATIONS AND THE SEGMENTATION
OF DWELLING TYPES.

IN 1936, BERLIN WAS CLASSIFIED INTO 4 ZONES

• A ZONE OF UNIFORM AND CONTINUOUS STRUCTURES,
SUCH AS BULIDINGS OF THE “LARGE CITY”
• A ZONE OF URBAN STRUCTURE, WHICH COULD BE
DIVIDED INTO 2 CLASSES
– IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY, NEW BUILDINGS MIXED
WITH VERY OLD AND LOW RISED BUILDINGS OF LESS
THEN 3 FLOORS
- THE EDGES OF THE CENTER, A CONTINUOUS
INTERSPERSION OF HIGH AND LOW HOUSING, OPEN
SPACE, FIELDS
• LARGE AREA FOR INDUSTRY
• RESIDENTIAL AREAS OPEN AT THE OUTER EDGES OF THE
CITY, COMPRIESED OF VILLAS AND SINGLE-FAMILY
DWELLINGS

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CHAPTER TWO : PRIMARY ELEMENTS AND THE CONCEPT OF AREA

• IN ADDITION TO THE CONCEPT OF AREA, THE CONCEPT

OF PRIMARY ELEMENTS, AS NUCLEI OF AGGREGATION,
SHOULD BE ADDED TO CHARACTERIZE THE FORMATION
AND EVOLUTION OF THE CITY.

• PRIMARY ELEMENTS NOT ONLY PARTICIPATE IN THE

PROCESS OF A CITY’S DEVELOPMENT IN A PERMANENT
WAY, BUT ALSO CONSTITUTE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES OF
THE CITY ALONG WITH AREA.
ROMAN MONUMENTS, ARLES, FRANCE.
AERIAL VIEW OF THE THEATRE AND
AMPHITHEATER • DUE TO THE COLLECTIVE AND PUBLIC NATURE OF URBAN
ELEMENTS, ROSSI USES THE TERM “PRIMARY ELEMENT”
AS FIXED ACTIVITIES. THIS COLLECTIVE
CHARACTERISTIC LINKS WITH URBAN DYNAMICS AND
EVENTUALLY CONSTITUTES THE BEGINNING AND END
POINT OF THE CITY.

• ROSSI SUPPORTS HIS OPINION BY A PRACTICAL

EXAMPLE: THE AMPHITHEATRE IN NIMES CHANGED INTO
A FORTRESS THEN BECAME A LITTLE CITY.

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CHAPTER TWO : PRIMARY ELEMENTS AND THE CONCEPT OF AREA

BANGLORE FORT - BEFORE Contoso Ltd.

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BANGALOREF FORT - AFTER
CHAPTER THREE: THE INDIVIDUALITY OF URBAN ARTIFACTS
CHAPELS OF SACRO MONTE

• A LOCUS IS ALL THE POSSIBLE POSITIONS THAT CAN

BE DESCRIBED BY A RULE.
• THE LOCUS OF AN OBJECT THAT IS ALWAYS 2CMS FROM
POINT D.
• THE LOCUS IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A CERTAIN
LOCATION AND THE BUILDINGS WITHIN IT.

CHAPELS OF SACRO MONTE

• HE REFERS TO THE TRANSCENDENT SPACE OF THE

CATHOLIC RELIGION, AND EVEN IN THIS
ULTIMATELY HOMOGENEOUS SPACE THERE ARE
SINGULAR POINTS DUE TO A PARTICULAR EVENT OR
INFINITE VARIETY OF OTHER REASONS THAT
OCCURRED THERE.
VIEW OF SACRO MONTE AT VARESE ITALY Contoso Ltd.
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CHAPTER THREE: THE INDIVIDUALITY OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

LOCUS

• THE RELATIONSHIP OF ARCHITECTURE TO THE

CONSTITUTION OF THE CITY AND THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE CONTEXT AND MONUMENT.

• ROSSI TAKES THE CASE OF THE ROMAN FORUM FOR

INSTANCE, THOUGH ITS FUNCTIONS HAVE CHANGED MANY
TIMES ACCORDING TO SOCIAL DEMANDS, ITS PRIMARY
CHARACTERISTICS AS A MEETING PLACE AND THE
CENTRE OF ROME HAVE NEVER BEEN CHANGED WITHIN
ITS ORIGINAL FORM WHICH WAS SHAPED BY ITS
TOPOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS.
THE FORUM OF TRAJAN, ROME Contoso Ltd.
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CHAPTER THREE: THE INDIVIDUALITY OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

• THE HISTORY IS THE ‘COLLECTIVE MEMORY’ OF PEOPLE

OF THE CITY AND IT HAS AN IMPORTANT INFLUENCE ON
THE CITY ITSELF.

• THE HISTORY EXPRESSES ITSELF THROUGH THE

PARTHENON, ATHENS MONUMENTS.

• HE SEES BUILDING OF CITIES AS PART OF CULTURE.

• THIS DEMANDS ORGANIZED SYSTEMS OF DIVISION

OF LABOUR AND COMMANDS, AND THE TECHNICAL
DEVANAHALLI FORT - BEFORE
ADVANCEMENT TO REFINE TOOLS FOR THE TASK.

DEVANAHALLI FORT - AFTER Contoso Ltd.

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CHAPTER FOUR: THE EVOLUTION OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

• IN THE FINAL CHAPTER, ROSSI FOCUSES ON THE

PROCESS OF EVOLUTION OF THE CITY AND HOW VARIOUS
FORCES ARE APPLIED WITHIN IT AND HOW THEIR
APPLICATION CAUSES DIFFERENT CHANGES.

• THE FORCES COULD BE AN ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, OR

OF SOME OTHER NATURE.

• THE BONAPARTE FORUM WAS CERTAINLY NOT AN

ARCHITECTURAL NECESSITY, BUT IT WAS BORN OF THE
CITYS NEED TO GIVE ITSELF A MODERN FACE BY
ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS CENTER FOR THE NEW
BOURGEOISIE THAT WAS IN POWER

• THIS NEED WAS INDEPENDENT OF ITS FORM AND THE

SPECIFIC TOPOGRAPHICAL, ARCHITECTURAL, AND
HISTORICAL CONDITIONS BY WHICH ITS LOCTION WAS
CHOSEN

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CHAPTER FOUR: THE EVOLUTION OF URBAN ARTIFACTS

• ON THE OTHER HAND, ROSSI MENTIONS THE STUDY OF

BERNOULLI WITH REGARD TO LAND OWNERSHIP.

• BERNOULLI INSISTED THAT THE COMMUNAL ESTATES

SHOULD HAVE BEEN MAINTAINED AS COLLECTIVE
PROPERTY AFTER THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO PREVENT
THE SIDE EFFECT OF LAND SUBDIVISION.

• ROSSI STATES THAT THE PROBLEM OF THE LARGE CITY

HAS ALWAYS EXISTED AND IT IS RELATED TO THE CITY
ITSELF. AS A RESULT OF THESE TWO ASPECTS, HE
INSISTS THAT EXPROPRIATION AND LAND SUBDIVISION
ARE TYPICAL PHENOMENA OF URBAN EVOLUTION SINCE
THEY CAN LEAD TO IMMEDIATE AND RADICAL
TRANSFORMATION.

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THANK YOU

NITESH PRAJWAL. K

MONISH. B. C