Friday 16 October 2015
The
architecture of the city by Aldo Rossi
The Author: Aldo Rossi (1931-1997) He was an Italian
architect and theoretician. He is primarily known for four distinct areas:,
theory, drawing, architecture and product design.
To begin with What’s a City?
The definition of a city according to Cambridge
Dictionary, 2016 is:
1.a large city
2. any town in the
UK that has a cathedral (large important
church)
3. in the US (UK usually city council) the
government of a city
The presenter (David) of the book The Architecture
of the city raised the question ‘What is your favourite city?’ My colleague’s
answers were either cities that they had visited or a city in their country. I answered
that I don’t have a particular favourite city as from each city I had gained
different experiences. Each city was unique with its own identity.
Regarding
the book and the presentation
History
and Collective Memory
It is the history the memory of the city which
ultimately defines it
Cities tend to remain on their historical axes of
development. The city grows in the direction and meaning of the older artefacts
(Aldo Rossi 1982).
History expresses itself through monuments
Monuments-
There are two types of monuments, propelling and pathological.
Propelling: It is a form from the past that can
still be experienced, whereby the monument’s function has been altered over
time but the form remains largely untouched.
Pathological: This sort of monument stands virtually
isolated in the city and remains purely on form and history. They are essential
and cannot be modified or destroyed.
Monuments represent the persistence of a city.
Monuments absorb events and feelings and every new
event contains within it a memory of the past but also a potential memory of
the future.
They are catalysts of urban growth, bringing the past
into the present.
Primary
elements- are most notably monuments and are usually the
nucleus of a city or an area (for example Eiffel Tower). They have a symbolic
function and are related to time. Moreover, they can play a permanent role
towards the physical structure of the city.
The main argument in
the seminar was ‘Do you change a building monument that is somehow important
into some sort of building with function and use or you live it there as ruins?’
.
It was very interesting
to hear other point of views from my colleagues as we all come from different
backgrounds. Most of the people thought that monuments are an important part of
a city its history and identity. There is no denying that people tend to visit
other cities for their monuments and then for their culture.
Monuments can be part
of the city structure as can be seen in Vienna or Rome where important boulevards
lead to monuments or important historical locations. Some historical monuments
have been renovated and their function subsequently changed. I believe that
this kind of transformation is appropriate for some buildings, particularly if
a building of historical significant is likely to be demolished. In these
cases, changing the function of the building could help preserve it. However,
it would not be appropriate to change the function of iconic monuments, for
example the Colosseum in Rome or the Acropolis in Athens. The above examples of
monuments are not only part of the history but connect to city identity and culture.
Iconic monuments such as the previous examples should not have their function
changed because to do so would mean not only changing the identity of the
monument, but also that of the city of which it is a part. According to Rossi,
monuments are fixed points in the urban dynamic.
A remarkable example of
restoration in Nottingham City is the building of the Pitcher & Piano public
house that was previously was the High Pavement Church. Visitors can still
admire the original architecture of the church even if its function has been
changed.
Fig. Pitcher and Piano, Nottingham
Reference:
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016 Aldo Rossi | Italian architect http://www.britannica.com/biography/Aldo-Rossi
[Accessed 14.10.15]
Rossi, Aldo (1982) The architecture of the City
(London: MIT Press).
Fig.
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