HARTAIXX2016-V010000
Summary
TLDRThe video script discusses Aldo Rossi's exploration of architectural types and their relationship with the city. Rossi believed that the 'architectural type' is the essence and end of architecture, yet remains inexhaustible. He applied this concept in his designs, notably the Cemetery of San Cataldo, which contrasts traditional burial hierarchies and presents a 'city of the dead' with its own permanence and continuity. His work emphasizes the continuity of urban forms and the role of architecture in shaping and reflecting history.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ Rossi's career was focused on the relationship between individual architectural elements, the discipline of architecture, its origins, and its culmination.
- 🔍 He explored the interplay between architectural practice and theory, concluding that the 'architectural type' is both the beginning and end of architecture, yet remains inaccessible and inexhaustible.
- 🏛️ Rossi viewed the architectural type as a historical manifestation, with recurring patterns and forms that persist through time despite changes in use and function.
- 📚 In 'Architecture of the City,' Rossi emphasized the continuity of urban types, using 'permanences' to describe the enduring presence of these types.
- 🏟️ The Roman coliseum at Lucca exemplifies 'propelling permanence,' maintaining its form through various functional transformations from a quarry to a market and housing.
- 🏗️ Rossi's most famous project, the Cemetery of San Cataldo in Modena, demonstrates his concept of architectural type in relation to the city, with its distinct types and central axis.
- 🔄 Rossi's cemetery design contrasts with the traditional 19th-century cemetery layout, reversing the hierarchy by placing the remains of the indigent in the most prominent location.
- 🏰 The design elements of Rossi's cemetery, such as the cube for ceremonies, ossuaries, and the truncated cone for a chapel and remains, reflect a modern reinterpretation of traditional funerary architecture.
- 🏙️ Rossi's walls, with their stark openings and triangular roofs, draw references from both ancient Etruscan urns and modern architecture, including his own previous work.
- 🌆 The concept of the cemetery as an 'analogous city' is central to Rossi's work, with graves as houses for the dead and monuments as permanent city fixtures.
- 🗺️ Rossi's aerial perspective drawings emphasize the elevational and plan views, highlighting the stepped pyramid-like form that suggests a return to the primitive origins of architecture.
Q & A
What was the central theme of Aldo Rossi's career?
-Aldo Rossi's career was centered around exploring the relationships between individual elements of architecture, the discipline of architecture itself, its beginnings, and its ends, as well as the relationship between architectural practice and everyday architecture as a theoretical intellectual project.
What does Rossi mean by 'architectural type'?
-Rossi referred to 'architectural type' as the beginning and end of architecture, an unavailable but real object that generates and serves as a reference for all of architecture, yet cannot be exhausted by either architectural practice or theory.
How did Rossi view the relationship between architecture and the city?
-Rossi believed that architectural elements constitute the city, and the city acts as a determinant matrix or fabric that brings these elements into being.
What is the significance of 'permanences' in Rossi's work?
-In Rossi's work, 'permanences' convey the persistence of types over time, despite various changes in use, as exemplified by the Roman coliseum at Lucca, which retained its form through multiple functional changes.
Can you describe the Cemetery of San Cataldo by Rossi?
-The Cemetery of San Cataldo in Modena is Rossi's most famous project, designed in 1971. It features three distinct architectural types along a central axis: a large open cube, vertical rectangular slabs for ossuaries, and a large truncated cone housing a chapel and a place for the ashes of the indigent.
How does Rossi's design of the Cemetery of San Cataldo contrast with traditional 19th-century cemeteries?
-Rossi's design reverses the traditional hierarchy found in 19th-century cemeteries, where the remains of the upper class were typically buried in the central chapel. In Rossi's cemetery, the truncated cone, which is the highest feature, houses the remains of the indigent.
What architectural elements does Rossi use to create a sense of starkness in his cemetery design?
-Rossi uses stark walls with openings without muntins or mullions, and steeply pitched triangular roofs, reminiscent of Etruscan funerary urns and modern architecture, to create a sense of starkness in his cemetery design.
How does Rossi conceptualize the cemetery as an 'analogous city'?
-Rossi views the cemetery as an 'analogous city' where graves are analogues of houses for the dead, and monuments are analogues of permanent city monuments. This concept highlights the idea of the cemetery as a city for the dead.
What is the significance of the stepped pyramid reference in Rossi's design?
-The stepped pyramid reference in Rossi's design suggests a connection to architecture in its most primitive state, possibly alluding to Hegel's view of the pyramid as the beginning of architecture.
How does Rossi use shadows in his architectural drawings?
-Rossi casts shadows toward the viewer in his drawings, creating a sense of depth and emphasizing the architectural forms. This technique also references Étienne Boullée's funerary architecture, where shadows form the primary decoration.
What is the role of the cube in Rossi's Cemetery of San Cataldo?
-The cube in Rossi's Cemetery of San Cataldo is intended for funeral ceremonies and civil ceremonies, serving as a central gathering space within the cemetery.
Outlines
🏛 The Architectural Type and Its Permanence
This paragraph discusses the Italian architect Aldo Rossi's lifelong exploration of the relationship between individual elements of architecture and the discipline as a whole. Rossi's focus was on the concept of 'architectural type,' which he viewed as the genesis and culmination of architecture, yet one that could never be fully realized by practice or theory. He studied historical examples and urban patterns, emphasizing the continuity of urban types over time, referring to them as 'permanences.' The Roman coliseum at Lucca serves as a prime example of this concept, as it has undergone various functional changes while maintaining its original form. Rossi's work, particularly the Cemetery of San Cataldo in Modena, exemplifies his ideas about architectural type and its relationship to the city, with the cemetery's design reflecting recurring patterns and forms.
🏙️ Rossi's Cemetery: A Social and Architectural Hierarchy
The second paragraph delves into the design of Rossi's Cemetery of San Cataldo, contrasting it with the traditional 19th-century Italian cemetery design. Rossi's approach subverts the social hierarchy by placing the remains of the indigent in a prominent location, traditionally reserved for the upper class. The stark walls of the cemetery, reminiscent of Ludwig Hilberseimer's work, feature a steeply pitched triangular roof, drawing references to Etruscan funerary urns and Rossi's own Gallaratese housing project. Rossi's concept of the cemetery as an 'analogous city' is highlighted, where graves are seen as houses for the dead and monuments as permanent fixtures akin to those in a living city. The aerial perspective of the cemetery, with its stepped pyramid-like feature, suggests a connection to the most primitive forms of architecture, possibly referencing Hegel's view of the pyramid as the beginning of architectural history. The use of dramatic shadows in Rossi's drawings adds a layer of emotional depth, aligning with his essay on Étienne Boullée's funerary architecture.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Architectural Type
💡Permanence
💡Cemetery of San Cataldo
💡Analogical City
💡Etruscan Funerary Urns
💡Housing Project Gallaratese
💡Stepped Pyramid
💡Étienne Boullée
💡Ludwig Hilberseimer
💡Cesare Costa
💡Indigent Remains
Highlights
Rossi's career focused on the relationship between individual architectural elements and the discipline as a whole.
He explored the intersection of architectural practice with everyday architecture and theoretical intellectual projects.
Rossi defined the 'architectural type' as both the beginning and end of architecture, yet it remains inaccessible and inexhaustible.
The architectural type, as an unavailable but real object, generates and serves as a reference for all of architecture.
Rossi considered architecture's manifestation in history through recurring patterns and forms.
The city is viewed as a determinant matrix that brings architectural elements into being.
In 'Architecture of the City,' Rossi emphasizes the continuity of urban types and their 'permanences' over time.
The Roman coliseum at Lucca exemplifies 'propelling permanence,' maintaining its form through various functional changes.
Rossi's Cemetery of San Cataldo in Modena reflects his concept of architectural type and its relationship to the city.
San Cataldo's design juxtaposes with a 19th-century cemetery, creating a set of three distinct cemeteries.
Rossi's cemetery features three distinct architectural types along a central axis: a cube, ossuaries, and a truncated cone.
The truncated cone in Rossi's design houses the remains of the indigent, reversing the traditional hierarchy of burials.
The cemetery's walls are stark, with openings that lack muntins or window frames, reminiscent of Hilberseimer's work.
Rossi's design references Etruscan funerary urns and modern architecture, including his own previous work.
The cemetery is envisioned as an 'analogous city,' with graves as houses for the dead and monuments as city landmarks.
The aerial perspective of the cemetery reveals a stepped pyramid-like feature, suggesting primitive architectural forms.
Rossi's use of shadows in his drawings casts them toward the viewer, creating a somber atmosphere.
The shadows in Rossi's drawings are the only 'inhabitants' of the city, adding to the melancholic tone of the architecture.
Transcripts
K. MICHAEL HAYS: Rossi spent his entire career thinking
about the relationships between individual elements of architecture
and architecture as a discipline, the very beginnings of architecture
and the ends of architecture.
And he spent his career exploring the relationship
between architectural practice and the kind of everyday level and architecture
as a theoretical intellectual project.
He came to the conclusion that what he called the architectural type was
the beginning and the end of architecture,
but that the architectural type could never
be exhausted either by architectural practice or by architectural theory.
That the type, this unavailable, but real object
that both generated and, sort of, became the reference for all of architecture
was itself inaccessible and inexhaustible.
When Rossi thought about type, he was considering architecture
as its manifest in history in various examples
and, sort of, recurring patterns and recurring forms
that emerge at different times in history but seem correlated.
But he was also thinking about architecture in the city.
For him, the architectural elements constitute the city.
But at the same time, the city is this, kind of, determinant matrix or fabrics
that bring the elements into being.
In his book "Architecture of the City,"
he emphasizes the continuity of these urban types.
He uses the word "permanences" to convey the sense of persistence
of types over time through various different kinds of uses.
One of the examples he gives is the Roman coliseum
at Lucca, which first of all, in medieval times
was used as a, kind of, quarry.
The stones from the Roman
coliseum were taken as spoils
to construct medieval churches,
and then it later became a market, and then later housing,
but, as you can see in the photograph, the diagram
or the "type" of the coliseum remains over all those functional changes.
This is an example of what Rossi calls a "propelling permanence."
The form remains, but it carries us through changes in history,
changes in function, and even changes in the way
that the coliseum is inhabited.
In his own work, the idea of architectural type
and its relationship to city can best be seen in his most famous project, which
is a cemetery, the Cemetery of San Cataldo in Modena
for which he won the competition in 1971.
The site for the cemetery is exactly adjacent to an existing 19th-century
cemetery by Cesare Costa.
In between Rossi's cemetery and Costa's cemetery
is a much smaller Jewish cemetery,
and so the three cemeteries together make up this set.
Rossi's cemetery is almost exactly the same size and shape
as Costa's cemetery.
It's about 325 by 175 meters.
It's surrounded by a two story wall, which
later was changed to three stories.
You can enter at either south gate or the north gate.
Along this north/south axis, Rossi's places
three distinct architectural types.
First of all, very like the monument of Cuneo, is a large cube:
a large empty -- Rossi even said, abandoned cube.
It doesn't have a roof.
It's open to the sky.
Rather than the strip windows or the narrow windows of Cuneo,
it now has these punched repetitive square windows.
There are no mullions, no frames to the windows.
If we continue along the axis, we confront another feature:
this triangular shape in plan, but consists
of vertical rectangular slabs that increase in height
as they decrease in width.
These would be the ossuaries, which would house the remains of the body,
and we can walk through those ossuaries along the axis
until we finally come to the third feature, which
is a large truncated cone.
The cone is higher than any of the other features.
The cube was intended by Rossi to be used for funeral ceremonies, but also
civil ceremonies.
As I said, the slabs were intended as ossuaries,
and then the top part of the cone is a chapel.
But then in a room, at the bottom part of the cone,
would be a place for the ashes, for the remains of the indigent.
Now this is an important feature.
If we compare this to the cemetery of Costa, certain contrast arise.
In the cemetery of Costa, which is typical of 19th-century
Italian cemeteries, usually in the center would be a chapel,
and this chapel would be where the remains of the upper-class families
would be buried.
Along the porticoes to the side of the chapel
would be for other, perhaps not noble families,
but other upper-class families,
and the indigent who may not have been even known
or who may not have had families would be placed in the earth.
But, of course, the earth, the graves of the earth filled up very, very quickly,
and it was allowed that, every eight years, the bones
could be taken out and put in a common grave.
So Rossi in a way has reversed that hierarchy.
The truncated cone, which is higher than any other feature,
now houses the remains of the indigent, and exactly along the axis,
along that central axis where previously the noble families and the upper class
would have been buried.
And I think that contrast is very intentional and very sharp.
The walls around the cemetery are very, very stark.
Again, they have openings without muntins or mullions or window frames.
It reminds you of some of the German architect Ludwig Hilberseimer work,
except that Rossi places a kind of sharply
steeply pitched triangular roof on top of these otherwise austere walls.
Rossi talks about the tops of Etruscan funerary urns,
which have a similar triangular shape.
So he's getting multiple references, references to Etruscan urns,
references to modern architecture, but also he's
making references to his own work.
Rossi compared the walls to his own housing project
called the Gallaratese just outside Milan,
and he makes the point that, in very, very early times,
the grave was just thought of as a kind of house for the dead,
or the tomb was thought of as a room for the dead.
So for him, this contrast between the housing of living bodies,
the housing of dead remains, is part of what
he means when he thinks of the cemetery as an "analogous city."
The graves are analogues of houses, houses for the dead.
The monuments are analogues of the permanent monuments
that would take place in a city, though in a city there
would be inhabited monuments.
So the cemetery is a city of the dead, but it's also
what Rossi calls an "analogous city."
In this aerial perspective, which Rossi uses
to show both the elevational perspective of the building
and also, at the same time, its plan, you can
see that that triangular feature in the middle
almost takes on the characteristics of a stepped pyramid.
It seems to be rising up from the ground.
And I think this reference somehow is--
there are other references that are to architecture
in its most primitive state.
I even think of Hegel who thought of the pyramid
as a very beginning of architecture,
and I can't imagine that this reference to Hegel
and to the beginnings of architecture is lost on Rossi.
Look at the way Rossi cast the shadows.
It's very interesting that he cast the shadows toward the viewer.
I think what he's thinking of here is something
that he referred to in his own essay on the French architect Étienne Boullée.
He's thinking about Boullée's own funerary architecture,
and he says, "It does not seem possible to me
to conceive anything sadder than a monument composed
of a smooth, naked and unadorned surface, of a light absorbent material,
absolutely bare of details, and of which the decoration is
formed by a composition of shadows, drawn by shadows still darker."
Look again, at Rossi's drawing, how dark the shadows are.
It's as if the shadows are the only inhabitants of the city.
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