HARTAIXX2016-V010300

Summary

The script delves into Aldo Rossi's architectural philosophy, emphasizing 'typological permanence' and the 'anteriority of type,' suggesting types pre-exist architectural acts. Rossi's concept of the 'analogous city' is exemplified through Canaletto's painting, illustrating how architectural elements, despite their geographical displacement, form a recognizable city. This concept underpins Rossi's epistemological and ontological claims that architecture produces knowledge and exists as a virtual reality manifesting through types, influencing the design process and the city's evolution.

Takeaways

• 📚 The concept of 'typological permanence' is discussed, emphasizing the enduring nature of architectural types.
• 🕰 'Anteriority of type' is introduced, suggesting that types exist before the architectural act and even in the architect's imagination.
• 🏛 The 'analogous city' is explained using Canaletto's painting of Venice, which features Palladio's projects in a non-geographical context.
• 🎨 Canaletto's painting serves as an example of how architectural elements can be repositioned to form a recognizable city, despite their actual locations.
• 🏙 The 'analogous city' represents a city of architectural references, highlighting the idea of architectural virtuality.
• 📖 Rossi's passage on the painting illustrates the translation of a logical-formal operation into a design method and a theory of architectural design.
• 💡 The script makes an epistemological claim that architecture produces knowledge, with types providing a form for social experience and collective understanding.
• 🌐 The city is portrayed as both a concrete social-material object and an abstract, virtual reality in Rossi's philosophy.
• 🔄 Every act of architecture is said to originate from and return to the city, emphasizing the cyclical relationship between architecture and urbanity.
• 🌌 Rossi views architecture as existing in a virtual state, which he refers to as the 'analogous city', making both epistemological and ontological claims.
• 🔍 The ontological plane is described as intersecting with historical time, allowing for the actualization of architecture and the emergence of its authentic meaning.

Q & A

What does K. Michael Hays mean by 'typological permanence'?

K. Michael Hays refers to 'typological permanence' as the persistence and continuity of architectural types over time, as described by Rossi.

How does Hays describe the 'anteriority of type' in Rossi's thinking?

Hays explains that the 'anteriority of type' in Rossi's thinking means that architectural types pre-exist the design effort, the construction, and even the architect's imagination. These types are already present before any architectural act.

What example does Hays use to explain the 'anteriority of type'?

Hays uses Canaletto's painting of Venice to explain the 'anteriority of type'. The painting includes buildings like the Chiericati Palace, the Rialto Bridge project, and Palladio's Basilica, none of which are actually located in Venice but are used to illustrate an analogous city.

What is the significance of Canaletto's painting according to Rossi?

According to Rossi, Canaletto's painting demonstrates how a logical-formal operation can translate into a design method and a theory of architectural design, where pre-established and formally defined elements result in an unforeseen and original meaning.

What epistemological claim does Rossi make in the passage Hays reads?

Rossi claims that architecture produces knowledge. Despite being pre-theoretical and pre-conceptual, architectural types provide the form for social experience and collective understanding.

How does Rossi view the relationship between architecture and the city?

Rossi views the city as both a social and material reality and an invisible, abstract, virtual reality. Every act of architecture originates from the city and returns to it.

What does Rossi mean by the 'analogous city'?

The 'analogous city' refers to the virtual reality of the city, composed of architectural references and associations. It represents the idea that architecture exists in a virtual form that manifests through type.

What ontological claim does Rossi make about architecture?

Rossi makes the ontological claim that architecture exists as a virtuality, manifesting in the form of type. This virtuality intersects with historical time to actualize architecture.

How does Hays describe the intersection of the ontological and historical in architecture?

Hays describes this intersection as a vertical plane where the field of potential and possibility of architecture intersects with historical time, leading to the actualization of architecture. The ontological aspect is embedded in history from the start.

What does the painting by Canaletto symbolize for Rossi in terms of architectural knowledge?

For Rossi, the painting by Canaletto symbolizes how architectural knowledge and meaning are produced through the combination of pre-established elements and their formal definitions, leading to new and original interpretations of the city.