History of Architecture

Research focus

The Peer review has evaluated this group as Average

1) Biographies of Italian Architects (15th – 20th century). These studies, all of which are based on a common structure, are distinguished by the chronological period. The figure of the Early Renaissance architect requires special attention; the literary and architectural production of Leon Battista Alberti is the subject of continuous reinterpretations, in occasion of the international debate and confrontation in 2004. In line with the most advanced international studies, research has to be done on architects, builders, engineers and military technicians, with particular attention to figures that operated in the area of Lombardy between the 16th and 19th century, in an attempt to clarify the relationships between theoretical elaboration and professional exercise, as well as those established with the patrons. As to the Contemporary Age, the research works are focused on some leading Italian architects and their role in the international debate by examining completely new aspects with new critical interpretations. The studies on the figure of Franco Albini are part of a wider number of international initiatives for the anniversary of his birth in 2006. 2) Criticism of Contemporary Architecture and Architectural Historiography. In this field the critical instruments of historical research may offer an important contribution to the contemporary debate on the architectural culture. The work calls for constant analyses and in-depth research, presented in magazines with 234 international distribution or through the organization of Exhibitions and Studies Congresses on Contemporary Architecture. The relationship between historiography and the languages of modernity serves as “red thread” for the examination of significant European and American historiographic experiences in the years after World War II, as well as reflections on the interpretative itineraries developed in the last decades in many Italian Schools of Architecture. A particularly interesting area is that of Eclectic Architecture (in the entire international scenario from the 19th century until today), often subject, until today, of forms of true prejudice. 3) Domestic Architecture (15th – 20th century). The relationship between tradition and innovation is the central theme of a research on residential architecture which aims at revealing the bonds between architectural design and various life styles, ceremonies and rituals. On the basis of a comparison between heterogeneous sources, one aims to cast light on the taste and expressive choices of the architects, on the culture of the patrons and on the attention dedicated to aspects associated with interior design (i.e. materials, technological details, building systems, facilities and equipment). The focus is on the Lombardy area, but instruments and methods are shared with analyses developed in the French and Anglo-Saxon environment. 4) The History of “Milano e il suo territorio”. The studies focus on an analysis of urban forms and relations between the building production and interventions on the territory, between the 17th and the 20th century. The principal objective is a continuous comparison between the single transformations faced by the city of Milan and its regional, national and international relations. From the same point of view other aspects have to be studied in depth: both the history of the choice of locations for public buildings during the Enlightenment and that of the construction of industrial areas and residential neighborhoods in the area of Milan with the consequent creation of the metropolitan suburbs in the 20th century. 5) Theoretical contributions, treatises and literature on architecture from the modern age. The literary production on architecture is analyzed from a critical point of view to underscore the constant meta-linguistic tendency to found formal codes and models in the writings. ‘Classical’ texts are reinterpreted : on the basis of a number of references concerning the work of Vitruvius, the theoretical and literary production of the cultures of Renaissance and Enlightenment is analyzed (funded C); the themes considered focus on: different concepts of the city, the regulating power of utopias, the adoption of models, the introduction of new regulations and symbolic references and, above all, the relationship between theory and practice. In this perspective, the “architect’s library” assumes fundamental importance for purposes of analyzing the circulation of principles, ideas, models and techniques on which the practice of architecture is based (funded B). 235 6) The architectural drawing The architectural drawing is considered an autonomous product of the artistic process. It is used as the most important instrument to study the relationship between theory and practice, as well as between innovation and conservation. Therefore, much attention has to be dedicated to all practical and legal aspects of preservation, classification and study of a very vast and often undervalued number of archives and collections.

Departments

Dipartimento di Progettazione dell’Architettura

Professors

Full Professors
Patetta Luciano
Rossari Augusto
Scotti Aurora
Associate Professors
Biraghi Marco
Bucci Federico
Samsa Danilo
Testa Fausto
Assistant Professors
Loi Maria Cristina
Balestreri Isabella Carla