Giancarlo Consonni

Professor emeritus of Politecnico di Milano

"The results achieved in over forty years of research by Giancarlo Consonni can be traced back to four subject areas.

The formation processes of the modern-day metropolis.
Attention to the new dynamic relations between city and countryside that affected Lombardy’s layout allowed Consonni to date the start of urban development between the 18th and 19th centuries, modernising the interpretative layout of metropolitan phenomena.
Research has also covered economic relations and regional planning on a broader scale. This is the case with studies on territorial imbalances in Italy, the structural arrangement of Italian farming and the relationships between the infrastructure system and settlement dynamics.

The history of architectural and urban planning culture in the contemporary age.
The research looked at certain representative results in the field of urban design and architecture, as well as their theoretical foundations. The investigation delved into the modernist project in order to reconstruct its strategies, potentialities and limits. Monographic studies on certain individuals: Giuseppe Pagano, Piero Bottoni, Carlo De Carli, Le Corbusier, Giuseppe Terragni and Edoardo Persico.

The theory and practice of urban design.
At the centre of theoretical and design research on this topic are the constitutive relationships of urban spaces throughout history, with particular attention to the principle of urbanity and the reasons for its decline in contemporary reality. Studying other forms of knowledge and discussion with other points of view have enabled Consonni to focus on interpretative categories that interweave settlement patterns with the relational layouts that support ways of living. Consonni was thus able to make an innovative contribution to the refounding of the principles of urban design in the perspective of the pursuit of an inclusive habitat characterised by civil aesthetics.

The “Girotondo delle Muse": specificities, analogies and mutual nourishment between different modes of artistic expression.
Attention to the specificity of each art form, nuanced also by difference, has led Consonni to explore the possible analogies, influences and interferences in the interpretative and creative processes, in the conviction that, for those who practice architecture and urban planning, it is more productive than ever to refer to the "Girotondo delle muse" (Jurij M. Lotman). The recognition of literature and painting has shown how the city project can be built today.

The research on these themes became more informed thanks to his own work in painting and poetry (Consonni won the Biagio Marin prize, was twice a finalist for the Viareggio prize and was awarded the Maria Corti prize).

In terms of administrative duties, showing perseverance and dedication, Consonni has been involved at Politecnico di Milano both in the management of faculties (first and foremost the Piero Bottoni Archive, which he helped establish) and as a member of the university's governing bodies. In this capacity, he contributed significantly to crucial changes: as a member of the Integrated Academic Senate, in the drafting of the first Statute of Autonomy; as vice-president of the University Commission, in the configuration of the departmental faculties; as a member of the Academic Senate, in the creation of the Faculty of Civil Architecture."

[career highlights kindly provided by professor Consonni in 2023]