Papers by Federica Dalfalco
AND Rivista scientifica di architettura e design in Open Access ISSN 2785-7778 (online) V. 45 N. 2 -, 2024
Since ancient times, the populations of objects created by human form a continuous chain that, in... more Since ancient times, the populations of objects created by human form a continuous chain that, in a coexisting form of archeological and technological, is constantly transforming. The different categories of objects are subject to evolutionary processes influenced by cultural, historical, and artistic contexts, as well as the evolution of materials and techniques. Artifacts, like genealogical branches, can become extinct or hybridize through significant or minor changes. These changes involve modifications and replacements of parts and components, permanently altering their characteristics and identity. Therefore, product systems are subject to "mutations", similar to those found in living organisms. This contribution analyzes the similarities and differences between natural and artificial using the Darwinian analogy and then considers specific evolutionary cases inherent to the category of sessions.
The importance of local resources in times of economic hardship By Federica Dal Falco The core co... more The importance of local resources in times of economic hardship By Federica Dal Falco The core concept in the lecture is that there is an analogy between biological evolution and the evolution of materials and objects. The investigation of 1930s Italian design and material culture embraces this idea and expands on the following points: - The importance of exploiting local resources and innovating with products in times of economic hardship. - The analogy between the ‘green economy’ and the ‘economic autarky’ in Italy from the early 1930s onwards. - The cyclical process in which types of objects that stand the test of time are continually given fresh, contemporary shapes thanks to the use of innovative materials. The period of autarky in Italy is a topical case study, and this is demonstrated with examples of architecture, design and the many inventions that were born out of necessity. As a result of the economic sanctions imposed by the League of Nations in 1935 in response to the w...
La Collana "Casi e Cose di design" propone ricerche scientifiche che vertono sull'a... more La Collana "Casi e Cose di design" propone ricerche scientifiche che vertono sull'analisi e la ricostruzione di storie di design legate al territorio della regione Lazio. Questo progetto culturale, promosso dalla Delegazione ADI Lazio, ha il compito di diffondere la conoscenza del design locale, inquadrato in una dimensione più ampia attraverso casi di studio di riverbero nazionale e internazionale. Il primo testo della Collana è stato pubblicato IN ITALIANO E INGLESE nel 2012: De Fusco R., Martino C., I Designer del bagno, Quodlibet studio, Macerata 2012. ISBN: 978-88-7462-457-
Il saggio opera una ricognizione su fratture e passaggi della cultura del progetto del Novecento ... more Il saggio opera una ricognizione su fratture e passaggi della cultura del progetto del Novecento esemplificativi del rapporto tra architettura e design nel suo affermarsi o negarsi come espressione dello stile di un determinato periodo. L’angolazione proposta trae i suoi riferimenti dalla frammentarietà del moderno, un tratto peculiare a quel sentimento di smarrimento della civiltà occidentale maturato con la diffusione radicale del consumismo industriale riconducibile a pratiche di montaggio. Il tema viene sviluppato soprattutto riguardo la cultura del progetto italiana attraverso frammenti di architetture e design della modernità e del postmoderno. Un caleidoscopio nel quale le ultime figure che si scorgono pongono un interrogativo sul futuro del design tra etica e estetica che, inteso nel suo ampio significato di progetto, include anche la diaspora tra globalizzazione e tribalizzazione quale significativa dinamica dei contemporanei sconfinamenti artistici.The essay makes a reconn...
I prodotti autarchici tra il 1940 e il 1943, costituiscono un interessante campo d’indagine perch... more I prodotti autarchici tra il 1940 e il 1943, costituiscono un interessante campo d’indagine perché rappresentano la fine di un ciclo culturale, specchio dell’assetto politico-economico che si sviluppò in Italia dopo le inique sanzioni, promulgate nel 1935. Il saggio propone, a partire da gruppi di materiali - i vetri, i legni ricostituiti e i tessili- una ricognizione su arredi e artefatti anche minori, condotta sulle principali riviste del periodo. Il puzzle di exempla, tra industria e artigianato, documenta frammenti dell’estetica autarchica che ha riguardato la cultura del progetto e del prodotto
Page 1. Introduzione Di Federica Dal Falco Il tema di questo libro è la ricostruzione degli aspet... more Page 1. Introduzione Di Federica Dal Falco Il tema di questo libro è la ricostruzione degli aspetti materici e tecnici di quattordici opere del Razionalismo italiano. Questo viaggio analitico nel progetto di architettura e nella costruzione ...
La Collana "Casi e Cose di design" propone ricerche scientifiche che vertono sull'a... more La Collana "Casi e Cose di design" propone ricerche scientifiche che vertono sull'analisi e la ricostruzione di storie di design legate al territorio della regione Lazio. Questo progetto culturale, promosso dalla Delegazione ADI Lazio, ha il compito di diffondere la conoscenza del design locale, inquadrato in una dimensione più ampia attraverso casi di studio di riverbero nazionale e internazionale. Il primo testo della Collana è stato pubblicato IN ITALIANO E INGLESE nel 2012: De Fusco R., Martino C., I Designer del bagno, Quodlibet studio, Macerata 2012. ISBN: 978-88-7462-457-
Arts, 2019
This article is devoted to the Italian modern project of the 1930s, which involved architecture a... more This article is devoted to the Italian modern project of the 1930s, which involved architecture and design. The main theme is the influence that the autarchic economic policy of the Fascist regime had in the choice of materials and technologies, and, above all, the manner in which this choice led to innovative practices and figurative research. Through significant examples, the essay provides some insight into the style of Italian rationalism, whose contradictory aspects—conditioned by the regime’s policy—shaped urban planning, architecture, and design in the 1930s. I show that the Italian rationalist culture is a field of investigation that is of considerable scientific interest because it represents the idea of an integral project comprised of all the elements associated to a building, including those that are still used today. In particular, I present a case study centered on the Physics Institute of Rome’s Sapienza University (1933–1935) designed by the architect Giuseppe Pagano...
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IN THE DIGITAL AGE.Collective monograph on the basis of the materials of the International scientific conference
Selection of papers on the basis of the International scientific-practical conference considering... more Selection of papers on the basis of the International scientific-practical conference considering social, cultural, technological and creative problems of contemporary design and architecture in the context of the digital age.
FEDERICA DAL FALCO, 2017
The article takes as a paradigm that integral approach combining urban planning and design that c... more The article takes as a paradigm that integral approach combining urban planning and design that characterized the cultural underpinnings of an Italian design project in the 1930s. The subject of this study is the campus quadrangle by Marcello Piacentini, considered a model of architecture and design midway between the classicist tradition and the innovations of Rationalism: every detail, from the construction features of the buildings to the furnishings, is consistent with the general layout. This unitary vision, based on the principles and practices of modern Italian architecture, is the perfect expression of the technological mix of craftsmanship and industry, which was forced to make use of materials produced in a condition of autarky under fascism. The essay is based on research into the design of the complex, carried out at the CERUR archives at Sapienza University. The study offers a complete picture of the full range of decorative elements adopted, such as furniture, light fixtures, and other items manufactured by Italian companies specialized in metal, wood, and glass. The knowledge, classification, and safeguarding of this set of modern records are fundamental to the recognition of its value as cultural heritage not only from an architectural standpoint but also from an anthropological and social perspective. The proposed methodology studies the phenomenon of modernity using an interscalar approach, in the belief that the Sapienza campus can serve as a model for research on coeval urban complexes with similar characteristics.
Numero verde 800864035 Condizioni di vendita e abbonamento per il 2021 Per l'Italia: prezzo del s... more Numero verde 800864035 Condizioni di vendita e abbonamento per il 2021 Per l'Italia: prezzo del singolo fascicolo € 36,00. prezzo dell'abbonamento annuo (2 numeri) € 62,00. Per l'Estero: prezzo del singolo fascicolo € 52,00. prezzo dell'abbonamento annuo (2 numeri) € 93,00.
ANANKE 89 Quadrimestrale di cultura, storia e tecniche della conservazione per il progetto , 2020
The paper approaches the concept of transversality and the artistic action which restores to publ... more The paper approaches the concept of transversality and the artistic action which restores to public space one of the multiple visions of the processes characterizing the culture of contemporary design. In particular, the paper concerns the Podio realized by the artist Alfredo Pirri, for the event 'Public space, art and identity: comparing international experiences' organized by the PDTA Department at the Valle theater in Rome. The paper starts introducing the various physical and symbolic meanings that the podium had in the history of architecture, changing shapes, design and arts: this structure represents, from antiquity to modernity, an element of connection with the context and mediation with the soil, but also an object of public and political communication. From the unitary base of the Etruscan-Italic temples, to the carved one of the Malatesta temple by Alberti in Rimini, to the rationalist conception of opaque material or air blocking, up to Lisickij’s lenina tribune, the function of the podium has always been to isolate and to symbolically elevate the architectural organism, as well as to celebrate the status and word of the leader. Pirri’s artwork offers a unique approach, according to which the podium becomes the frame of the word and a sort of listening instrument. In this sense, the theater is a public space in the sign of heterotopy and the artistic object is a communication device which can attribute new values and forms of interaction to the urban context.
вестник / Vestnik Scientific-analytical magazine of art studies «Decorative Art and environment. Gerald of the MGHPA» / Moscow State Academy of Applied Art and Design named after Sergei Stroganov. – MGHPA, 2020. – № 1. Part 2 – 408 p., 2020
Статья знакомит с эволюцией проектных поисков Джо Понти,
художника, дизайнера, архитектора, издат... more Статья знакомит с эволюцией проектных поисков Джо Понти,
художника, дизайнера, архитектора, издателя, сценографа, ос-
нователя и автора журналов «Домус» и «Стиль жилого дома»
(1941–1947). Его творчество сыграло огромную роль для ита-
льянской культуры и включает самые разные области, переда-
вая дух современности с особым вниманием к социальным по-
требностям и воспитанию нового вкуса, связанного с культурой
Средиземноморья.
The essay shows the evolution of the design research of Gio Ponti,
artist, designer, architect, publisher, stage designer, founder, director
and publicist of the «Domus» magazines (1929) and «Lo Stile
nella casa e nell ’arredamento» (1941–1947). His creative work has
gas played a tremendous role in the Italian culture, it concernes the
most varied disciplines, interpreting the spirit of modernity with attention
to the social needs and education of a new taste and is linked
to Mediterranean culture.
Ключевые слова: Джо Понти, журнал Домус, жилой интерьер,
итальянская архитектура и дизайн ХХ века, мебель.
Keywords: Gio Ponti, Domus magazine, dwelling interior, Italian architecture
and design of the XX century, furniture.
MUSEUM-StROGANOV-2018. Decorative, Industrial Art and Design museums: yesterday, to-day and tomorrow, 2018
Papers of the participants of the International scientific conference «MUSEUM-StROGANOV-2018. Dec... more Papers of the participants of the International scientific conference «MUSEUM-StROGANOV-2018. Decorative, Industrial Art and Design museums: yesterday, to-day and tomorrow» dedicated to the 150-th
centenary of the Museum of Decorative and Industrial Art of the Moscow State StroganovAcademy of Design and Applied Art. The conference took place on November 23, 2018.
Revolution in Art and the Innovations in Art Education, 1917
Papers of the participants of the International Scientific Conference «Revolution in Art and the ... more Papers of the participants of the International Scientific Conference «Revolution in Art and the Innovations in Art Education». The Scientists, teachers, graduate students of creative universities of Russia, representatives of foreign schools and state museums presented their vision of the avant-garde revolutionary art and its influence upon the contemporary artistic process, the art and design education. This topic is related to research the heritage of the Stroganov school in Russian culture. Curator of the research — rector of the Stroganov Academy professor, doctor of arts S.V.Kurasov.
Bauhaus and the Art Schools of the Avant-garde Epoch, 2019
Materials of the International Scientific conference "Bauhaus and the Art Schools of the Avant-ga... more Materials of the International Scientific conference "Bauhaus and the Art Schools of the Avant-garde Epoch" which took place in Moscow on April 17-19, 2019. Sections include discussions of the Sythesis of Arts, Design Thinking, Architectural Heritage of the Bauhaus and Russia, Avant-Garde Art school and teaching methods. The conference was organised by the Russian Academy of Arts, Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Design and Applied Arts, Moscow Architectural Institute, national Academy of Design
Federica Dal Falco, 2018
The contribution questions the reasons and the need for
a rethinking and revaluation of the progr... more The contribution questions the reasons and the need for
a rethinking and revaluation of the programmatic ideas of
modernity that the postmodernism has rejected, without
distinguishing the reasonable principles from distortions and
mystifications, decreeing the end of history, progress and values
of truthfulness. Recently, by several observers, in particular in the
field of historical and philosophical disciplines, the theoretical
insufficiency of postmodernism has been identified, whose
definitive crisis is ascribable to the 11 September 2001 massacre.
Postmodernism has abandoned the path of rationalism and
enlightenment by proposing fragmented, disorganic, reinventions,
quotations, displacements, contaminations that go
in the opposite sense to the idea of the new, to the concept of
new, associated in the arts, architecture, design and literature
with the concept of progress.
The current instability, which stands out against the backdrop
of globalization and an increasingly convulsive acceleration
towards the post-human, leads one to question the reality of
human needs, whose perception is increasingly intercepted by
technological mediation. Starting from these reflections, the
paper analyses, through the critical reading of two texts written
after thirty years (Maldonado, 1987; Mordacci, 2017), the
principles of the modern and the antithesis of the postmodern,
up to the current crisis where a neomodern condition would
seem to answer the questions of contemporaneity. In this
context, design, arts and architecture have a primary task:
to put at the centre of the project the body experience and
the sensible qualities of human, the starting point for giving
back to the technologies their instrumental role in the sign of
interdisciplinarity, sharing and coexistence of real and virtual.
The new continent is digital, but humanity is increasingly
fragile and increasingly needs to rediscover the meaning of
the material and immaterial stratifications that constitute the
foundation of its history.
Federica Dal Falco, 2018
The contribution questions the reasons and the need for
a rethinking and revaluation of the progr... more The contribution questions the reasons and the need for
a rethinking and revaluation of the programmatic ideas of
modernity that the postmodernism has rejected, without
distinguishing the reasonable principles from distortions and
mystifications, decreeing the end of history, progress and values
of truthfulness. Recently, by several observers, in particular in the
field of historical and philosophical disciplines, the theoretical
insufficiency of postmodernism has been identified, whose
definitive crisis is ascribable to the 11 September 2001 massacre.
Postmodernism has abandoned the path of rationalism and
enlightenment by proposing fragmented, disorganic, reinventions,
quotations, displacements, contaminations that go
in the opposite sense to the idea of the new, to the concept of
new, associated in the arts, architecture, design and literature
with the concept of progress.
The current instability, which stands out against the backdrop
of globalization and an increasingly convulsive acceleration
towards the post-human, leads one to question the reality of
human needs, whose perception is increasingly intercepted by
technological mediation. Starting from these reflections, the
paper analyses, through the critical reading of two texts written
after thirty years (Maldonado, 1987; Mordacci, 2017), the
principles of the modern and the antithesis of the postmodern,
up to the current crisis where a neomodern condition would
seem to answer the questions of contemporaneity. In this
context, design, arts and architecture have a primary task:
to put at the centre of the project the body experience and
the sensible qualities of human, the starting point for giving
back to the technologies their instrumental role in the sign of
interdisciplinarity, sharing and coexistence of real and virtual.
The new continent is digital, but humanity is increasingly
fragile and increasingly needs to rediscover the meaning of
the material and immaterial stratifications that constitute the
foundation of its history.
FEDERICA DAL FALCO, 2019
This article is devoted to the Italian modern project of the 1930s, which involved architecture a... more This article is devoted to the Italian modern project of the 1930s, which involved architecture and design. The main theme is the influence that the autarchic economic policy of the Fascist regime had in the choice of materials and technologies, and, above all, the manner in which this choice led to innovative practices and figurative research. Through significant examples, the essay provides some insight into the style of Italian rationalism, whose contradictory aspects-conditioned by the regime's policy-shaped urban planning, architecture, and design in the 1930s. I show that the Italian rationalist culture is a field of investigation that is of considerable scientific interest because it represents the idea of an integral project comprised of all the elements associated to a building, including those that are still used today. In particular, I present a case study centered on the Physics Institute of Rome's Sapienza University (1933-1935) designed by the architect Giuseppe Pagano Pogatschnig, analyzing its materials, technologies, and architectural features, as well as its furnishings. Along these lines, the objective of this investigation is the transmission of a specific knowledge, looking at objects as essential parts of the aesthetics of Rationalism in order to protect and enhance the cultural heritage of modernity.
This article is devoted to the Italian modern project of the 1930s, which involved architecture a... more This article is devoted to the Italian modern project of the 1930s, which involved architecture and design. The main theme is the influence that the autarchic economic policy of the Fascist regime had in the choice of materials and technologies, and, above all, the manner in which this choice led to innovative practices and figurative research. Through significant examples, the essay provides some insight into the style of Italian rationalism, whose contradictory aspects-conditioned by the regime's policy-shaped urban planning, architecture, and design in the 1930s. I show that the Italian rationalist culture is a field of investigation that is of considerable scientific interest because it represents the idea of an integral project comprised of all the elements associated to a building, including those that are still used today. In particular, I present a case study centered on the Physics Institute of Rome's Sapienza University (1933)(1934)(1935) designed by the architect Giuseppe Pagano Pogatschnig, analyzing its materials, technologies, and architectural features, as well as its furnishings. Along these lines, the objective of this investigation is the transmission of a specific knowledge, looking at objects as essential parts of the aesthetics of Rationalism in order to protect and enhance the cultural heritage of modernity. approximately thirty years, research aimed at improving the knowledge and the preservation of Italian architecture of the interwar period produced many scientific publications with disciplinary insights on the "restoration of the modern" and some exemplary interventions that have become international benchmarks .
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Papers by Federica Dalfalco
художника, дизайнера, архитектора, издателя, сценографа, ос-
нователя и автора журналов «Домус» и «Стиль жилого дома»
(1941–1947). Его творчество сыграло огромную роль для ита-
льянской культуры и включает самые разные области, переда-
вая дух современности с особым вниманием к социальным по-
требностям и воспитанию нового вкуса, связанного с культурой
Средиземноморья.
The essay shows the evolution of the design research of Gio Ponti,
artist, designer, architect, publisher, stage designer, founder, director
and publicist of the «Domus» magazines (1929) and «Lo Stile
nella casa e nell ’arredamento» (1941–1947). His creative work has
gas played a tremendous role in the Italian culture, it concernes the
most varied disciplines, interpreting the spirit of modernity with attention
to the social needs and education of a new taste and is linked
to Mediterranean culture.
Ключевые слова: Джо Понти, журнал Домус, жилой интерьер,
итальянская архитектура и дизайн ХХ века, мебель.
Keywords: Gio Ponti, Domus magazine, dwelling interior, Italian architecture
and design of the XX century, furniture.
centenary of the Museum of Decorative and Industrial Art of the Moscow State StroganovAcademy of Design and Applied Art. The conference took place on November 23, 2018.
a rethinking and revaluation of the programmatic ideas of
modernity that the postmodernism has rejected, without
distinguishing the reasonable principles from distortions and
mystifications, decreeing the end of history, progress and values
of truthfulness. Recently, by several observers, in particular in the
field of historical and philosophical disciplines, the theoretical
insufficiency of postmodernism has been identified, whose
definitive crisis is ascribable to the 11 September 2001 massacre.
Postmodernism has abandoned the path of rationalism and
enlightenment by proposing fragmented, disorganic, reinventions,
quotations, displacements, contaminations that go
in the opposite sense to the idea of the new, to the concept of
new, associated in the arts, architecture, design and literature
with the concept of progress.
The current instability, which stands out against the backdrop
of globalization and an increasingly convulsive acceleration
towards the post-human, leads one to question the reality of
human needs, whose perception is increasingly intercepted by
technological mediation. Starting from these reflections, the
paper analyses, through the critical reading of two texts written
after thirty years (Maldonado, 1987; Mordacci, 2017), the
principles of the modern and the antithesis of the postmodern,
up to the current crisis where a neomodern condition would
seem to answer the questions of contemporaneity. In this
context, design, arts and architecture have a primary task:
to put at the centre of the project the body experience and
the sensible qualities of human, the starting point for giving
back to the technologies their instrumental role in the sign of
interdisciplinarity, sharing and coexistence of real and virtual.
The new continent is digital, but humanity is increasingly
fragile and increasingly needs to rediscover the meaning of
the material and immaterial stratifications that constitute the
foundation of its history.
a rethinking and revaluation of the programmatic ideas of
modernity that the postmodernism has rejected, without
distinguishing the reasonable principles from distortions and
mystifications, decreeing the end of history, progress and values
of truthfulness. Recently, by several observers, in particular in the
field of historical and philosophical disciplines, the theoretical
insufficiency of postmodernism has been identified, whose
definitive crisis is ascribable to the 11 September 2001 massacre.
Postmodernism has abandoned the path of rationalism and
enlightenment by proposing fragmented, disorganic, reinventions,
quotations, displacements, contaminations that go
in the opposite sense to the idea of the new, to the concept of
new, associated in the arts, architecture, design and literature
with the concept of progress.
The current instability, which stands out against the backdrop
of globalization and an increasingly convulsive acceleration
towards the post-human, leads one to question the reality of
human needs, whose perception is increasingly intercepted by
technological mediation. Starting from these reflections, the
paper analyses, through the critical reading of two texts written
after thirty years (Maldonado, 1987; Mordacci, 2017), the
principles of the modern and the antithesis of the postmodern,
up to the current crisis where a neomodern condition would
seem to answer the questions of contemporaneity. In this
context, design, arts and architecture have a primary task:
to put at the centre of the project the body experience and
the sensible qualities of human, the starting point for giving
back to the technologies their instrumental role in the sign of
interdisciplinarity, sharing and coexistence of real and virtual.
The new continent is digital, but humanity is increasingly
fragile and increasingly needs to rediscover the meaning of
the material and immaterial stratifications that constitute the
foundation of its history.
художника, дизайнера, архитектора, издателя, сценографа, ос-
нователя и автора журналов «Домус» и «Стиль жилого дома»
(1941–1947). Его творчество сыграло огромную роль для ита-
льянской культуры и включает самые разные области, переда-
вая дух современности с особым вниманием к социальным по-
требностям и воспитанию нового вкуса, связанного с культурой
Средиземноморья.
The essay shows the evolution of the design research of Gio Ponti,
artist, designer, architect, publisher, stage designer, founder, director
and publicist of the «Domus» magazines (1929) and «Lo Stile
nella casa e nell ’arredamento» (1941–1947). His creative work has
gas played a tremendous role in the Italian culture, it concernes the
most varied disciplines, interpreting the spirit of modernity with attention
to the social needs and education of a new taste and is linked
to Mediterranean culture.
Ключевые слова: Джо Понти, журнал Домус, жилой интерьер,
итальянская архитектура и дизайн ХХ века, мебель.
Keywords: Gio Ponti, Domus magazine, dwelling interior, Italian architecture
and design of the XX century, furniture.
centenary of the Museum of Decorative and Industrial Art of the Moscow State StroganovAcademy of Design and Applied Art. The conference took place on November 23, 2018.
a rethinking and revaluation of the programmatic ideas of
modernity that the postmodernism has rejected, without
distinguishing the reasonable principles from distortions and
mystifications, decreeing the end of history, progress and values
of truthfulness. Recently, by several observers, in particular in the
field of historical and philosophical disciplines, the theoretical
insufficiency of postmodernism has been identified, whose
definitive crisis is ascribable to the 11 September 2001 massacre.
Postmodernism has abandoned the path of rationalism and
enlightenment by proposing fragmented, disorganic, reinventions,
quotations, displacements, contaminations that go
in the opposite sense to the idea of the new, to the concept of
new, associated in the arts, architecture, design and literature
with the concept of progress.
The current instability, which stands out against the backdrop
of globalization and an increasingly convulsive acceleration
towards the post-human, leads one to question the reality of
human needs, whose perception is increasingly intercepted by
technological mediation. Starting from these reflections, the
paper analyses, through the critical reading of two texts written
after thirty years (Maldonado, 1987; Mordacci, 2017), the
principles of the modern and the antithesis of the postmodern,
up to the current crisis where a neomodern condition would
seem to answer the questions of contemporaneity. In this
context, design, arts and architecture have a primary task:
to put at the centre of the project the body experience and
the sensible qualities of human, the starting point for giving
back to the technologies their instrumental role in the sign of
interdisciplinarity, sharing and coexistence of real and virtual.
The new continent is digital, but humanity is increasingly
fragile and increasingly needs to rediscover the meaning of
the material and immaterial stratifications that constitute the
foundation of its history.
a rethinking and revaluation of the programmatic ideas of
modernity that the postmodernism has rejected, without
distinguishing the reasonable principles from distortions and
mystifications, decreeing the end of history, progress and values
of truthfulness. Recently, by several observers, in particular in the
field of historical and philosophical disciplines, the theoretical
insufficiency of postmodernism has been identified, whose
definitive crisis is ascribable to the 11 September 2001 massacre.
Postmodernism has abandoned the path of rationalism and
enlightenment by proposing fragmented, disorganic, reinventions,
quotations, displacements, contaminations that go
in the opposite sense to the idea of the new, to the concept of
new, associated in the arts, architecture, design and literature
with the concept of progress.
The current instability, which stands out against the backdrop
of globalization and an increasingly convulsive acceleration
towards the post-human, leads one to question the reality of
human needs, whose perception is increasingly intercepted by
technological mediation. Starting from these reflections, the
paper analyses, through the critical reading of two texts written
after thirty years (Maldonado, 1987; Mordacci, 2017), the
principles of the modern and the antithesis of the postmodern,
up to the current crisis where a neomodern condition would
seem to answer the questions of contemporaneity. In this
context, design, arts and architecture have a primary task:
to put at the centre of the project the body experience and
the sensible qualities of human, the starting point for giving
back to the technologies their instrumental role in the sign of
interdisciplinarity, sharing and coexistence of real and virtual.
The new continent is digital, but humanity is increasingly
fragile and increasingly needs to rediscover the meaning of
the material and immaterial stratifications that constitute the
foundation of its history.
Le opere trattate sono tra le più importanti e note realizzate tra l’inizio degli anni ’30 e i primi anni della guerra (la Casa del fascio di G. Terragni a Como; la Casa della G.I.L. a Roma di L. Moretti, l’Istituto di fisica di G. Pagano e la Scuola di Matematica di G. Ponti alla Città Universitaria di Roma; le Poste a Roma di A. Libera, di M. Ridolfi, di G, Samonà; la casa della scherma a Roma di L. Moretti, il Dispensario antitubercolare ad Alessandria di I. Gardella, Il Palazzo per uffici Montecatini a Milano di G. Ponti; l’Università L. Bocconi a Milano di G. Pagano; il Palazzo dei ricevimenti e dei congressi di A. Libera all’Eur; la Casa a Cernobbio di C. Cattaneo; le Poste di BBPR all’Eur). Il tutto fonda un’unità, in cui si ritrovano le identità dei singoli autori, diversi tra loro nell’impostazione del progetto e nei particolari costruttivi, ma legati da un comune sentire riguardo a forme e materie.
Le descrizioni dei caratteri costruttivi e i saggi sono integrati da XXXVI tavole dei particolari architettonici originari relativi sia alle facciate principali che ad elementi, quali i serramenti. Le fotografie, tutte in bianco e nero dell’epoca, illustrano gli scritti e sono un vero e proprio strumento di verifica riguardo ai materiali e alle soluzioni costruttive adottate nelle opere.
Gli aspetti materici delle 14 architetture sono anche valorizzati da un ampio glossario dei materiali utilizzati (dagli agglomerati di sughero, al Linoleum, ai profilati Ferrofinestra, a tutte le pietre e i marmi impiegati) e da due bibliografie: sui materiali edilizi (con ben 700 citazioni bibliografiche di manuali e articoli comparsi sulle principali riviste di architettura - Architettura, Architettura ed Arti Decorative, Capitolium, Casabella, Case d’oggi, Civiltà, Domus….. - e di testate patrocinate dalle federazioni e associazioni di categoria specializzate nella presentazione dei loro prodotti - Alluminio, Glaces et verres, Edilizia moderna, Il Marmo, Marmi, Pietre e Graniti, Il Vetro, L’Industria Italiana del Cemento…) e sulle singole opere.
Si tratta in sostanza di una “fotografia” delle caratteristiche dei materiali e dei principali processi produttivi in uso all’epoca che ci fa comprendere come in queste architetture convivano due anime materiche con durate di vita assai diverse: materiali che invecchiano bene come i marmi e le pietre e materiali prodotti industrialmente che hanno mostrato nel tempo la loro scarsa resistenza e spesso non esistono più. La convinzione che sottende questa ricerca sui materiali è il ruolo fondamentale che essi hanno nella cultura architettonica italiana e nelle questioni legate alla manutenzione e al restauro.
STILI DEL RAZIONALISMO è indirizzato ad un pubblico specializzato (architetti, studiosi…), ma è anche un testo che dovrebbe essere di qualche interesse per le aziende specializzate nel settore dei materiali edilizi: la ricostruzione, seppur parziale, di un sapere tecnico specifico che riguarda i materiali e le soluzioni tecniche degli anni ‘30, è un aspetto che fa parte della storia della nostra cultura materiale e che dovrebbe essere considerato in qualsiasi programma di restauro.
Il libro contiene scritti di G. Arditi (PP. 291- 300); C. Barucci (PP. 123-127); L. Corvaja (PP. 67-72); L. Cupelloni (PP. 91-100); C. D'Amato (PP. 171-181); D. Dardi (PP. 383-392); A. Muntoni (PP. 325-331); G. Muratore (PP. 357-364); T. Paris (PP. 145-148); S. Poretti (PP. 203-207); F. Purini (PP. 35-41); S. Santuccio PP. 233-239). La prefazione è di Tonino Paris (P.P. VII-XI).
La bibliografia delle opere a cura di Carla Farina. Tutte le altri parti scritte del libro sono di Dal Falco. L'autrice ha effettuato le ricerche e la cura dell'apparato iconografico, ha curato i disegni e i particolari costruttivi (con la collaborazione di S. Bizzarri, L. Cramarossa, R.E. de La Riva, C. Farina, A. Ferreri, S. Paris).