Martino Mocchi
Born in 1982, I got the second cycle Degree in Philosophy (University of Pavia) and the PhD in "Design and Technology for the Cultural Heritage Enhancement" (Politecnico di Milano).
My research focuses on the intersection between architecture and philosophy, revolving around themes such as the perception of landscape, the multisensory experience of space and the soundscape.
In the last years, professional opportunities gave me the chance of exploring new horizons: from environmental design to landscape aesthetics, from the perception of atmosphere up to the theme of student housing and the technological design of architecture. I have always been overtly fascinated by this interdisciplinary field, in the belief that a true research should move on the borders, growing in the intersections.
I am Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Politecnico di Milano, ABC Department.
For more contents, visit my Medium profile: https://martino-mocchi.medium.com
My research focuses on the intersection between architecture and philosophy, revolving around themes such as the perception of landscape, the multisensory experience of space and the soundscape.
In the last years, professional opportunities gave me the chance of exploring new horizons: from environmental design to landscape aesthetics, from the perception of atmosphere up to the theme of student housing and the technological design of architecture. I have always been overtly fascinated by this interdisciplinary field, in the belief that a true research should move on the borders, growing in the intersections.
I am Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Politecnico di Milano, ABC Department.
For more contents, visit my Medium profile: https://martino-mocchi.medium.com
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Prendere posizione nel mondo significa mettersi in luce, esprimere dei punti di vista, introdurre delle visioni. Dentro a questo pregiudizio linguistico e percettivo, che fin dai tempi di Aristotele ha premiato la vista rispetto alle altre sensazioni, è andata affermandosi una differente modalità di interpretazione dei luoghi, a partire dai cosiddetti “sensi minori”. All’interno delle nostre città tradizionalmente visive, fatte di palazzi, luci, colori, si nascondono altrettante città popolate da suoni, sapori, odori, che influenzano profondamente la percezione dei luoghi, portando alla luce simbologie intime e complesse. Una dimensione svelata proprio dai recenti lockdown, che hanno fatto emergere elementi percettivi normalmente soffocati dal brusio quotidiano, risvegliando un’attenzione assopita. Conoscere questi riferimenti rappresenta un imperativo per coloro che praticano il progetto dell’architettura, nella prospettiva di realizzare in modo più consapevole ambienti adatti e sicuri per la nostra vita. “Città di suono” propone una lettura di questo tema, in una prospettiva multidisciplinare ricca di suggestioni.
L’analisi punta a evidenziare il nesso imprescindibile, e non sempre riscontrabile nei progetti in corso, tra i processi di trasformazione, le nuove ipotesi insediative e le condizioni di contesto. Nell’ottica di sottolineare un possibile approccio metodologico da perseguire, che sappia mettere in luce peculiarità e potenzialità del comparto. Il testo si pone come l’esito di una ricerca avviata da anni in varie sedi: dall’insegnamento universitario, alla formulazione di ipotesi progettuali; dall’organizzazione di incontri e dibattiti pubblici, al confronto diretto con stakeholder ed esponenti politici locali.
A fronte della ricostruzione teorica dei problemi che interessano la zona e di una disamina storica dei processi che la hanno interessata, la ricerca propone infine delle soluzioni progettuali concrete, attraverso il resoconto del lavoro svolto in un corso di architettura tenutosi al Politecnico di Milano, e attraverso una proposta sviluppata dagli autori (con il gruppo di progetto UcTat) riguardante una passerella pedonale temporanea che attraversa lo scalo
The thesis is contextualized within the field of “Architectural Technology”, and it outlines the notion of “Environmental Design” (Progettazione Ambientale) as a key factor for a possible realignment between operational and theoretical perspectives. Accordingly, the project is conceived as a process which refers to a continuously changing object, not only because of the transformation of its environmental context, but also the cultural references that guide its interpretation. That's why the design activity has to establish a relation with the landscape at its different scales, considering the morphological components involved as well as the elements shaping local identity, strongly related with the perceptual ones. The reference to a performative normative model – instead of a simply prescriptive one – completes the framework, fostering a consideration of design based on the long-running dynamics triggered by the transformation.
The research develops within an inter-disciplinary context, which includes architecture and philosophy, focusing both on the theoretical dimension – aiming to promote a better understanding of the involved concepts – and on a more operational one – investigating the practical consequences that might follow the exploration of new conceptual fields.
The first chapter, starting from a survey of the evolution of soundscape studies during the last decades, focuses on the relation between this field and the architectural one, defining the recognition of a marginal intersection, mainly attributable to Kevin Lynch's perspective and further experimented by Michael Southworth.
Despite the limited aknowledged relations between soundscape and architecture, it was possible to bind the two fields together from an external approach, whose main concept is certainly the one of “multisensory”, which nowadays represents a widespread notion within the architectural panorama, referring to a large number of studies and project experiences. The analysis, however, has highlighted a rather disjointed scenario – both from a theoretical and practical point of view – based on individual approaches, generally far from shared reflections and methods for the project. The survey aims then to identify a common background, trying to clarify the theoretical, aesthetic and social aspects involved in the debate. For this reason, the investigation revolved around the recovery of some philosophical issues that had already influenced the past architectural experience, such as the works of Enzo Paci or Gernot Böhme.
The research has pointed out some paradigmatic concepts that could foster a common dialogue: the notion of “atmosphere”, for example, is a crucial one, referring to a lot of consolidated studies and a number of project experiences, even by prominent figures among contemporary architects. In recent times, Peter Zumthor, in particular, is the one who brought the attention on this concept, relating it to a vision of architecture strongly oriented towards the perceptual and emotional relation with space.
Starting from this background, the research has tried to identify the elements that could foster the idea of “project of the atmosphere”. First of all, it was necessary to identify the inherent difficulty of the concept, which has to draw on shared practices – based on objectivity – in order to determine consequences that should be evaluated in an individual horizon, strongly influenced by impulsive and emotional factors. The survey aimed to identify elements mediating between these areas, such as the concept of “stage” (inszenieren), or the many experiments conducted in the neuroscience area, aiming to defining notions such as emotion or beauty.
The second chapter addresses the notion of soundscape, considering the fields that currently play the most effective role in the interpretation and management of sound. The first one concerns the legal constraints that frame the evolution of the real acoustic scenario. The approach followed – in agreement with the soundscape studies – assumes as totally ineffective any method trying to control the acoustic elements through quantitative restrictions, without considering the qualitative relation established between sound and the perceiver’s cultural system.
A more in-depth analysis of the laws, actually, led to identify elements in favor of a more articulated diversification of sound. It is, however, a marginal and rather difficult-to-use scenario, which makes the regulatory apparatus inflexible and inefficient in relation to the punctual and evanescent nature of sound.
This critical consideration does not aim to solve the problem, revealing, on the contrary, the difficulty of establishing a golden mean between a control apparatus related to cultural elements – based on a qualitative but largely arbitrary point of view – and another one that refers to absolute values, being impacted by the outlined issues. Therefore, the research focuses on a “typological” consideration of sound, able to put in relation the individual perception of sound (even starting from different cultural backgrounds) with social and symbolic values. Murray Schafer himself pursued this goal, through the introduction of three categories named “keynote sounds”, “sound signals” and “soundmarks”, defining a model that has been improved during the years, as demonstrated both by Barry Truax’s “communicational” perspective, and the discussions held in the center CRESSON giving rise to the concept of “sound effect” – among many others.
The third chapter shifts from a theoretical interpretation of sound to a more operative field, trying to establish a direct relation with the architectural project. Starting with a benchmarking of case studies in which sound could orient the morphological elements, the analysis underlines once again the distance between soundscape studies and architectural approach. The concept of “sound design” itself turns out to be contradictory: either because of its inability to lead the project as a whole – since hearing cannot replace visual models because of the cultural assumptions rooted in society – or due to the ambiguity of its program, in between artistic and technical field.
To interface with the complexity of the “project”, considered as one single act of interpretation and transformation of space, it was therefore necessary to shift toward the multisensory perspective, which fosters the integration between the visual approach and the “minor senses”, without creating further biased models in which a single sense replaces the visual predominance. The last paragraphs of the chapter offer a contribution to better understand the concept of “multisensory project”. The first one starts from an individual consideration of the perceptive and the emotional feelings that I personally established with a specific environment, to show how these components are strictly related with the structural elements of architecture. The second highlights how the sensory interpretation of urban space can provide indications for the construction of new spaces. The third draws from a number of philosophical concepts and studies conducted during these years encouraging further reflection.
The fourth chapter includes a collection of three dialogues I had with Luisa Bonesio, Rosario Giuffrè and Vittorio Gregotti, who kindly accepted to give their opinion on some issues raised in the research. The discussion – in addition to representing a moment of great personal enrichment – allowed a better contextualization of the research, adding different points of view to the work and including new essential themes, such as the relationship between perception and aesthetics, landscape and multisensory, as well as music and architecture.
Prendere posizione nel mondo significa mettersi in luce, esprimere dei punti di vista, introdurre delle visioni. Dentro a questo pregiudizio linguistico e percettivo, che fin dai tempi di Aristotele ha premiato la vista rispetto alle altre sensazioni, è andata affermandosi una differente modalità di interpretazione dei luoghi, a partire dai cosiddetti “sensi minori”. All’interno delle nostre città tradizionalmente visive, fatte di palazzi, luci, colori, si nascondono altrettante città popolate da suoni, sapori, odori, che influenzano profondamente la percezione dei luoghi, portando alla luce simbologie intime e complesse. Una dimensione svelata proprio dai recenti lockdown, che hanno fatto emergere elementi percettivi normalmente soffocati dal brusio quotidiano, risvegliando un’attenzione assopita. Conoscere questi riferimenti rappresenta un imperativo per coloro che praticano il progetto dell’architettura, nella prospettiva di realizzare in modo più consapevole ambienti adatti e sicuri per la nostra vita. “Città di suono” propone una lettura di questo tema, in una prospettiva multidisciplinare ricca di suggestioni.
L’analisi punta a evidenziare il nesso imprescindibile, e non sempre riscontrabile nei progetti in corso, tra i processi di trasformazione, le nuove ipotesi insediative e le condizioni di contesto. Nell’ottica di sottolineare un possibile approccio metodologico da perseguire, che sappia mettere in luce peculiarità e potenzialità del comparto. Il testo si pone come l’esito di una ricerca avviata da anni in varie sedi: dall’insegnamento universitario, alla formulazione di ipotesi progettuali; dall’organizzazione di incontri e dibattiti pubblici, al confronto diretto con stakeholder ed esponenti politici locali.
A fronte della ricostruzione teorica dei problemi che interessano la zona e di una disamina storica dei processi che la hanno interessata, la ricerca propone infine delle soluzioni progettuali concrete, attraverso il resoconto del lavoro svolto in un corso di architettura tenutosi al Politecnico di Milano, e attraverso una proposta sviluppata dagli autori (con il gruppo di progetto UcTat) riguardante una passerella pedonale temporanea che attraversa lo scalo
The thesis is contextualized within the field of “Architectural Technology”, and it outlines the notion of “Environmental Design” (Progettazione Ambientale) as a key factor for a possible realignment between operational and theoretical perspectives. Accordingly, the project is conceived as a process which refers to a continuously changing object, not only because of the transformation of its environmental context, but also the cultural references that guide its interpretation. That's why the design activity has to establish a relation with the landscape at its different scales, considering the morphological components involved as well as the elements shaping local identity, strongly related with the perceptual ones. The reference to a performative normative model – instead of a simply prescriptive one – completes the framework, fostering a consideration of design based on the long-running dynamics triggered by the transformation.
The research develops within an inter-disciplinary context, which includes architecture and philosophy, focusing both on the theoretical dimension – aiming to promote a better understanding of the involved concepts – and on a more operational one – investigating the practical consequences that might follow the exploration of new conceptual fields.
The first chapter, starting from a survey of the evolution of soundscape studies during the last decades, focuses on the relation between this field and the architectural one, defining the recognition of a marginal intersection, mainly attributable to Kevin Lynch's perspective and further experimented by Michael Southworth.
Despite the limited aknowledged relations between soundscape and architecture, it was possible to bind the two fields together from an external approach, whose main concept is certainly the one of “multisensory”, which nowadays represents a widespread notion within the architectural panorama, referring to a large number of studies and project experiences. The analysis, however, has highlighted a rather disjointed scenario – both from a theoretical and practical point of view – based on individual approaches, generally far from shared reflections and methods for the project. The survey aims then to identify a common background, trying to clarify the theoretical, aesthetic and social aspects involved in the debate. For this reason, the investigation revolved around the recovery of some philosophical issues that had already influenced the past architectural experience, such as the works of Enzo Paci or Gernot Böhme.
The research has pointed out some paradigmatic concepts that could foster a common dialogue: the notion of “atmosphere”, for example, is a crucial one, referring to a lot of consolidated studies and a number of project experiences, even by prominent figures among contemporary architects. In recent times, Peter Zumthor, in particular, is the one who brought the attention on this concept, relating it to a vision of architecture strongly oriented towards the perceptual and emotional relation with space.
Starting from this background, the research has tried to identify the elements that could foster the idea of “project of the atmosphere”. First of all, it was necessary to identify the inherent difficulty of the concept, which has to draw on shared practices – based on objectivity – in order to determine consequences that should be evaluated in an individual horizon, strongly influenced by impulsive and emotional factors. The survey aimed to identify elements mediating between these areas, such as the concept of “stage” (inszenieren), or the many experiments conducted in the neuroscience area, aiming to defining notions such as emotion or beauty.
The second chapter addresses the notion of soundscape, considering the fields that currently play the most effective role in the interpretation and management of sound. The first one concerns the legal constraints that frame the evolution of the real acoustic scenario. The approach followed – in agreement with the soundscape studies – assumes as totally ineffective any method trying to control the acoustic elements through quantitative restrictions, without considering the qualitative relation established between sound and the perceiver’s cultural system.
A more in-depth analysis of the laws, actually, led to identify elements in favor of a more articulated diversification of sound. It is, however, a marginal and rather difficult-to-use scenario, which makes the regulatory apparatus inflexible and inefficient in relation to the punctual and evanescent nature of sound.
This critical consideration does not aim to solve the problem, revealing, on the contrary, the difficulty of establishing a golden mean between a control apparatus related to cultural elements – based on a qualitative but largely arbitrary point of view – and another one that refers to absolute values, being impacted by the outlined issues. Therefore, the research focuses on a “typological” consideration of sound, able to put in relation the individual perception of sound (even starting from different cultural backgrounds) with social and symbolic values. Murray Schafer himself pursued this goal, through the introduction of three categories named “keynote sounds”, “sound signals” and “soundmarks”, defining a model that has been improved during the years, as demonstrated both by Barry Truax’s “communicational” perspective, and the discussions held in the center CRESSON giving rise to the concept of “sound effect” – among many others.
The third chapter shifts from a theoretical interpretation of sound to a more operative field, trying to establish a direct relation with the architectural project. Starting with a benchmarking of case studies in which sound could orient the morphological elements, the analysis underlines once again the distance between soundscape studies and architectural approach. The concept of “sound design” itself turns out to be contradictory: either because of its inability to lead the project as a whole – since hearing cannot replace visual models because of the cultural assumptions rooted in society – or due to the ambiguity of its program, in between artistic and technical field.
To interface with the complexity of the “project”, considered as one single act of interpretation and transformation of space, it was therefore necessary to shift toward the multisensory perspective, which fosters the integration between the visual approach and the “minor senses”, without creating further biased models in which a single sense replaces the visual predominance. The last paragraphs of the chapter offer a contribution to better understand the concept of “multisensory project”. The first one starts from an individual consideration of the perceptive and the emotional feelings that I personally established with a specific environment, to show how these components are strictly related with the structural elements of architecture. The second highlights how the sensory interpretation of urban space can provide indications for the construction of new spaces. The third draws from a number of philosophical concepts and studies conducted during these years encouraging further reflection.
The fourth chapter includes a collection of three dialogues I had with Luisa Bonesio, Rosario Giuffrè and Vittorio Gregotti, who kindly accepted to give their opinion on some issues raised in the research. The discussion – in addition to representing a moment of great personal enrichment – allowed a better contextualization of the research, adding different points of view to the work and including new essential themes, such as the relationship between perception and aesthetics, landscape and multisensory, as well as music and architecture.