Aldo van Eyck's travels: architecture and criticism (1947-1961)

• Grant number: 13/07102-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Principal Investigator: José Tavares Correia de Lira
• Grantee: Beatriz Yoshihara Caldeira Brandt
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/08071-7 - The travels of Aldo van Eyck: publications and projects (1947-1961), BE.EP.IC

Abstract

The main object of this research project is the trips the Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck undertook throughout 1947 and 1961. During this period, van Eyck traveled to Africa - Tunisa, Algeria, and Mali - and to America - United States, New Mexico. These destinations were instigated by his interest in "elementary" and non-Western cultures. Aldo van Eyck depicted the life of communities and their spatial organization through pictures, drawings, and texts. These materials were later published in journals of the time. This is therefore research that aims to observe the role of these trips in the development of concepts and visual language itself to the architect. Aldo van Eyck began traveling at an early age, even before graduating architect and continued to travel throughout his life. The main motivation for van Eyck to undertake these journeys was his interest in the Classical and Archaic. Their interest in Western Classical works emerged during his years as an undergraduate architecture student. Whereas the interest in the Archaic and the non-western cultures arose from his contact with the twentieth century's vanguards of modern art, especially Surrealism. His attitude towards the past distinguished him from other modern architects of his generation, as van Eyck sought to overcome the way of thinking architecture from a functionalist model. The research will concentrate on the figure of Aldo van Eyck as an architect and traveler, who travels to different places and times. Thereby, this project's main objective is to bring the experiences that occur between 1947 and 1961 with the writing and project al production of the architect. It is also important to consider the broader context in which Aldo van Eyck was consolidated as an important architect of the second half of the twentieth century. Thus, it is worth noting his involvement within the group Cobra experimentation, involving artists who sought to develop new forms of perception and action in space; as well as its role within discussion groups - the CIAM and Team X - in around the architecture in its review period values. (AU)