The question of form in Aldo Rossi: an inquiry between Emil Kaufmann and the architecture of enlightenment

• Grant number: 17/16065-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2017
• End date: June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Principal Investigator: Mário Henrique Simão D'Agostino
• Grantee: Carolina Rodrigues Boaventura
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This work looks for the influence of the Enlightenment architectural period and the literary work of Emil Kaufmann in the investigation of the architectonic form undertook by the neo-nationalist Aldo Rossi in his Architettura della città. Rossi is considered one of the most representative figure of the second half of the XX century's architecture, given his theoretical - historicist - contributions and critics in relation to the modern architecture's functionalism. In order to elaborate his works, he reviewed both the concepts adopted by the Enlightenment - mainly the use of symbolic forms in Etienne-Louis Boullée's projects - and the studies of the viennese architect and historian Emil Kaufmann who apart from studying projects from Lequeu, Ledoux and Boullée, draws a parallel between the Enlightenment and Modern Architecture in order to prove the origin of the latter. The approximation between Rossi and Kaufmann in the Enlightenment allows to identify the matrix of some of the concepts and lexicons that had been used in both of the authors' works as an exemple of the disciplinary autonomy's defense, the rational architecture and the assumption of form as a central question in architecture. Therefore, even if the respective writings have been elaborated in different times and presented distincts positions regarding the Modern Movement, this research intends to investigate these interpretations of the Enlightenment's theoretical legacy and to enlighten the common interest of these authors about the meaning of the architectonic form. Finally, this work aims for providing a distinct interpretation of the complex work of Aldo Rossi, in contrast with the more recurring studies that circumscribe his theoretical labour and professional practice mainly to the question related to collective memory. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

BOAVENTURA, Carolina Rodrigues. Aldo Rossi: reason and poetry. Type, symbol and time in architecture. 2019. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU/SBI) São Paulo.