392 RECALIBRATING CENTERS AND MARGINS

Seeing Through Domestic Modernity in Rationalist Italy

KAY BEA JONES The Ohio State University

INTIPOUlrCTION: FOUR OBSERVATIONS rnufelini ~o~nmissio~~s.reflect the irlfluence of hi< pre-\\ar dome& cxperiments in interior design. He initiated thrmes in Exen a cursol? glance at a range of uorlis h! Franco 4U)ini. the-e mino1 projrcti that require modern transparrnc! and lo\ r iric~ludingor~lan~erlt. furniture and building plans. suggests his of craft: Finall!. the nature of the modr~nloom, Iargeh influenre on tlie norlib of later and better ltnoxm architecti. I wh\erted b! the brealidoun of the box and the elinlination of do not intend to argue that Gehq. koolhaas. and Johnion \+ere the %all in srrilinal mod err^ it,ons, is intact in Gini's interiors knonledpeahle ahout Ilbini"~\+orli. but through closer inspec- and ~orlisto reinforce the room as tlie unit element of tion of selected projects 1 -ant to suggest the clirrericj of the architecture. idea5 arid talent* of thii lescer knoun modern architect.'

hlanfredo Tahri ( rediti 4biili \+it11leading the waj in one of the architectural hreal&roughs of his generation: modern ;\ia designer xsith a lasting legac!. Alhini's work desenes morr critical consideration. uhich 1 hope to adlance through itudies museum design. Tafuri lecognizez hi< .*hou.es of art" tor of hi. museums. houeing. intrriors. furniture. prixatr and puhlic achiexir~g equilibrium betueen noxel space and exhihition cornn~issions.and tearhing. Hi* prolific career extended trom func tion. and bet\\ een memorj and inno\ ation. Ilhini pro- pre-~arrationaliw~ to poet-war progrrssi~e modernism located dut ed Ital,'s first vhite box gallen in the Palazzo Biarico in in Itah with fek+ exceptiorls. In this paper. 1 \+ill look . The 16th centun, palate on the Rena~isanteStrada eprtificall~ at hi* domeitic interiors from the ea~l! 1930s huma houiei a chic rnubeum collection of histori( artifa~ts. through thr 1950s. Tliis wl),et of his norlt is of interest in tlie Tafuri alqo noted Ubini's extraortliriar! contribution in tlie contr\t of this corlference for at least three reasons. First. the exanlple of the Treasun of San Lorenzo Gallen huilt juct after d~ellingis the domain of architecture that has most resisted Palazzo Bidnco (1950) in the ianie citj. Characterizing \\hat lie n~otlernization.especiall! in lorth 4nierit an popular culture. calls *'magical abstraction" in -4lbirii's rationalist sensibilit~. Seiondl~.Uini and partneri' nlost important design contribu- Taturi rite^: tions during the post-war period. mident in their public 91st ACSA ANNUAL MEETING LOUISVILLE KY MARCH 14-17, 2003 393

Albznz managed to sublsrnate the ecoterlc nature of hls of reference from futurism to artc pol era supplied a decidedl~ referents. The dlalectlc betlreen cpoces, the 1mlatmzs of different conceptual haclcground from (din Rowe arid Rohert lzght. the dmlog bet~teerlthe glass caws and the ambpous Slutsk\'q understanding of cubisrn a. the heritage for modern auggestlz eneaa oj the interconnected organlsrns articulated architecture. ,Ubini's architectural language uas more direct]\ one oj the mo\t orzgznal mpedzents of illbsnl'c poetlts: u illaped bj his identification uitll the rationaliqts ~tithnllom he surrealism all the mole v~btle~n that tt uae lesol~edIn wai trained and collaborated. intluding Gardella. Periico. techrur (1111 faultless I otabular~. -llbm's .'burzed urch~tec- Pagdno. and Palanti. during the 1030s and earl! 40s. Hi* turr~"potaesce5sts occ n language. Isolatedjiorn the entcrncll unique contributions bet onle progreqsix el\ apparent in hiq ztorld. rt eIrcrt> a dsalo,uue between techrzolog-rccll el?- p-uar projects. produced first on his o~n.then later \\ith his gance - a fill the? tool for achlet zng euplenw detachment - partner. Franca Helg. Their later projects demonstrate a fresh and firms. Ths5 dlolope exalts an unreal dzrnens~on:thc freedom from the stJlistic dopa ot pre-~arrationaliwl. dlmenslon to be preclse, of ubrtlactlon nc 'su5pended re1 ealing d perpetuation of hi

Ol st ACSA ANNUAL MEETING LOUISVILLE KY MARCH 14-17. 2003 395

\lodrrr~iz;ltion i11 ltal\ sugprsteti scirtltiiic and teclnrologic a1 progreii. \\hi( 11 e~rrrtliall~lationalizrd tlir thrllir~gas both a lorma1 and art rc o~lomic co11.truc.t. Throughout thr 1O20-. Ijeiorr trrlnir~olo~ysuch a+ the "ne\\ d\\rlling.'- ""r1ite117- rninirnnnl" or "niacl~ir~ea llahiter" mere rommorr i11 ItA. forripn rnotleli I~rought +cientific print iples for organizing tlomeitic life \+it11 influente. on hrgier~e. land! size. and \\orrie~~'irole*.^ \lilanese architect Gio Ponti published Iiis r-saj entitled .'La Cmcn c~ll'ltol~ana"in the firit issue of the journal Domu5 in 1023 i11 I\ hi( h he diitinguibhed tlre riiodelr~ Italian 1iou.e from 11. neigl111ol+ north oi the Ups. He c.lai11ird that Itall's nxild climate diminished the nerd ioi distill( ti011 iret~eenirrdc. and outside. ( onsequeritl! form3 and material* are often rontinuo~~s.Probably responding to European influ- en( ei and to the Ratio~ialists nlanifesto pnl)lislied tllr prior tear. Ponti in.isted that the %el\ spirit" should not focus on ALBINI'S BEGINNINGS: INTERIOR TRANSPARENCY \+hat mas purrl~hnctional 1)ut attend to "spiritual co~rLtort.". AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS o\er prdgniatir prdc ticalities. hldristella Casciato ha\ identified Ponti's three primar~conterns in the el olution of the modern 1lbini had cornpleted his architectural studies at the Politecni- Italidn house I egarding aeitlietir . social arid ter llriical programs co di Vilano onl~one !ear prior to the Rloriza Biennale. In all aimed at the rerise of ~t7.k.~Ponti's focus on 1ifest)le uai forthconlirig exhibitions. U~ini~ould contribute to three I orisidereti hourgeols by the progreqsix e young architects of the rvperiniental 4io\\> and realize smeral domeqtic interiors Gruppo 7. since it ran counter to tlie rationalists' 'adherence to during tlre same decade. These projects trace the eIolution of logic and order." Terrragni's controversial \o~ocomum apart- his transitional motifs for the modern room. For tlie \ 111 ment huildir~gin Como in 1929 was quicMj recognized as a Triennale i1ll9~33. Uini participated wit11 0 architects 011 a tangible e\arnple of rationalist principles. jet on11 its facade as team headed h~ Giuseppe Pagano to produce the four-stor! built presented alternatir es to the traditional Italian dpartnient steel frame house. Persico singled out the project for "proxiding building. Iti interior rooms \\ere not published and i~rol)abl~ practical solution3 to national proble~~is."'On the third floor. ithout signific anr e in defining a rleM dl\ ellir~pt~ pe. Enrico the sulu dn p~unzowas separated trom the corridor lrj a 1 eil- Gliffini prolided architects with a manual of lieu domestic form like transparent curtain. During the sarrle year. 1lhini trans- in his outline ok principles entitled costruzrorre lazlonale $ella formed an artist's studio into a studio apartn~eritwith a iingle ca5u in 1931 and applied his proposals in collaboration uith room ac comrnodating hnctions of sleeping. M riting. sitting and Gruppo 7 member,."' let the most influential ideas about the eating. Urini used hlack maxed sailcloth to irolate the bedroom modern Italian house mere disseminated \ia the exhibition for a nooli. while a srnolted glass arid metal partition flanked the lacation llouse sponiored bj Soczeta' Edlwn, the Caw Elettrt- dining table made of black glasi. The dark material< akforded ca. greater xisual pri~a(\ in a compressed area. \\bile their gloss! surtaces. reflected light. Producrd for the 11th Biennale in Rloriza in 1930 b~ seleral n~eniberi of Gmppo 7: Figini. Pollini. Frettr. Lihera. and In 1936 the \I \Man Triennale I+as t oordinated bj Giuseppe Bottoni. the Cam Elettrrta \\& the first trul! glais houre. Papano. \+hose intereit in rationalist hnctionalism and mass progranni~edfol donieqtic inhabitation, and realized onl! a jedr productio~~guided his selec+on of !oung t olleaprs for after the Bartelorra Pa~illion." The exhibition house nas commissions in the exhibition." Zlbini ma< charged along uith streamlined. economical. arid efficient. nit11 special emphasis Giantarlo Palanti and Reriato Camus to design a ""Room for a pla( ed on dining. for \+hich Bottorii designed an a.wnilrl~ line \Ian." 111 I940 for the \ I1 Triennalr. 4lhini alone de4grietl the of production. diitribution. and collection. The rnachinr-like '"Li~ingRoom of a \ illd.""' Both designs exhibit the nature of a hitchrn \\as not 1 i4le to diners vho \\ere sen ed from blind stage set vith curtains and prrt eptix el! contrix ed parameters. re\ oh inp doorb. The snla da prnnzo (dining rooom) nai part of Each space had a floor grid and a bilateral dixision of tlie ope11 cmtral room that separated daj and night zones in the juxtaposed program> as if to separate dail! life into dialectic tl\\elling. The entire room expanded upuard to~ardclerestor! domains. The mind and bod) of the monastic indir idual where ~indouaant1 outvard with a vista linked to the landscape polarizrd in -'Room for a Man." 1 blacli traniparent turtain 396 RECALIBRATING CENTERS AND MARGINS

11ia11-niade.His rapt atte~itionto the artilact and it- pition \+ithi11the yarr sened his pla! of ~+hin14cal aligri~nentsarid su~perisionstructure\ thallen~inptlie rigor- of point. line ant1 planar gt~onletries.T\+o pie~esof iurniturc 111otlured lwt\\ern 1938-40 I haracterize his serioui $a!-fulness nhere pragmatic i enll~rate lealit\ to form poetn. Each design also de~nonstrate. Zlhini's tranipare~~taesthetic and flaxless attt.ntiori to detail antl craft.

;Ill~irii'sradio plat ef the operational necessities of speaker and transmitter into n naked bod!." The essence ii rrLealed as the deqigner addressei onl! uhat ib his dornain and Ira\?< techr~olo,q)to exist on iti oun, resnlting in a ~isuall~tl\na~nic dialog het~eenopl)c~qites. T\\o planes of Securit glass hold the susperided hetueen the t~oareas addrewed the amhiguitj of perceptuall! heal ier rectangle o\ er the ~ircle.both of vhicli sepdrating 111irid and bod!. The room nai .imeters tall. iorrning appear suspended in air. allouinp sound. music. and oice to a iquare end elmation. It 4 meters high a delicate \+bite grid emerge as if floating into the room. His tensile hookqhelt called delineated an ain ceiling ahole eye Irlel. The square end \\all '"T ellero." or sailboat. \+asdesigned for his owl apartn~ent."~-It as fared in rough-cut stone. aallj-prec iie machined. rather than organic. domain. remain open. E\en the base slab is detailed to appear not to rest The bed \+as susprnded ahox e all other actixities to float as in a on the ground. heightening the tension and gra~it! a< d!rian~ic dream. I we-through kmol\-uall sparined from floor-to-faux elerilerits of form. Each artifact states Ilhini's thesis that there ceiling. su-pending boobs on glasi ahel\ tb%.The hbrericc \+as %lid are no paesi~eol~jrcts. Predominant in his later museums. off the grid into the "'mind" zone of the. room and \+asthe onl? relatiorial transparenq depends upon the d!namic interaction element positioned s!n~nletricall! and or1 center \\ithin the of a rovni with its contents. A static. universal container of space. ohjects or bodies is not .Illrini's idea of modern yare. The room as the unit elrmer~tof architecture is the~eb! defined as a In his next series of domestic co~nmissioni.4lljini used the stair closed container of controlled proportions \zith suI~di\isiorifui as Loth qecti011 orpailizer and expressi~emotif to accentuate .iar!ing degrees of permeabilit~and lisual pe~ietrationof the linear rnol ernerit along slipping boundaries. Horizontal pliahili- functions and for~n. ~ithin. t! (curtain) shitted atterition to diagor~althrust (stair). The profile of the staintaj composed the room's end ele\aticm for A1llhini'- furniture appears in his 0-11 1940 apartment design the \ illa \ anzetti in 1035 (Corno). while at the \ anzetti accompanied h~ his transparent curtaini-as-walls. Designed apartment (Rlilan) tlie next !ear. 4111ini opened the risers. For hetween the tno Triermale project?. Xlbini's hlilan apartment \ illa Pestarini (1936-38) Alhini subpended Carrara marble displa\f leitmotiis obsened in his theoretical projects. and treads nhile opening thr ricers. balustrade and adjacent wall. to includrs hii transparent radio. lrool<,il~eliand glass-topped integrate djr~a~nicsof rrlmen~ent and light. A similar marble tables.'. In addition. he introduced a single floor-to-ceiling ramp stair later organized ,Ilhirii/Helg'~San hgostino hIu~ru111 ~hitesteel rod to iupport framelesh painting< at e!e le~eland in Genua. Ilbini's stairq prmed a flexihle mediurn for material o\erl~eadlight fixtures. The apparatus. borrowed from hib and tectonic composition and the ljrital suspension of weight. installatior~s. reduced the repetitile frame to a single inrtru- 91 st ACSA ANNUAL MEETING LOUISVILLE KY MARCH 14-17, 2003 397

merit. In the context of a anlall apart~nentthe intrr\ention fore

Gla3i nai again used o111\ horizorrtall~ as reflecthe table Since inter\entiorli in the existing palazzo and apartment sudac e. '-inside" and as the iloor of the outdoor '.ground" huildingq mere restrictk e. espec iallj 1% here tlle plan and \+here glazed panel< were supported b~ a metal grid oxer grass! structural \tall< \\ere largel! in tact. Ubini mas left little terrain. A tree and stair connected the t~ole~els in section. freedorn to rrdcfirre the o~erallbuilding form. Houe~erin the Eenpath the platform an axiaq made of tensile span netting domestic spare for the director. lestiges of his earlier ideas. hrought birds indoors. Light passed hetween the slats of tlle reconceixed after rationalism's popularitj had maned. prolideb platlorrn shadowing the zone underneath. -4 hammock and further insight into his strategies for magicJ poetich that q\\ing chairs. cantile\ ?red hoolwhelf. suspended stair trradi that transt end the functions of a \$ell-designed room. did not touth the ground. and "'natural" and man-made elernentq defined the lightneight sensuousness at~noqphereof The homb-damaged original roof of the palazzo had already 1)een recunatructed 1)) Rlercenaro's predecessor before she 4lbini'. ideal qpac e for li~ing. attained oversight of Genoa's artistic patrimon!. Prior to 1954 Ill~inirtmo~erl the riel\ '-hi~toric."roof and replaced it nit11 lo\$ In 1949 4lbini \\as inrited to Genoa and e\entuall! auarded concrete beams $panning a conlpressed open olu~ne.Jlarcena- tour prestiginus ~nuseurnco~nmiisionq 11: the director of the roes apartment. therefore. rec ei\ ed minirnal exterior light and cultural ministrj for the citj. Laterina \Iarcenaro.19 Alarcenaro sat too high abo~etlie street for ~ie-c\sof the narron tzccolr had significant in.ight regarding the Italian iendenza along nith (alleIs) outside. Detached from the tit!. *he n as indeed the authorit! to inten ene on sel era1 n~onumentsin a relati1 elj pli~siicall~joined to her museurn since the semi-public apart- consenati~ecultural rmironrnerlt. It \\a&her responsibilit\ to ment linked direct11 to the bemi-pri~ate ~~ublicgalleq se- re~italizebomb-damaged historic site< in the cit! center for the quence. paradoxicall\ added to a forrr~erl)dornestic palate. She purpose of ac commodating medie~alarid Baroque collections hat1 hecorrie a part of the building that defined her protesqicm held b! the n~uniiipalit\.She found bj mpath! in AUlini I\ ho and her life. uhich uere inseparable. hlarcenaro's ipace Mas shared her aim> to muclernizr the experience of ~iemingthe neither claustrophobic nor oppressed 11! the histoq on which it historic collectioni. &rc rnaro a\arded him projects for the wab iupported. Ahini repeated his suspension of artifacts and Palazzo Bianc o. recognized throughout Italj as the introducbtion furniture. choreographed as protagonists woxrn into -ubli~ne of the essential ~thitrgallen hox into museum design. the modern space, uqinc- a veh of delicate "c~llrstznwnto" or his11 Palazzo Roisc, (1952-60). the Treawn \Iu>eum under the detail^ made from bldck steel tensile memberq. C)nce again. Cathedral of San Lorenzo (1952). lauded h! Tafuri. and later o~erco~ning,\right i- thematic and can be wen in ~isual the San 4gostino Afuwm (1963-79)."' 0j particular interest relationships of floating objects. inclucling the fireplace hearth regarding tlie problem of the architecture of the nlodern room. and cap. xshich def! palit! and allo~zunobitructed xiel\* across 'llhini alio designed \larcenaro'q apartment in the reconstruct- rooms. The loft stairs and fireplace hmer but do not rest. and ed penthouse or '.attito" of the 17th century Palazzo Rosso. antiquities are married to nod ern ~notifs. 91st ACSA ANNUAL MEETING LOUISVILLE KY MARCH 14-17. 2003 399

CONCLt-SION: Jl1ST THE BEGINNING E( o affirm- the aigriifirancr of Itnhan~irx' (Italiannei>) during the nioderr~ltaliar~ ni~tarnorphosii: The persistent question that accompanied the srarch for a unique ltaliar~ nod ern deaip in the earl! years can he seen in -Ilbini^~modern dwellings. If a distincthe Italian chardcter exi~ts. U)irii"s reymnse to la cam ull'lralinna nas overt11 influenced hy 1~0ththe rationalids 'logic arid order" and Ponti'i call for at ten ti or^ to stlle. debign. and +ritual comfort reflected in Uhlrii's recurrent rnotifs. Pre-~arisolation and wcial realities of the ltar'i aftermdth wned to proxoke Italian artl~itectcpres~ured bj neM need< and ecorlonlic c orlstrairits di catal~stsfor their maturing complex rrioderr~lanpiage. Umberto 400 RECALIBRATING CENTERS AND MARGINS

rnorrrtou5 crrsrs. forclp dornzncltlon. rnusvx~e~,ord let NOTES ((mdjor this reason) has Raphael and Iflchrlun- Ilthough I lirro\\ of no bcholarship that has cor~nrctedPhilip .Johnson to thc grlo . . . . uhot often fnsclnnte> forezpers IS that zn ltal, \\ork nl' Frdrlco Zlbirri. thiq prolcct ;.i\es causc to hrlie~ethat .lohnsor~\\a> rconom7c cr7ws. unP1 rn de~dolmeni.trrrori\rn atcornpay au'lrv of' ar~dintcreitcd in 4llrini'. ~orlidurq .Johnson's own pcak. when he great znrentzt me,,. "'I learned the languapr of trar~sparrnc! from Rlies. Hi* 1965 Painting (;aller! buried UII the :rod. of thc Neu (Janaar~rstate hrtn a striking similarit! in plan to the ~hol(~sthapralr~ of Alhini's cryt. Br!ond the plan sinrilarities of For Ubini. the 'neu cpirit' a\zakened e\eq dimenpion of four ciri.ular rooms ith idintical radii. its location undtymnnd and the floor eT er\da, lite. E~enproduct design in ,Ubini's hands becomes pd~inggraphic:. rrndvr tht s~rnilariticshct\\rrn galleriw uncanny. I\Vhilr this architecture. not onl~betause he defines space \zit11 furnish- pu"iihlr rrlationship is thr sl~hjwtol' ar~othcrrraearvh projwt, it is uorth noting hrrr *ir~r,e.loh~~-on'> \vorlis of ar(.hitwture are tar better knourr and ings. but because hi- olrjects speak poetic all!. linking function ha\? rc~.~i\rdnlort, critical attcnt~onthan those of Franco Alhini.] to fantasj. The rno+t probaic programs in~ited drearn-libe \Ian! of 4lhini'-. projects aerc continued h! his officc. led h! Francti H14,o. huo~aric.! and magic dl abstraction. Hi; stairs dangle in suspen- hlarco Ilklini. ant1 Intonio 15a. aftcr his dcath In 197;. See Frunco Albini sion preferring neler to touch ground. Irt\\orhs float. some- 10O.T-19i7. Intoriio ['i\a an11 \ittorio I'rina (: Electa, 19988). Ilar~fredoTafuri. p. iU. Hzsto? (?fltuliorl 41-chitecturr 1944-1985 (Cambridge: times framele~slj. challenging the \\eight of their baroque The llIT I'rras. 1989). subject matter to colnplement the relational tension of the ")mid Horn, Svcial Bodies. Sciencr~. I

contrihrrtior~ti, thc rrnc\\al or rnuwrJrrl design whobe thrmt.? rangrd "lrorn the '~.i\iI'rolt. 111 lorn! to ihr rrlwurltcr hetuwn niemor! arui ir~no\,~tim." Rli~r~l'rctlo'I',lluri. His/r,r\ oJ Italiun :lrchitrcture 1944-191'13((,ambriilpe: The 31IT l'rtw. 1080) 11. 40.