Le Corbusier and the horizon. Regardless of the pedagogy surrounding how history and theory is taught in architecture schools, Le Corbusier’s (1886-1965) oeuvre can rarely be avoided because it is central to the experience of modernity; especially when talking about the innovative and revolutionary architectural ideas conceived by him during the early part of the 20th century.
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Le Baron Tavernier: a cafe. There is a myth that Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. Indeed, its picturesque landscape, pristine cities, orderly society, and unconditional belief in a constitution that engages each citizen through direct representation—often to a fault—are all accurate descriptions of the place and culture. While the country of my youth is truly magnificent, there is a mundane reality that mitigates the perfection. Throughout the project that I will describe of Le Baron Tavernier Hotel Restaurant, there is a sense of craftsmanship that accompanies the entire design.
Question of Pedagogy, Part 6. During my over thirty years in architectural education, I have taught at every undergraduate level, always with a specific focus on design studios, and with punctual forays into graduate instruction both in Switzerland and in the US.
Unbuilt projects and competitions. Years ago, when I had the occasion to teach in Venice, Italy, I became aware of the famous 18th century vedute (view paintings) and capricci (imaginary view paintings); specifically those of Italian painters Guardi and Canaletto.
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At the age of five I moved to Vienna, Austria—the heart of the Austro-Hungarian political, economic, and cultural Empire—and ever since then, I have been fascinated by urban environments. Simply stated, the bigger the better, although that doesn’t capture the complexities that I have come to enjoy when living in or visiting metropolises around the world.
Doing and Knowing. Usually the task at hand is trivial. While working, the banality of the task is quickly overcome and turns into a necessity of a spiritual nature: the need to build a thought. Making a project means indulging in the pleasure of constructing a thought.
Livio Vacchini
Capolavori, 2006[1]
Some time ago, a friend of mine mentioned an article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine on the work of Italian architect Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978). Her suggestion came at an auspicious moment as I was completing a second blog on the Venetian architect. Reading the article, the first paragraphs filled me with fond memories of visiting the featured apartment (Venice, 1962-63) that Scarpa had designed for his attorney Luigi Scatturin.
Vittorio Gasteiz: a lesson in stairs (Francisco Mangano). If you have ever wandered off the beaten path in a small French village or an Asian megalopolis, then you have likely stumbled on a tucked away medieval church, a picturesque and vibrant neighborhood market at night, a small literary café, a quaint winding cobbled street, or perhaps buildings that stand out by their unique presence. The moment is rewarding and often lends a sense of privilege to be the “only” person who knows of this newly found secret place.
Peter Zumthor, the lemniscate, Part 2. While one finds many free-standing architectural masterpieces that utilize a single geometrical shape, few buildings have had an impact on me more than Peter Zumthor’s (1943-) Caplutta Sogn Benedetg near Sumvtig, Switzerland (1985-1988). The chapel, its siting and usage of materials, and the all-encompassing interior space are pure poetry.
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Peter Zumthor, the chapel at Sumvtig, Part 1. Whether you are a student or an architect, you will remember visiting a famous architectural work for the first time. Confronting one’s ‘academic’ knowledge with an in-situ (often through sketching) experience often results in moments of epiphany followed by long lasting memories. Architecture has a tremendous physical power in orchestrating the five senses, eliciting different emotions, and often leaving us speechless in front of the grandeur of a masterpiece.
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