Università Politecnica delle Marche Facoltà di Ingegneria - Dipartimento DICEA Corso di laurea in Ingegneria Edile Architettura 1 2016 Quaderni di Storia dell’Architettura ARCHITECTURE A NORDIC DIMENSION ARCHITECTURE A NORDIC DIMENSION Index Piccola Intro sulla collana??? A Nordic Dimension: Forewords Aino Niskanen...................................................................................................................................5 Antonello Alici...................................................................................................................................6 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consecteturadipiscing elit. Sed gravida, sapien sit amet malesuada pellentesque, arcu tellus auctor felis, eu pretium tortor quam sit amet magna. Suspendisse eu nunc suscipit, mollis risus ac, tincidunt elit. Sed inibus quam sit amet arcu lobortis semper. Nunc hendrerit justo ligula, vitae ultrices orci congue vel. Praesent tristique at sapien in elementum. Donec ut auctor enim. Cras eficitur vulputate justo, eget cursus enim. Sed molestie lacus gravida leo aliquam, sit amet cursus quam volutpat. Nulla tristique neque at nulla maximus aliquam. Vivamus volutpat pulvinar ligula sed aliquet. Suspendisse tincidunt neque ac aliquet iaculis. Phasellus varius velit vitae turpis consectetur blandit. Integer dignissim leo arcu, at feugiat risus placerat eget. Etiam tincidunt nulla ornare felis laoreet suscipit. Mauris non mauris a nulla vestibulum tristique in et tellus. Ut tristique turpis et leo pretium volutpat. Program and Bibliography..................................................................................................................8 Chiara Della Sciucca / Chiara Rinaldoni _City Life: Architecture As sociAl integrAtion........................................................................................................12 Luca Bonci / Mirco Santi_The way of being Industrial: A comparison between two different architectural experimentations.....................................................18 Vladimir Bojkovic, PhD candidate_Buildings for Culture: Parallels between Finlandiatalo (Helsinki) and the Home of Revolution (Niksic, Montenegro)..........26 Francesco Chiacchiera / Alberto Marchegiani_To the Waterfront: Between Alvar Aalto & Snøhetta...........................................................................................................40 Debora Benfatto / Ludovica Giaconi_Buildings for Culture: Vivamus ac ipsum sed urna laoreet gravida vel quis Finlandiatalo and the Auditorium - Parco della Musica.............................................................................46 elit. Proin iaculis eget nisi non tristique. Sed maximus, tellus eu facilisis feugiat, dui mauris pulvinar justo, Alessandro Lattanzi_Building for the Spirit: at porttitor est arcu ac ex. Suspendisse ornare est ac An evolution in Peter Celsing’s church projects..........................................................................................54 vestibulum aliquam. Quisque nunc eros, varius vitae graphic project: Monica Prencipe eficitur at, pulvinar nec libero. Donec eu metus turpis. Anna Khromova, PhD candidate_ City Planning: Sed sollicitudin ex turpis, sed porttitor velit pharetra vel. A review of urban planning in Helsinki and Moscow during the 20th century...................................64 Vestibulum sed libero quis tellus consectetur vehicula bibendum nec arcu. Nullam tincidunt mauris lobortis Phung Nguyen, PhD candidate_The Structure of Wood urna molestie fermentum. in Gol stave church in Norway and traditional house in Hue (Vietnam)..............................................72 Monica Prencipe, PhD candidate_1895-1950: The dissemination of Nordic Architecture through Italian magazines.............................................................82 Architecture - A nordic dimension 3 NORDIC MODERNISM LITERATURE - A selection NORDIC ARCHITECTURE by Prof. Aino Niskanen - Aalto University PROGRAM OF THE COURSE by Prof. Aino Niskanen - Aalto University 1_4.11 The roots What does it mean to live in a Nordic country. Vernacular Architecture between 1900 and late 1920´s. 2_6.11 Functionalism in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. 6_20.11 Cultural buildings. Masters : Jorn Utzon Readings: Utzon, Platforms and plateau+ Utzon, Mikkola 7_25.11 The city . Masters: Arne Jacobsen, Peter Celsing Readings: End of Acceptera, Henningsen. Discussion on possible topics Readings : Jacobsen, Celsing 3_11.11 Churches and funerary chapels Alvar Aalto between 1940s and 1970s 8_27.11 Masters: Sverre Fehn, Reima Pietilä, Ralph Erskine Docomomo. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden. Modern Baltic Heritage. Small Houses. Ed. by Timo Tuomi & Kristiina Paatero. Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 2007. Donnelly, Marian C. Architecture in the Scandinavian Countries. MIT Press. Cambridge 1992. Lund, Nils-Ole. Nordic Architecture. Arkitektens Forlag. København 2006. Modern Movement Scandinavia. Vision and Reality. DOCOMOMO Scandinavia. Århus 1998. Nineteen Thirties Scandinavia. Rassegna 77, 1999. Nineteen Thirties Nordic Architecture. Conference and Exhibition 8-26 October, Politecnico di Milano. Ed. by Gennaro Postiglione & Mareike Henschel. Politecnico di Milano. Milano 2001. Norberg-Schulz, Christian. Nightlands. Nordic Building. MIT Press. Cambridge 1996. Readings: Aalto Philosophy of architecture, The trout and the stream Readings: Pietilä, Fehn, Erskine Sweden from the Iron Age until Today. London 1958. 5_18.11 Housing, homes and design in Nordic countries. Readings: Norberg - Schulz, Rasmussen 8 Paulsson, Thomas. Scandinavian Architecture. Buildings and Society in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Plummer, Henry. Nordic Light. Modern Scandinavian Architecture. Thames & Hudson. New York 2012. January 2016: Final seminar Nordic Architecture Literature _A selection prof. Aino Niskanen - Aalto University, Finland 9 SWEDEN DENMARK 250 Years of Danish Architecture. Ed. by Kim Dirkinck-Holmfeld et. al. Arkitektens Forlag. København 2004. 20th-Century Architecture. Sweden. Ed. by Claes Caldenby et al. Prestel. Munich 1998. Andersson, Henrik O. Swedish Architecture. Drawings 1640-1970. Byggförlaget. Stockholm 1986. Contemporary Danish Architecture. Ed. by Finn Monies & Bent Røgind. Arkitektens Forlag. København 1958. Faber, Tobias. A History of Danish Architecture. Det Danske Selskab. Copenhagen 1978. Faber, Tobias. New Danish Architecture. Hatje. Stuttgart 1968. Hiort, Esbjørn. Contemporary Danish Architecture. Gjellerups. København 1949. Keiding, Martin et al. Danish architecture since 1754. Danish Architectural Press. Copenhagen 2007. New Architecture in Sweden. A Decade of Swedish Building. Svenska arkitekters riksförbund. Stockholm 1961 New Swedish Architecture. Svenska arkitekters riksförbund. Stockholm, 1939. Kidder Smith, G.E. Sweden Builds. Reinold. New York 1957. The Swedish Art of Building. Ed. by Jöran Lidvall. Swedish Institute & Swedish Museum of Architecture. Stockholm 1992. Swedish Modernism. Architecture, Consumption and the Welfare State. Ed. by Helena Mattsson & Sven-Olov Wallenstein. Black Dog Publishing. London 2010. Architect monographs: Bornebusch, Fisker, Holscher, Jacobsen, Juhl, Larsen, Lassen, Lauritzen, Suenson, Architect monographs: A4/ELLT, Anshelm, Asmussen, Asplund, Celsing, Erskine, Gezelius, Helldén, Utzon, Vandkunsten, Wohlert etc. Hidemark, Jaenecke & Samuelson, Lewerentz, Lindroos, Mathsson, Markelius, Nyrén, Åhren etc. NORWAY Norberg-Schulz, Christian. Modern Norwegian Architecture. Norwegian University Press. Oslo 1986. Treprisen. Thirteen Norwegian Prize-Winning Architects. Ed. by Dag Rognlien. Arkitektnytt. Oslo 1988. ANTHOLOGIES Architect monographs: Fehn, Korsmo, Knutsen, Lund & Slaatto etc. Abacus 3. Yearbook 1982. Ed. by Asko Salokorpi & Maija Kärkkäinen. Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 1983. FINLAND 20th-Century Architecture. Finland. Ed. by Marja-Riitta Norri et al. Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 2000. Nordic Architects Write. A Documentary Anthology. Ed. by Michael Asgaard Andersen. Routledge. New York 2008 Connah, Roger. Finland. Reaktion Books. London 2005. Concrete in Finnish Architecture. Association of the Concrete Industry of Finland 1929-1989. Ed. by Jouni Kaipia. Suomen betoniteollisuuden keskusjärjestö. Helsinki 1989. Exhibition of Finnish Architecture. Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 1979. Helander, Vilhelm. Modern Architecture in Finland. Kirjayhtymä. Helsinki 1987. Nikula, Riitta. Wood, Stone and Steel. Contours of Finnish Architecture. Otava. Helsinki 2005. Heroism and the Everyday - Building Finland in the 1950s. Ed. by Riitta Nikula et al. Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 1994. ARCHITECTURE GUIDES Dirkinck-Holmfeld, Kim. Guide 2 to Danish Architecture 1960-1995. Arkitektens Forlag. Copenhagen 1995. Hultin, Olof et al. The Complete Guide to Architecture in Stockholm. Arkitektur Förlag. Stockholm 2009. Ilonen, Arvi. Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa. An Architectural Guide. Otava. Helsinki 2009. Poole, Scott. The New Finnish Architecture. Rizzoli. New York 1992. Kaipia, Jouni & Putkonen, Lauri. A Guide to Finnish Architecture. Otava. Helsinki 1997. Quantrill, Malcolm. Finnish Architecture and the Modernist Tradition. E & FN Spon. London 1995. Lind, Olaf & Lund, Annemarie. Copenhagen Architecture Guide. Arkitektens Forlag. Copenhagen 2005. Salokorpi, Asko. Modern Architecture in Finland. Tammi. Helsinki 1970. Lind, Olaf. Jutland. Architecture Guide. Danish Architectural Press. Copenhagen 2002. Tempel, Egon. New Finnish Architecture. The Architectural Press. London 1968. Meyer, Ulf. Helsinki. Architectural Guide. DOM Publishers. Berlin 2012. Sestoft, Jørgen & Hegner Christiansen, Jørgen. Guide 1 to Danish Architecture 1900-1960. Arkitektens Forlag. Copenhagen 1995. Wickberg, Nils Erik. Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 1965. Arkkitehti magazines Finland Builds exhibition catalogues Architect monographs: Aalto, Blomstedt, Bryggman, Ekelund, Ervi, Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala, Revell, Ruusuvuori, Pietilä, Sipinen, Sirén, Ypyä etc. 10 Modern Swedish Design. Three Founding Texts. Ed. by Lucy Creagh et al. Museum of Modern Art. New York 2008 Nordic Architecture Literature _A selection The SAR Guide to Contemporary Swedish Architecture 1968-78. The National Association of Swedish Architects. Stockholm 1978. Waern, Rasmus et al. A Guide to Swedish Architecture. Swedish Institute. Stockholm 2001. prof. Aino Niskanen - Aalto University, Finland 11 1895-1950_The Nordic MONICA PRENCIPE PhD student - 2nd year Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines From Italian magazines to Bruno Zevi’s History of Modern Architecture ABSTRACT This essay is an attempt to focus on the role of magazines in the dissemination of the Modern ideas coming from all around Europe, in the irst half of the XX century. In particular, this essay focuses on the role of Nordic Architecture, of country like Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, between 1895 and 1950. In 1895, Italy saw the birth of the irst modern magazine – «Emporium» – in Bergamo, founded by a cartographer Paolo Gaffuri and the geographer Arcangelo Ghisleri. Therefore, the interest for Nordic countries -as well as for other nations- came relatively early in 1896, with the publication of the irst “Travel diary” to Norway. This irst interest on the trip to the north was then replaced with a more mature attention towards the new artistic movements, from the romantic national movements to the modern ideas of Erik Gunnar Asplund and Alvar Aalto. In the late 1930s, the protagonist of a new re-discovery was the magazine «Casabella», where Edoardo Persico, in issues n°90 and n°92, publishes two important articles about the Paimio Sanatorium and the Foerbundet Cooperative in Stockholm. After Persico’s death, Giuseppe Pagano will follows his footprints in spreading the Nordic ideas in Italy, until his death in Mathausen in 1943. With the war, the complex system of publication in Italy, will slowly fall apart, with the only exception of «Domus», directed by Ernesto Nathan Rogers between the 1947 and 1948. Curiously, both Pagano and Rogers will choose an Alvar Aalto article to close their experiences in «Casabella» (for Pagano), and «Domus» (for Rogers). Finally, in 1945 a new magazine was founded in Rome, in order to affect the Italian reconstruction and to ill the void left by «Casabella»: «Metron». The magazine had the strong cooperation if Bruno Zevi, a young critic that -at that time- was working on an ambitious project: the ist Italian History of Modern Architecture (published in 1950), where Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar aalto were presented as the two masters for the future generations. Keywords: History of Italian magazine, History of Architecture, Modern movement, Casabella, Metron, Organic Architecture, Vittorio Pica, Bruno Zevi, Edoardo Persico, Giuseppe Pagano. 82 Monica Prencipe 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 83 Introduction The end of the nineteen century -besides many transformations- saw the birth of what we call today mass media, with its modern way of communicating ideas and all the sudden changes of society. Magazines, and especially those ones interested in arts and architecture, played a central role in this revolution. Since the beginning, the Italian journals wanted to publish foreign artists, in order to favour the constitution of a truly “modern” conscience, and inally go beyond an Italian tradition, still bounded to classicism and eclectism. One of the main reason for its cultural lag was related to the absence –central in other European countries- of a tradition such as the Grand Tour, that, from the late Renaissance, permitted to each generation to travel and compare ideas, lifestyle, artistic believes. 1_Arcangelo Ghisleri (left) and Paolo Gaffuri (right), founders of Emporium 2_1893. Chicago, Columbian World Exposition 84 If we speak of these last two centuries, the main inluences in Italian culture came from countries like Germany, Austria and France, irst for their physical connections with Italy. However, as soon as the modern transportation and communications permit it, Italian magazines tried to keep up with the many artistic revolutions that where starting all over Europe, like in the Nordic countries. This essay focuses on a period between 1895 and 1950. The 1895 is the birth of the irst modern art magazine: «Emporium», in Bergamo (Milan). On the other end, in 1950 Bruno Zevi publishes the irst Italian History of Architecture1, which presented Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto as two great masters for the new generations. Between these two moments, there are the Fascist decades, with his economical but also cultural autarchia2, which apparently wanted to contain this growing interest for foreign architecture. Actually, as we can see from a selected bibliography, most of the publications connected to Nordic architecture, comes from that period, especially after the 1928 and the birth of a famous architectural Italian journal: «Casabella». For these reasons, in order to understand the path of dissemination of Nordic architecture in Italy is crucial to follow the low of publications on this topic in our architectural magazines. Section I. 1895-1920: The seminal role of «Emporium. Rivista mensile Illustrata d’arte, letteratura, scienze e varietà » The illustrated magazine «Emporium» is founded in January 1895, published by the Istituto italiano di Arti Graiche in Bergamo, by a cartographer Paolo Gaffuri and the geographer Arcangelo Ghisleri. The journal is deeply inspired by the most advanced editorial experience in Europe: The Studio (London, 1893), that was focusing its efforts in inding a new balance between writings, drawings and images3. Other important inluences came from the new American magazines like «The Inland Printer», «The printing art» and from the Universal Exposition of Chicago in 1893, visited by Arcangelo Ghisleri himself4. One of the main target of «Emporium» was to spread the “high culture” not only Italian, but from the entire world5, which of course matched the private interests of the two founders for modern geography. Therefore, the interest for Nordic countries as well as for other nations, came relatively early in 1896, with the publication of the irst “Travel diary” to Norway, written by the United States diplomat Rasmus B. Anderson6. However, the article still relects the echo of the latest anthropological researches as well as the geographical 5_ Lapp isherman, from 1896 - Rasmus B. Anderson, Gita invernale sulle coste della Norvegia, in «Emporium» n° 13 3 Silvia Lorandi, Emporium e le riviste straniere contemporanee, in Giorgio Mirandola (a cura di), «Emporium» e l’Istituto Italiano d’Arti Graiche 1895-1915, Nuovo istituto italiano d’Arti graiche, Bergamo 1985, p. 21. 4 In 1891 Paolo Gaffuri and Arcangelo Ghisleri founded the periodical «Geograia per tutti», but after the journey in America, the two founders will sell the old journal and start publishing «Emporium». See Giorgio Mangini, Alle origini di Emporium. Il viaggio di A. Ghisleri all’Esposizione Universale di Chicago del 1893, in «Emporium» Parole e igura tra il 1895 e il 1964, Edizione della Normale, Pisa 2009, pp.39-94. 1 In 1996, for the tenth edition of this book, Bruno Zevi divides his History in two volume and he adds an eloquent subtitle to the irst: From William Morris to Alvar Aalto, the space-time research, as a recall of Giedion’s Space, Time and Architecture (1941) and in open opposition with the 1936 Pevsner history From William Morris to Walter Gropius. 5 In december 1894 Gaffuri and Ghisleri write that the idea of this new magazine was to “polarizzare l’alta coltura, i risultati della scienza, il ior iore delle arti, non solamente dall’Italia, ma di tutto il mondo civile, con notizie e monograie precise, brevi, succose, dovute a specialisti, e accompagnate sempre da illustrazioni, che siano documenti, presi dal vero e sui luoghi, riprodotti con sistemi ultimi dell’arte graica più progredita; tale l’intento della nuova Rivista” , in Mirandola, Giorgio (a cura di), «Emporium» e l’Istituto Italiano d’Arti Graiche 1895-1915, Nuovo istituto italiano d’arti graiche, Bergamo 1985, p. 63. 2 This extreme way of economic protection started in 1931, to control the crisis coming from 1929. 6 Rasmus Anderson, Gita invernale sulle coste della Norvegia, in «Emporium» vol.III n° 13, genn. 1896, pp.23-31. Monica Prencipe 4_from left to right: covers of The Inland Printer (Chicago and New York 1883); The Studio (London 1893, graphic by Aubrey Beardsley); Emporium (Bergamo 1895) 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 85 explorations, with a romantic passion for nature. Focusing on architecture, the irst important appearance of Nordic examples in Italy is in 1897, with a review of the Exposition of Stockholm, written by Erik Sjœstedt7, a Swedish diplomat stationed in France. This article will be the irst of a series of reviews on the topic of international exhibitions, which often offered crucial occasion for mutual exchanges. Exchanges like the ones between Vittorio Pica, art critic and director of «Emporium» between the 1900 and the 1910, and Ferdinand Boberg, Swedish architect trained at the Academy of Fine Arts and at the Polytechnic of Stockholm. In Turin 1902 and Venice 19058, Pica will meet Boberg, in charge of the Swedish pavilion. As a result, Pica will publish a series of articles on Nordic contemporary artists and architects like Halfdan Ström (Norway), and Boberg himself. Pica highlights Boberg’s expertimental research, especially because “architecture, for being the art where the collective soul of a given population in a given time manifests itself, requires a slow and complex elaboration to eliminate the individual conceptions from the collective feeling, taste and needs”9. In his idea, personal interpretations of modern architecture were a necessary step towards its overcoming, towards a truly collective movement. 6_ Erik Sjœstedt, L’esposizione storicoartistica-industriale di Stoccolma, in «Emporium» n° 32, 1897 7_Vittorio Pica, Ferdinand Boberg, in «Emporium» n° 136, 1906 Coming back from the Exhibition in Stockholm in 1909, Pica will also write a long article titled “The modern decorative art in Sweden”10. The focus is on the central role of the Technical School in Stockholm (Tekniska Skolan i Stockholm), directed by Viktor Adler since 1886; and of the “Handwork Friends Society” (Handarbetets Vänner), founded by the ladies of the capital, inspired by 7 Erik Sjœstedt, L’esposizione storico-artisticaindustriale di Stoccolma, in «Emporium» vol. VI n° 32, agosto 1897, pp. 144-152. 8 Raimondo D’Aronco planned the Modern Art Exposition in Turin in 1902, and he focused his efforts in spreading the new ideas of Art Nouveau in Italy. The International Art Exhibitions in Venice (today known as Biennali), where founded in 1895 by Riccardo Selvatico and Vittorio Pica, that will be one of its general secretaries until his death in 1930. 9 Vittorio Pica, Ferdinand Boberg, in «Emporium» vol. XXIII n° 136, aprile 1906, pp. 242-243. Ferdinand Boberg (Falun, 1860 – Stoccolma, 1946) in 1910 will design the italian embassy in Stockholm. Vittorio Pica, La moderna arte decorativa in Isvezia, 10 in «Emporium» vol. XXXI n° 186, giugno 1910, pp. 402-421. 86 Monica Prencipe the popular artifacts showed in the Nordiska Museet. In his words, we can ind some interesting predictions about the future challenges of modern arts, which was to “ind a balance between two parallel currents: one popular, anonymous, traditional, and the other one aristocratic, individualistic and cosmopolitan”11. Section II. 1921-1943: The Nordic countries during the Fascist decades Before 1928, and the birth of «La casa Bella» by Guido Marangoni and «Domus» by Giò Ponti, the protagonists of the Modern Movement were looking for a committed place for a serious debate. This role was played by several journals, most of them also dedicated to Arts in general, like Emporium, La cultura moderna, Dedalo, and -the most famous one- Architettura e arti decorative, founded in 1921 by Gustavo Giovannoni in Rome, according to the French Art et Décoration (Paris 1897) and L’Art décoratif (Paris 1898). However, compared to its French relatives, the focus on modern architecture was clearly present since the beginning: in the irst issue is immediately published a ifty-page article -Il momento architettonico all’estero- by Marcello Piacentini, the leading Italian architect chosen by Mussolini. The aim was to ind an “art that corresponds the current times, and to understand what it’s already been done and what it’s yet to do” 12. Some lines (but no images) are dedicated to both Sweden and Finland. For Sweden, Piacentini recalls the “revolution” made by Boberg, Tengbon and Ostberg with a “neo-traditional school”. In the same way, the Gesellius, Lindgren and Saarinen Studio represents Finland. However, the fast description betrays Piacentini preferences towards the so-called Nordic Classicism, also politically connected to a search for national identity. The article can be considered a big anticipation of the 1930 Architettura d’oggi, at that moment the widest publication on foreign architecture in Italy since the beginning of the century, where he conirms his 1921 positions. 8_The new magazine «Architettura e Arti decorative», Roma 1921 9_ Cover of Architettura d’oggi, di Marcello Piacentini, ed. Cremonese, Roma 1930 10_11_12_Illustrations from Architettura d’oggi, 1930 Actually, Piacentini was one of the few Italian architects of his generation that had the chance to travel abroad and to study the modern movements. As a matter of fact, 11 Ibid., p. 421. In 1915 Vittorio Pica will also publish the irst volume in Italy about Modern Swedish Art: Arte e artisti nella Svezia dei nostri giorni. 12 Marcello Piacentini, Il momento architettonico all’estero, in «Architettura e arti decorative», maggio-giugno 1921, pp. 32-76. 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 87 until the Second World War for most Italian architects the greatest moments for mutual exchanges were still the World Expositions (like Paris 1925, Paris 1937, New York 1939), and the Triennali in Milano (1933, 1936), which played a central role in the dissemination of Nordic design, like the innish Artek13. Edoardo Persico and Giuseppe Pagano, and their new direction of «Casabella» since 1933 (n°61), inally made a great advance on this topic. Although the magazine was founded in 1928, we have to wait the 1935 for the irst words on Nordic architecture. 13_On the left Edoardo Persico (Napoli 1900 - Milano 1936); on the right Giuseppe Pagano (Parenzo 1896 - Mathausen 1945), protagonist of «Casabella» since 1933. 14_ Edoardo Persico, Sanatorio di Paimio, in «Casabella» n° 90, 1935 15_Edoardo Persico, Cooperativa Foerbundet, in «Casabella» n° 92, 1935 The protagonist of this re-discovery was initially Persico itself, in issues 90 and 92, where he publishes two important articles about the Paimio Sanatorium and the Foerbundet Cooperative in Stockholm14. Persico is the irst to clearly say that this “new movement” has a lot in common with the Nordic Classicism, which he describes with words in strong opposition to Marcello Piacentini “neo-traditionalist school”: “the Swedish neoclassicism, at this point, in not an academy, it’s an art; a severe discipline, not a simple way of doing”15. T wo numbers before, speaking of Aalto’s work in Paimio, Persico apologizes for not having more technical information, because this great building was only described in a very limited number of international magazines, like the innish «Arkkitehti» (june 1933), the danish «Byggmästeren» (may 1932) and the English «Architectural Forum»16. the contradictory trends in Italy, in 1938 the Architects’ Unions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark invite Pagano to visit their countries and to present a conference on Moderne Architecktur in Italien. Finally, in March 1943 (n°183), just before Pagano’s death in Mathausen and the sudden closure of the magazine in December, the «Casabella» editor in chief relies on Alvar Aalto’s words for the biggest problem that every architects will soon have to face: the tragedy He will inally underline that “there is only one formula: of the war and the reconstruction of a country, if not of a pride in moderation, and a deep conviction and intense continent18. desire for simplicity, honesty, and clarity. These are the true traditions of Italian architecture...In this sense, we Aalto’s words are at the same time a synthesis of the are working with colleagues throughout the world”.17 debate on the “minimum dwelling” and prefabrication, Predictably, this travel had a great impact on Pagano, also and a clever preiguration of a new horizon for the future because he inally had the chance to build a solid net of architecture: the introduction of “humanity” in the connections with the Nordic architects (and not just with functionalist equation. a series of international magazines). Curiosly, the choice of an article written by Aalto as As a result, the highest number of publications on a magazine director inal statement, will become a Modern Nordic countries are between 1939 and 1943, recurring idea for another protagonist: Ernesto Nathan with a special attention to masters like Asplund and Alvar Rogers, who was building his editorial work on Pagano’s Aalto. In this way, Edoardo Persico’s legacy, after his death ideas. in 1936, was collected not only by Giuseppe Pagano but also by Attilio Podestà, who made most of the writings about Sweden. 17 Giuseppe Pagano, Discorso sull’Architettura Italiana di oggi, in «Casabella-Costruzioni» n° 134, febbraio 1939, p.2-3. The passage is also quoted in Antonello Alici, From Pagano to Rogers. Continuità in Italian architecture between 1930s and 1950s, in Nils Erik Wickberg, Quo Vadis Architectura?, Helsinki University of Technology, Department of Architecture, Helsinki 2007, p.165. 16_ Giuseppe Pagano in Scandinavia in «Costruzioni-Casabella» n° 195-198, 1946 18 Alvar Aalto, La ricostruzione dell’Europa. Capitale problema di attualità nel campo edilizio, in «CostruzioniCasabella», n° 183, marzo 1943, pp.3-9 At this time, very far from Vittorio Pica direct knowledge of the Nordic world, most of the information are coming from other international magazines, which started to have a bigger circulation abroad (as well as «Casabella» itself). 17_ Casa madre dei Mutilati (Marcello Piacentini), Stadio Berta (Pier Luigi Nervi), Istituto di Fisica (Giuseppe Pagano) some of the buildings described during his conferences in Scandinavia The wider dissemination of architectural journals is also one of the reasons for the trip to the North, made by Giuseppe Pagano in 1939. Because of the great work of «Casabella» in showing the latest results and 13 From the selected bibliography at the end of this essay, we can notice that almost half publications on Nordic coutries are connected to this kind of events. Actually, the two articles are not signed, but 14 Edoardo Persico generally used a small black rectangle at the end. Edoardo Persico, Cooperativa Foerbundet, in 15 «Casabella» n° 92, agosto 1935, p.18. Edoardo Persico, Sanatorio di Paimio, in 16 «Casabella» n° 90, giugno 1935, p.12. 88 Monica Prencipe 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 89 Section III. 1945-1950: Nordic countries as a positive example for the Italian Reconstruction. With the beginning of WWII in 1939, the complex system of architectural magazines in Italy will slowly fall apart. Even «Casabella», with the endless devotion of Giuseppe Pagano, will close in December 1943. However, in January 1941 Pagano took the direction of the second Italian magazine: «Domus», also founded in 1928 by Giò Ponti, but more concerned on interior design. Signiicantly, the irst act of the new editorial staff is to change the journal subtitle “the Art in the House”, with “the arts in the house”. The reason was to “extend the program to those other social, moral, philosophical topics, intimately bounded with the home”19. On the other hand in 1938 «Casabella» changed name in «CasabellaCostruzioni» (n°121), and then, in 1940, in «CostruzioniCasabella» (n°145), focusing on new constructions and technical issues. For this reason is maybe possible to see, in Pagano’s plans, «Domus» focusing on different types of art as a natural counterpart to a more technical «Casabella». 18_covers of «Costruzioni-Casabella» with articles about Nordic Architecture, between 1939 and 1943 19_Due ville di Aalto, in «Casabella» n° 145, gennaio 1940, pp.25-28. In the same month, Pagano is called again to the front in Albania, but he keeps a frequent correspondence with the editorial staff of the two magazines, that quickly publishes his writings. After Pagano’s death, «Domus» is the only architectural journal to survive trough the World War, even after a series of sudden changes in its direction. Finally, in January 1946, Ernesto Nathan Rogers will become the editor in chief for «Domus», with another subtitle: “La casa dell’uomo” (The man’s home). He writes: “I want a house that looks like me (in good): a home that looks like my humanity (…) We must form a taste, a technic, a moral, as terms of the same function. It is about building a society. There is no time to lose illustrating frippery”20. The ethical message and Pagano’s moral imperative is clearly present in Rogers mind21, together with a new series of feelings -introduced by Aalto in 1943 on «Casabella»- focusing on the true protagonist of architecture: the human being. As a complete circle, in December 1947 the last issue of «Domus» -with Rogers as director- is dedicated to 19 Giuseppe Pagano, Ti sei accorto, lettore…, in «Domus» n° 157, gennaio 1941, p. 1. Ernesto Nathan Rogers, Programma. Domus: la 20 casa dell’Uomo, in «Domus» n° 205-206, gennaio 1946, p. 3. In 1946 Rogers wrote one of the most famous 21 writings about Pagano: “Catarsi” 90 Monica Prencipe Alvar Aalto’s work. Actually, in June 1947, Rogers wrote to Le Corbusier22 for a complete report on “architecture and the other arts”23. The long article -42 pages and 67 sketches- arrived too late, in October of the same year. After this irst attempt, Rogers’ chance with Aalto arrived with the Triennale, where he asked the Finnish architect for an article on the same topic. With an interesting choice, Aalto titles his essay “Architettura e arte concreta”24, but he really talks about the uses of abstraction in the designing process, to ind a personal synthesis between different impulses. “Social, humanitarian, economic, and technological requirements combined with psychological problems affecting both the individual and the group, the movements and internal friction of both crowds of people and individuals – all this builds up into a tangled web that cannot be straightened out rationally or mechanically. (…) This is what I do – sometimes quite instinctively- in such cases. I forget the whole maze of problems for a while. (…) I then move on to a method of working that is very much like abstract art”. As it was for Pagano, Aalto’s word help us understanding Roger’s intention for a magazine like «Domus», with his need of a “relationship”, a new “mediation” beyond functionalism, between technique, material needs and aesthetic believes, everything as a part of our “humanity”. Rogers interests in Aalto’s work will also lead him to the irst Italian book on the topic, only an year after “Architettura e arte concreta”, for a small publishing house founded in 1944: Il Balcone25. Its special collection “Architects of the modern movement” was headed by Belgiojoso, Peressutti e Rogers in memory of Gianluigi Bani, dead in Mathausen in company of Giuseppe Pagano. 20_ La fondazione svedese Elving, in «Costruzioni-Casabella» n° 166, ottobre 1941 21_ Alvar Aalto, La ricostruzione dell’Europa. Capitale problema di attualità nel campo edilizio in «Costruzioni-Casabella» n° 183, 1943 After the irst books on William Morris and Giuseppe 22 At the end of the war Rogers starts to coordinate the Italian-CIAM group, and with this privilege he will have the chance to get in contact with the CIAM international group, especially Le Corbusier. Paolo Nicoloso, Il CIAM di Bergamo, Le Corbusier e 23 le “verità” discutibili della carta d’Atene, in Marida Talamona (a cura di), L’Italia di Le Corbusier, Electa, Milano 2012, p.301. Alvar Aalto, Architettura e arte concreta, in «Domus» 24 n° 223-225, ottobre-dicembre 1947, p. 107. The English version has also another title: “The trout and the stream”. The publishing house was founded by Massimo 25 Carrà (the son of the painter Carlo), Fernando Ghisotti, Ludovico Castiglioni and Edoardo Hesemberger. See, Fiorella Vanini, La libreria dell’architetto. Progetti di collane editoriali 1945-1980, Franco Angeli, Milano 2012, p.65. 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 91 22_Cover of «Domus» n°157, january 1941.Giuseppe Pagano becomes the new director of the magazine after Giò Ponti 23_24_december 1947: Rogers’ last number for «Domus» (n°223-224-225) is dedicated to Alvar Aalto. He writes 23_Cover of «Domus» n°205, january 1946. “Architettura e arte concreta” (“The trout Ernesto Nathan Rogers becomes the new and the stream” in the english version) director of the magazine. Terragni, Rogers publishes an essay by Giorgio Labò -also dead in 1944- completely dedicated to the work of Alvar Aalto, but initially intended for a series of article on «Casabella» in 194126. movement”30. In 1950, the irst edition of Zevi’s History of Architecture is written to celebrate Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright, two masters of a new architecture that he called “organic”. Finally, during this harsh period, in open opposition with the «Domus» approach and its bourgeois elite, is Bruno Zevi’s direction of «Metron». He left Italy in 1939, due to the “racial laws”, and quickly returned in July 1944, when Rome was free for just two months. As soon as he came back, he started a huge dissemination of writings about reconstruction and foreign architecture. His sources were primarily coming from the USIS (United States Information Service), because of his cooperation with the United States Army, but also from Nordic countries. One of the possible explanations for this preference could be related to his irst stay in London, in 1939, were he started to work for the Finnish architect Cyril Sjöstrom27. Besides, in February 1946, back again in New York due to a USIS request, he will personally meet Alvar Aalto, who was starting to work on the Baker House project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology28. Zevi’s uses of the Nordic work, are strictly related to his ideas of an “active history”. In his writing, Aalto and Wright became real symbols for an “architecture of democracy”, identifying forms with a political connotation that was far from the original intentions of the two architects. In conclusion, we can say that interests on Nordic countries were present since the beginning of the last century. The irst papers came from the Travel literature (including the World Expositions), and so from a direct knowledge of the Nordic world. However, protagonists like Vittorio Pica were primarily interested in paintings and ine Arts, and relatively late reached modern architecture. Immediately, these two contacts became valuable sources for «Metron», a new magazine founded in Rome in 1945 that wanted to affect the Italian reconstruction and to ill the void left by «Casabella». We will have to wait the 1935 and the birth of the most famous magazine in Italy on Architecture -«Casabella»- in order to have a more mature and a wider understanding of the complex transformations in Nordic architecture. However, the choice of Nordic examples will be always strictly connected to the ethical and political messages of each magazine. «Metron» n°7, in 1946, is dedicated to the reconstruction of Finland and URSS, and –of course- it is open by another Alvar Aalto’s translation: “End of the Machine a habiter”.29 This brief article is mainly concerned on the necessity of a new economic and technical organization, as well as a careful research on housing. The following pages about the Rovaniemi Plan inally praise the birth of a National Planning Ministry in Finland, still absent in Italy. Edoardo Persico’s irst attempts reached then a real turning point with Giuseppe Pagano trip to the North in 1939, which inally opened a new season of directed connections. However, as we can see from the bibliography, the re-discovery of the Nordic world was a team work, which included journalists like Attilio Podestà, Anna Maria Mazzucchelli and Giulia Veronesi, often forgotten or left in the background by history. Bruno Zevi’s devotion to Nordic Architecture reach his climax in those last two years of the 1940s. In 1948 he will publish a selection af Erik Gunnar Asplund Works, for the Rogers collection “Architects of the modern Roberto Dulio, Introduzione a Bruno Zevi, Laterza, 27 Bari 2008, p.9 After Pagano’s death in 1943, Ernesto Nathan Rogers and Bruno Zevi quickly followed his legacy, even if in different ways. Rogers tries to relect on the multiple uses of humanities for the modern world, and to go beyond functionalism trying to ind a balance with the past. Zevi on the other hand uses this past and the Nordic examples in a political way. His goal is to build a new society, truly democratic and modern, with a dedication that we can compare to Pagano’s devotion towards the Modern Movement31. Roberto Dulio, Introduzione a Bruno Zevi, Laterza, 28 Bari 2008, p.134 30 The volume dedicated to Frank Lloyd Wright –also written by Bruno Zevi- is published only in 1954. Alvar Aalto, Fine della “Machine à habiter”, in 29 «Metron» n° 7, febbraio 1946, pp. 2-5. This article is strictly related to the one published on «Casabella-Costruzioni», in 1943. For the politicization of Architecture in Italy, see 31 also David Rifkind, The Battle for Modernism. Quadrante and the Politicization of Architectural Discourse in Fascist Italy, Marsilio, Venezia 2012 26 Francesca Romana Stabile, Un sabotatore: Giorgio Labò, Gamgemi, Roma 2014, p.64. 92 Conclusions Monica Prencipe 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 25_Pictures of a wooden construction and the ceiling of the Viipuri’s library, from Alvar Aalto, Architettura e arte concreta, in «Domus» n° 223-224-225, ottobre-dicembre 1947, pp. 3-15. 26-29_Paintings by Alvar Aalto, 1946-49 93 Bibliography Rasmus ANDERSON, Gita invernale sulle coste della Norvegia, in «Emporium» vol.III n° 13, genn. 1896, pp.23-31. Erik SJŒSTEDT, L’esposizione storico-artistica-industriale di Stoccolma, in «Emporium» vol. VI n° 32, agosto 1897, pp. 144-152. Vittorio PICA, Ferdinand Boberg, in «Emporium» vol. XXIII n° 136, aprile 1906, pp. 242-243. 32_ Alvar Aalto, Fine della “Machine à habiter”, in «Metron» n° 7, febbraio 1946, pp. 2-5. 94 Alvar AALTO, La ricostruzione dell’Europa. Capitale problema di attualità nel campo edilizio, in «CostruzioniCasabella», n° 183, marzo 1943, pp.3-9 Antonello ALICI, From Pagano to Rogers. 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Marcello PIACENTINI, Il momento architettonico all’estero, in «Architettura e arti decorative», maggio-giugno 1921, pp. 32-76 Marcello PIACENTINI, Architettura d’oggi, ed. Cremonese, Roma 1930 Monica Prencipe Francesca Romana STABILE, Un sabotatore: Giorgio Labò, Gamgemi, Roma 2014 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 33_ Erik Bryggmann, Una chiesa in Finlandia, in «Metron» n° 31-32, gennaio 1949, pp. 46-49. 95 96 Monica Prencipe 1895-1950. The Nordic Architecture dissemination through Italian magazines 97 Università Politecnica delle Marche Facoltà di Ingegneria - Dipartimento DICEA Corso di laurea in Ingegneria Edile Architettura