Rationalism (architecture)
In
Twentieth-century Rationalism derived less from a special, unified theoretical work than from a common belief that the most varied problems posed by the real world could be resolved by reason. In that respect, it represented a reaction to Historicism and a contrast to Art Nouveau and Expressionism.
The term Rationalism is commonly used to refer to the wider
Enlightenment rationalism
The name Rationalism is retroactively applied to a movement in architecture that came about during the Age of Enlightenment (more specifically, Neoclassicism), arguing that architecture's intellectual base is primarily in science as opposed to reverence for and emulation of archaic traditions and beliefs. Rationalist architects, following the philosophy of René Descartes emphasized geometric forms and ideal proportions.[5]: 81–84
The French Louis XVI style emerged in the mid-18th century with its roots in the waning interest of the Baroque period. The architectural notions of the time gravitated more and more to the belief that reason and natural forms are tied closely together, and that the rationality of science should serve as the basis for where structural members should be placed. Towards the end of the 18th century, Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand, a teacher at the influential École Polytechnique in Paris at the time, argued that architecture in its entirety was based in science.
Other architectural theorists of the period who advanced rationalist ideas include Abbé Jean-Louis de Cordemoy (1631–1713),[6]: 559 [7]: 265 the Venetian Carlo Lodoli (1690–1761),[6]: 560 Abbé Marc-Antoine Laugier (1713–1769) and Quatremère de Quincy (1755–1849).[5]: 87–92
The architecture of
Structural rationalism
The term structural rationalism most often refers to a 19th-century French movement, usually associated with the theorists Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and Auguste Choisy. Viollet-le-Duc rejected the concept of an ideal architecture and instead saw architecture as a rational construction approach defined by the materials and purpose of the structure.
The architect
Early 20th-century rationalism
Architects such as
Rational Architecture (Italian: Architettura razionale) thrived in Italy from the 1920s to the 1940s, under the support and patronage of
The hallmark of the earlier avant garde was a contrived impetus and a vain, destructive fury, mingling good and bad elements: the hallmark of today's youth is a desire for lucidity and wisdom...This must be clear...we do not intend to break with tradition...The new architecture, the true architecture, should be the result of a close association between logic and rationality.[9]: 203
One of the first rationalist buildings was the Palazzo Gualino in Turin, built for the financier Riccardo Gualino by the architects Gino Levi-Montalcini and Giuseppe Pagano.[10]
Gruppo 7 mounted three exhibitions between 1926 and 1931, and the movement constituted itself as an official body, the Movimento Italiano per l'Architettura Razionale (MIAR), in 1930. Exemplary works include Giuseppe Terragni's Casa del Fascio in Como (1932–36), The Medaglia d'Oro room at the Italian Aeronautical Show in Milan (1934) by Pagano and Marcello Nizzoli, and the Fascist Trades Union Building in Como (1938–43), designed by Cesare Cattaneo, Pietro Lingeri, Augusto Magnani, L. Origoni, and Mario Terragni.[9]: 205–9
Pagano became editor of
In the 1950s in Italy, studies on rationalism and the methodology of science were developed in the twentieth century in particular by Gualtiero Galmanini, who left an imprint that was later followed by many, influencing the starchitects of his time.
Neo-rationalism
In the late 1960s, a new rationalist movement emerged in architecture, claiming inspiration from both the Enlightenment and early-20th-century rationalists. Like the earlier rationalists, the movement, known as the Tendenza, was centered in Italy. Practitioners include
Rossi's book L'architettura della città, published in 1966, and translated into English as The Architecture of the City in 1982, explored several of the ideas that inform Neo-rationalism. In seeking to develop an understanding of the city beyond simple functionalism, Rossi revives the idea of typology, following from Quatremère de Quincy, as a method for understanding buildings, as well as the larger city. He also writes of the importance of monuments as expressions of the collective memory of the city, and the idea of place as an expression of both physical reality and history.[5]: 166–72 [11]: 178–80
Architects such as
In Germany, Oswald Mathias Ungers became the leading practitioner of German rationalism from the mid-1960s.[11]: 178–80 Ungers influenced a younger generation of German architects, including Hans Kollhoff, Max Dudler, and Christoph Mäckler.[12]
See also
References
- ISBN 1-884446-00-0.
- ISBN 84-8156-404-4.
- ISBN 978-3-8365-1053-0.
- ISBN 84-239-5482-X.
- ^ ISBN 9780747600251.
- ^ ISBN 9780195034721.
- ISBN 9780415260244.
- JSTOR 40662721.
- ^ ISBN 9780500203958.
- ^ "Palazzo Gualino". MuseoTorino. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ ISBN 9780847808359.
- doi:10.1002/ad.514.
- Melvin, Jeremy (2006). ...Isms: Understanding Architectural Styles. New York: Universe. ISBN 9780789313805.
- Selvafolta, Ornella (2012). "Il verde nella casa dell'uomo "compendio di gioie essenziali"". L'elemento verde e l'abitazione (in Italian). Milano: Libraccio. ISBN 978-8897748205.
External links
- "Rational architecture". In John Walker's Glossary of art, architecture & design since 1945.
- "The Heroism of Rationalism?" Hans van der Hijden, 2012