If the professional history of American architects is still incomplete, it is even more incomplet... more If the professional history of American architects is still incomplete, it is even more incomplete as regards the draftsmen who worked in the first half of the 20th century. In the absence of a specific bibliography, only through magazines such as Pencil Points is it possible to try and trace the role played by designers, not only in the development of graphic communication, but also in the flourishing of American architecture in a twenty-year period that witnessed the transition from eclecticism to modernity.
The representations of the tensions induced by forms of resistance can transform solicitations, c... more The representations of the tensions induced by forms of resistance can transform solicitations, constraints, oppositions and limitations into occasions of emancipation and opening towards new forms of awareness. Can real aesthetics of resistance be identified? Photography, dance, art and architecture provide examples in this sense and suggest, with different forms but sometimes with similar purposes, different ways to interpret some manifestations of physical and social resistance. Resistance to gravity, considered as a natural condition at the origin of the development of architectural forms, represents a challenge also taken up by other artistic expressions that have always interacted with architecture. The mise-en-scene of the stresses induced by gravitational force can then create spaces for creativity and amplify the perception of the tensions that we unconsciously experience in everyday life. In this sense we speak of "fatal attractions”. Resistance can also be interpreted as a form of political and social opposition. The opposition of the individual or the community can counteract both the inexorable dynamics of urban transformation and the violence of political repression. This type of resistance manifests itself in the form of actions and forms of communication in which the resulting images become social acts. These are images that circulate in different media, images that speak to us from the walls of our streets, images that struggle to become architectural bodies but also ‘disobedient objects’. In some forms of resistance one can also recognize in the opposition the desire for self-determination of the individual and of the peoples. As expressions of the 'positive freedom of man', self-determination manifests itself through actions and artifacts that speak of the aspirations of peoples and their willingness to participate in the transformation of the places they inhabit. Between the plots of the informal city and the constantly adapting housing structures even in the consolidated city, both the artist and the architect can recognize forms of self-determination in which improvisation becomes an aesthetic category and a compositional strategy. In satisfying a condition of necessity, the individual always finds the opportunity to affirm his individuality as well, giving shape and image to his inhabiting. Only an accomplice look can recognize in the forms of resistance, often ‘weak’, all the strength they contain in their most intimate substance.
Reflections. The Art of Drawing/The Drawing of Art, 2019
Sometimes, in history, the descriptive limits of design have overshadowed certain qualities of ar... more Sometimes, in history, the descriptive limits of design have overshadowed certain qualities of architectural materials foreseen in the past and today attributed exclusively to contemporary languages. This is the case of the optical phenomena of images reflected on the glass surfaces of architecture. Having sensed their potential in the years of modernism, after some time they have sanctioned the birth of a phenomenological architectural aesthetics. Faced with the limitations of traditional architectural representation, it is highlighted here that this aesthetic matured mainly in graphic, photographic and cinematographic representations.
From being a tool of teaching and dissemination, photography has, in a relatively short time, beg... more From being a tool of teaching and dissemination, photography has, in a relatively short time, begun to gain ascendency over the “experience of authenticity” of the work. Photographic images have thus now become substitutes for the experience of the places and spaces of architecture, conditioning our knowledge of it. While as early as the 1950s André Malraux maintained that art history has become the history of what can be photographed, the origins and continuity of this tendency are highlighted here, with particular regard to the role developed by photography in producing images, icons, and surrogates of architecture.
Architecture communication tools have been implemented in recent history by strategies and narrat... more Architecture communication tools have been implemented in recent history by strategies and narrative artifices imported from cinema, comic, photo-journalism and infographic. The architect has integrated the traditional encoded drawing with more extensive narrative artifacts to expand the basin of its interlocutors and to describe underestimated aspects of architecture and design process. Through the illustration of recent significant experiences, this paper intends to highlight the great variety of images that can be attributed today to architecture and the lack of proper attention on this production by Visual Studies.
Although the main purpose of scientific illustrations is to facilitate the sharing of information... more Although the main purpose of scientific illustrations is to facilitate the sharing of information between operators working in environments in which they are widely understood, drawings of conceptual models may also be used in other fields, often with the consequence of generating new, unexpected developments. The power of images to communicate ideas other than the contents for which they were originally designed means that shapes, colours, communicational expedien- ts, diagrams, notes, ideographs, geometric figures and different forms of representation not only “show the visible” but also propose a way of “constructing the possible”. Indeed, images have the power to speak to everyone, regardless of their knowledge of the figurative codes employed. Even when those who “read” the images are familiar with different “iconic languages” and there is a strong risk of misunderstanding, Hans Georg Gadamer teaches us that this does not always lead to negative results but, on the contrary, often paves the way for new interpretations. Images organize our memory and thoughts and enable us to generate multitudes of associations, as de- monstrated by Aby Warburg’s exploitation of hermeneutics in the composition of Der Bilderat- las: Mnemosyne. However, the ability to stimulate the power of association is a feature peculiar to the image as images enable us to capture, remember and exploit not only elements of reality but also entire systems of ordering our memories and interacting with reality. Inevitably, when artists or architects endeavor to change perceived reality by producing new images, their creativity is fuelled by other images and ideas. Yet, regardless of the degree of explicitness of the references used in the finished work, the references are understood as a result of the power of association. This is the key to generating new figurative and/or conceptual developments.
Se è vero, come sostiene Pierre Lévy, che “tutti i sistemi di registrazione e di trasmissione di ... more Se è vero, come sostiene Pierre Lévy, che “tutti i sistemi di registrazione e di trasmissione di vario tipo (tradizione orale, scrittura, registrazione audiovosiva, reti digitali) costruiscono ritmi, velocità e qualità di storia diffe- renti”, e che “ogni nuova concatenazione, ogni ‘macchina’ tecnosociale aggiunge uno spazio-tempo, una cartografia pecifica, una musica peculiare a un groviglio ela- stico e complesso in cui le estensioni si sovrappon- gono, si deformano e si connettono, in cui le durate confliggono, interferiscono e dialogano le une con le altre” tanto che “gli spazi subiscono metamorfosi e si biforcano sotto i nostri piedi, costringendoci all’eterogenesi”, quale può essere la rappresenta- zione più coerente, o almeno più pertinente, alla eterogenesi propria del cyberspazio, ovvero di uno spazio di comunicazione di testi e immagini navi- gabile e trasparente incentrato sui flussi d’informa- zione?
To speak of open hospital spaces is to explore, first and foremost, their identity, as well as th... more To speak of open hospital spaces is to explore, first and foremost, their identity, as well as their role and their function in practical terms. Can they be considered ‘places’? Can it be said that the open spaces of today’s hospital structures present characteristics sufficient to qualify them as public spaces? The public that frequents hospital structures has a well-defined identity, consisting of patients, visitors and medical staff, each with its own specific needs and expectations. The spaces in question are not those traditionally found in urban areas, such as squares or streets, nor are they traditional urban parks. The first step towards understanding the nature and the function of open hospital spaces, in order to be able to plan and design them adequately, is to investigate the behaviour and the expectations of the users of such spaces. What is needed is a ‘survey’ of the current conditions and uses of the existing structures, in the form of a critical examination of the behaviour of the people who deal with the distribution of time and spaces in hospitals on a daily basis. Using the approach to analysing human behaviour in open spaces developed by Jan Gehl, an attempt is made to calibrate this methodology to the distinctive characteristics of open hospital spaces, in order to arrive at an understanding of their dynamics and, as a result, succeed in adequately fine-tuning the objectives of their design and planning. Quantifying the users in light of their different activities, determining the various categories, identifying the areas where individuals tend to concentrate, observing the activities that predominate in order to gain an understanding of real needs, recording the duration of such activities: these are the goals of a ‘survey’ carried out through an attentive observation and collection of the available data. A number of recent experiences point to a radical change in outlook in the design and planning of hospital structures, with the starting point for such change tied to the increased attention paid to the therapeutic component of their outdoor spaces. An example is what has been done at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, as well as recent projects in Europe where the design of open spaces played a key role in the overall planning and design strategies.
La cultura contemporanea fondata sul linguaggio delle immagini e
sulla ibridazione dei media è so... more La cultura contemporanea fondata sul linguaggio delle immagini e sulla ibridazione dei media è solo la naturale continuazione ed evoluzione delle esperienze maturate in seno alle avanguardie storiche. Le immagini oggi, presenti e passate, fanno parte di un data base che ciascuno è chiamato ad integrare ed interpretare partecipando attivamente ad una esperienza estetica che chiama in causa la collettività.
In the process of urban transformation, the possibility that exceptions to official policies can ... more In the process of urban transformation, the possibility that exceptions to official policies can become as valid as the rules themselves, in the case of spontaneous settlements, provide a plausibile interpretation for the understanding of the informal city.
L'amplificazione della portata della componente visuale, nella comunicazione e nella progettualit... more L'amplificazione della portata della componente visuale, nella comunicazione e nella progettualità contemporanee, appare come se fosse peculiare ed esclusiva dei nostri tempi ed il segno inequivocabile delle nuove tecnologie e dei nuovi media digitali.
Although famous for his research in the field of photography, during his lifetime Laszlo Moholy-N... more Although famous for his research in the field of photography, during his lifetime Laszlo Moholy-Nagy made key contributions to all forms of representation and visualization. His studies and pedagogical activities focused on images and the way they were viewed by observers. He studied photography and drawing, which he developed as graphic notations, considering them not only exploratory research tools but as a tool to test the subtle relationship between observation and representation. Influenced by the constructivist approach of the Bauhaus and the New Bauhaus in Chicago, Moholy-Nagy took representation into unknown territories which remain, today, extremely topical.
The wealth of information contained in a conventional city map generally sacrifices perceptive cl... more The wealth of information contained in a conventional city map generally sacrifices perceptive clues, although these are commonly used in finding on'e's own way through a city. In order to highlight, at least partly, the "sensitive" nature of places, it is adducible to arrange a "survey" that consider s the complexity of the urban environment; this latter should be perceived through the kinesthetic path of flanerie, where we are intrigued by a series of unexpected and diverse views, totally unrelated vis-a-vis a predetermined, recognizable global design. In an attempt to hybridize concepts and techniques that pertain to the city as a place of experience, we built a prototypal digital application to integrate the cognitive process of the city as experienced by visitors
Se nella prospettiva storica l’architettura viene ricondotta alle arti figurative, la sua prevale... more Se nella prospettiva storica l’architettura viene ricondotta alle arti figurative, la sua prevalente specificità nel presente è riconosciuta essere soprattutto quella di dare forma a spazi fruibili che rispondano alle necessità dell’uomo. Il binomio forma e fruizione ha tuttavia messo in ombra la straordinaria capacità che l’architettura ha di produrre e generare immagini, nutrendosi a sua volta di altre immagini. Indagando l’architettura come luogo della produzione di immagini e di esperienze, il presente saggio evidenzia i suoi rapporti con l’arte, la fotografia, il cinema ei media concordemente con l’approccio transdisciplinare che caratterizza lo studio moderno della cultura visuale. Nella trattazione ci si interroga se l’architettura possa essere considerata non solo una “macchina per abitare” ma anche un dispositivo in grado di condizionare il nostro modo di guardare il mondo. Si indaganoo, inoltre, le relazioni che intercorrono tra la ricerca artistica moderna e contemporanea con quella architettonica, il modo con il quale il cinema e l’architettura radicalizzano l’esperienza della visione, e il ruolo della fotografia nella disseminazione della produzione architettonica.
Il disegno di architettura, nella sua estensione temporale, si presenta come un il risultato di u... more Il disegno di architettura, nella sua estensione temporale, si presenta come un il risultato di un coacervo di culture, di mode e di linguaggi che, nella loro stessa complessità, intervengono positivamente nella comprensione del dato figurativo. Le diverse interpretazioni e i "rumori" aggiunti nel corso del tempo diventano parte integrante dell'opera grafica, testimonianze che non possono essere ignorate da una concreta volontà di obiettivazione dei dati storici quale quella avanzata in campo architettonico e artistico dalla moderna storiografia.
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The public that frequents hospital structures has a well-defined identity, consisting of patients, visitors and medical staff, each with its own specific needs and expectations. The spaces in question are not those traditionally found in urban areas, such as squares or streets, nor are they traditional urban parks. The first step towards understanding the nature and the function of open hospital spaces, in order to be able to plan and design them adequately, is to investigate the behaviour and the expectations of the users of such spaces. What is needed is a ‘survey’ of the current conditions and uses of the existing structures, in the form of a critical examination of the behaviour of the people who deal with the distribution of time and spaces in hospitals on a daily basis. Using the approach to analysing human behaviour in open spaces developed by Jan Gehl, an attempt is made to calibrate this methodology to the distinctive characteristics of open hospital spaces, in order to arrive at an understanding of their dynamics and, as a result, succeed in adequately fine-tuning the objectives of their design and planning. Quantifying the users in light of their different activities, determining the various categories, identifying the areas where individuals tend to concentrate, observing the activities that predominate in order to gain an understanding of real needs, recording the duration of such activities: these are the goals of a ‘survey’ carried out through an attentive observation and collection of the available data.
A number of recent experiences point to a radical change in outlook in the design and planning of hospital structures, with the starting point for such change tied to the increased attention paid to the therapeutic component of their outdoor spaces. An example is what has been done at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, as well as recent projects in Europe where the design of open spaces played a key role in the overall planning and design strategies.
sulla ibridazione dei media è solo la naturale continuazione ed evoluzione delle esperienze maturate in seno alle avanguardie storiche. Le immagini oggi, presenti e passate, fanno
parte di un data base che ciascuno è chiamato ad integrare ed interpretare partecipando attivamente ad una esperienza estetica che chiama in causa la collettività.
Books by FABIO QUICI