Books by Roberto Fabbri
Niggli Publisher 2016, Mar 2016
Photos by Nelson Garrido
Graphic layout by Abdalla Abdelrahman
Softcover
8 x 10 in. | 20 x 26 cm... more Photos by Nelson Garrido
Graphic layout by Abdalla Abdelrahman
Softcover
8 x 10 in. | 20 x 26 cm
416 pages, 1000 illustrations
ISBN 978-3-03768-166-4
Spring 2016
• The first systematic analysis of Modern Architecture in Kuwait
• 150 projects fully illustrated and analyzed
• Original drawings and pictures as well as contemporary photographical survey
• All projects from prominent international and local designers
• Designers and contractor biographical section
• Timeline relating to the regional context
• Unknown hidden treasures, including design competition entries and unrealized projects
From the late 1940s to the late 1980s Kuwait experienced an extraordinary social and civic transformation, deeply reflected in its urban environment. The complete demolition of the Old City centre and the comprehensive redesign of the urban form, together with the creation of the new neighbourhood units, catalysed the attention of major international designers working in synergy with local firms and authorities and leaving on the ground important examples of late Modern Architecture. Over a span of 40 years the process of reshaping Kuwait involved designers such as Kenzo Tange, Alison and Peter Smithson, Georges Candilis, Alfred Roth, Sayyed Karim, Hassan Fathy, Dar Al-Handasah, Mohammed Makiya, Rifat Chadirji, Basil Spence, BBPR, Pier Luigi Nervi, Felix Candela, I.M. Pei, SOM and TAC just to name a few.
As Kuwait gained independence and autonomy, the necessity of a new landscape to represent the freshly founded state grew high. A new urban environment was envisioned for a new state, therefore architects found here the possibility to expand their professional horizons and the challenge to compose an entire city, building by building, almost from scratch.
By following the professional trajectories of major practitioners and by reading the presence of the building in the urban context at the architectural scale, the study offered in this book examines and analyses a wide selection of buildings, finally presented as an architectural atlas.
The repertoire of more than 150 projects, spanning of over 40 years, is revealed as a collection of specimens, selected for their specific qualitative aspects, as examples of particular design methodologies or typologies, or else for their different adaptations to the severity of local environmental conditions.
This publication, supported by the prominent Kuwaiti institutions Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, is based on several years of research, which included on-site visits, photographic surveys and interviews with architects, planners, contractors, historians, and former city officials. The analysis was also supported by extensive archival investigation, which provided old city plans, drawings, original photographs, film footages, correspondences, legal documents, contractors’ brochures, architectural and construction press, journals, local magazines, popular press and a range of other documents.
Published in 2016, Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949–1989 is the first systematic analysis of Kuwai... more Published in 2016, Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949–1989 is the first systematic analysis of Kuwait’s building production. This second volume collects essays, arguments, and interviews that focus on the role of individuals and corporations in the process of perceiving, transforming, and building the modern state of Kuwait.
The post-WWII environment along with political and artistic solidarity in the emerging Arab World promoted an exchange of ideas and individuals throughout the region. This edited collection uncovers the regional context that established the modern practice of architecture and planning between the 1940s and 1980s. The editors of "Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949–1989" selected a diverse group of contributors from both Kuwait and abroad to produce expertly researched and crafted essays and arguments. The interviews conducted by the editors between 2012 and 2016 appear as transcripts, while other relevant published materials produced in or on Kuwait from 1949 until 1989 are also featured. In their own essays, the editors explore broader topics such as the political and socio-economic process of modernisation in the country, the educational and professional establishment of the architectural practice in the region, and the development of a contemporary construction industry in Kuwait. Also, the volume’s introduction includes an atlas that traces the movement of architects, planners, and projects for and from Kuwait, mapping a series of unprecedented reciprocities between geographical, economic, political, and social realities in the Arab World. The second collection expands far beyond the first volume, challenging different narratives while also connecting divergent spheres to offer readers a critical look at a local perspective based on a regional context.
inFolio, 2017
Max Bill, né en 1908 à Winterthur (Suisse) et mort à Berlin en 1994, fut un éminent architecte, p... more Max Bill, né en 1908 à Winterthur (Suisse) et mort à Berlin en 1994, fut un éminent architecte, peintre, sculpteur et théoricien de l’art.
Le maître suisse a été un chercheur acharné de l’Espace, dans toutes ses déclinaisons possibles. L’Espace, ici, est entendu comme milieu anthropique ; comme un lieu construit par l’homme pour y héberger ses propres événements quotidiens, mais aussi comme un lieu de la pensée et des aspirations humaines.
Tous ses projets, des toiles aux architectures, sont des quêtes sur de nouvelles conformations spatiales et sur leurs corrélations avec l’homme. C’est sur la base de ces prémisses, que se meut la rédaction de ce texte qui présente les projets, ou les événements, non de façon chronologique mais dans un ordre qui tend à démontrer – au fur et à mesure – les concepts qui sont à la base des recherches composites de Max Bill.
Le premier chapitre le situe dans un cadre historique lu à travers des thématiques. Le deuxième chapitre analyse, en revanche, les toiles et les constructions « bidimensionnelles » dans la perspective d’extraire les principes régulateurs de la composition qui seront ensuite la clé de lecture pour déchiffrer ses oeuvres architectoniques. L’architecture est le sujet principal du troisième chapitre: dans le cadre d’une production architectonique aussi vaste qu’inconnue, certains projets ont été analysés, choisis pour leur « leçon spatiale ». La quatrième section analyse l’utilisation de l’Espace dans les sculptures de Max Bill afin de comprendre le passage des géométries euclidiennes à des espaces plus complexes.
Ripercorrere le vicende che accompagnano le opere e le architetture di Max Bill (1908-1994) condu... more Ripercorrere le vicende che accompagnano le opere e le architetture di Max Bill (1908-1994) conduce nel cuore dei maggiori eventi sociali, artistici e culturali del Novecento. Architetto, pittore, scultore, designer e grafico, Bill si forma al Bauhaus, opera in un orizzonte internazionale e si confronta con le personalità di spicco del XX secolo: da Le Corbusier a Gropius, da Kandinskij a Mondrian.Frutto di un’ampia ricerca archivistica condotta su materiale autografo, il volume è il primo studio approfondito sull’attività dell’artista in Italia, campo privilegiato d’indagine e di lavoro soprattutto durante il dopoguerra. Questo libro ci fa conoscere in profondità le strutture portanti della sua visione spaziale e architettonica, esemplificandole anche attraverso la ricostruzione e la lettura grafica di due progetti inediti di grande interesse: la realtà nuova alla Triennale di Milano del 1947 e il Museo di arte contemporanea di Firenze del 1980.
INDICE
1. Max Bill, temi e traiettorie
2. La costruzione logica dello spazio
3. Percorsi italiani
Il viaggio negli anni della formazione
L’impegno politico antifascista con Ignazio Silone
Architetti italiani in Svizzera
Wiederaufbau e il Primo congresso nazionale sulla ricostruzione
La Triennale mancata: realtà nuova alla T8
Arte astratta e concreta a palazzo ex-Reale
VII CIAM Bergamo 1949
Divina Proporzione: convegno alla IX Triennale
Accordeon
4. Quattro progetti
Lo spazio e gli oggetti
La sezione svizzera alla VI Triennale di Milano, 1936
La matrice dello spazio
La sezione svizzera alla IX Triennale di Milano, 1951
Un contenitore per le arti
Il padiglione svizzero alla Biennale di Venezia, 1951
“Une affaire culturelle”
Il museo di arte contemporanea. Firenze, 1979-80
Bibliografia
Journals (editor) by Roberto Fabbri
Histories of Post-war Architecture , 2021
Today’s general perception of Gulf cities is based on the assumption of a fu- turistic vision, a ... more Today’s general perception of Gulf cities is based on the assumption of a fu- turistic vision, a visionary development and a cluster of hi-tech constructions of steel and glass reaching towards the sky.
Since oil was struck, this ‘brave new world’ has been a testing ground for experimental, risk-imbued architecture and real estate. The sudden affluence and ambition of the rulers to demonstrate progress and social advancement (sometimes expressed through outlandish ‘iconic’ designs) has certainly fired this drive. The building of cities seemed an appropriate culvert for the vast funds generated, turning what was once barren into a fertile land for real estate, as well as prioritising education, health and basic services such as water and electricity.
Furthermore, there is an ever-present sense of the ‘tabula-rasa approach’ that forced (or perhaps tempted) architects to pursue different and alternative design processes. Gulf cities seem to encourage the idea, if not always the reality, of be- ing able to ‘start again’, to be re-made, re-imagined and re-modernised. There is a sense of being in an ever-present ‘now’, with ‘historical’ projects stretching back....
Book chapters by Roberto Fabbri
Italy and Urban Planning in Kuwait, 2021
(ENG/ITA) L'Architettura come luogo. BBPR in Kuwait
‘Yes, I agree... a dream of a commission.’ L... more (ENG/ITA) L'Architettura come luogo. BBPR in Kuwait
‘Yes, I agree... a dream of a commission.’ Leslie Martin smiled, recalling the project brief for The Future Development of the Old City of Kuwait.1
One entire year to complete visual studies and experimental strategies to address the chronic malfunctions of the old part of the Gulf emirate. Four architectural firms from four different countries were invited not to compete but to read, absorb and reflect on the city’s current state and finally, to offer experimental solutions to a fabric that had lost its urban form, its identity, its soul. It was 1968, and BBPR was among the selected firms. (...)
Urban Modernity in th contemporary Gulf, 2021
opportunity to actively participate in the rehabilitation project of Al-Amricani. The historical ... more opportunity to actively participate in the rehabilitation project of Al-Amricani. The historical aspects of the chapter elaborate on first-hand material retrieved from the General Hasted's and Kuwait Development Board's papers at the Churchill Archive Centre of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, as well as the Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah archive in Kuwait. Philipindia The very centric wedge, between Kuwait Bay and the streets Soor and Abdallah Al-Salem, is casually referred to as 'Philipindia'. Soor ('wall' in Arabic) is the street that replaced the empty corridor left by the demolition of the old city wall in the 1950s. Fringed by a vegetated buffer zone, the Green Belt, Soor Street delineates the inner urban core from the suburbs while Abdallah Al-Salem Street (once Naif Avenue) runs orthogonally, being one of the radial roads that connects with the outer residential neighbourhoods. This triangle is currently one of the few walkable parts of the city, and in milder seasons, it is commonplace to see groups circulating under the arcade of the bisector Fahed Al-Salem Street (once Jahra Road) or gathering in vacant lots between buildings. Generous sidewalks, usually quite uncommon in Kuwait, and many interstitial plots all lead to the central market area, Souk Mubarakiya, and the bus station: a crucial gateway to the suburban settlements where low-income expats usually reside. The rather derogatory name of the area does not truly reflect the plurality of accents that can be heard in this central part of the town; while Indians and Filipinos do compose a large portion of migrant workers in the country, Pakistanis, Bengalis, Sri Lankans, other South Asians as well as Egyptians also constitute a significant demographic. 1 According to the 2011 census, the most recent official data available, around 5,000 non-Kuwaitis reside here, mostly in the run-down apartment blocks erected in the 1960s around Fahed Al-Salem Street. 2 In addition, a significant number of non-Kuwaitis work in institutions such as small businesses, governmental agencies, and outdated commercial strips that animate this part of town, returning to the suburbs after working hours. Most of Jibla's street levels offer commercial activities related to non-nationals' needs, such as money transfers, currency exchanges, and travel agencies alongside convenience stores, small cafés, and food shops serving until late hours. The colourful presence of the area's many nationalities does not impress as much as the almost complete absence of locals. According to official data, only 167 nationals live in Jibla; though on a regular day, other Kuwaitis may converge here for work as the majority are employed in the public sector or collect documents from the same offices. Excluding the Salhiya Mall and the adjacent Plaza, Kuwaitis would not pick Jibla as a social space fig.1 (A9-G9)
Essay, Arguments and Interviews on Modern Architecture Kuwait, 2017
Ernesto Nathan Rogers 1909-1969, 2012
«nocciolo delle nostre discussioni era sempre l'architettura; e, ad essa vicinissime, le arti fig... more «nocciolo delle nostre discussioni era sempre l'architettura; e, ad essa vicinissime, le arti figurative da un lato, la configurazione degli oggetti del mondo attorno a noi dall'altro. su questi problemi giungevamo sempre all'accordo, e concludeva regolarmente le discussioni un'espressione tipica di ernesto, che finimmo così per scambiarci: "accordeon"».
Cantiere Nervi. Costruzione di un'identità. , 2013
Edoardo Gellner. Similitudine, distinzione, identità., 2011
Ho calcato ripetutamente (…) ogni lembo di territorio investito dalla progettazione, sia nella fa... more Ho calcato ripetutamente (…) ogni lembo di territorio investito dalla progettazione, sia nella fase di apprendimento dello stato di fatto, sia in quello della progettazione che da ultimo nella fase di controllo finale delle previsioni di Piano. Numerosi ed accurati appunti sulle planimetrie di lavoro, arricchiti da sistematiche riprese fotografiche, hanno costituito la base fondamentale per la fase di progetto vera e propria 1 .
Pier Luigi Nervi. Torino, la committenza industriale, le culture architettoniche e politecniche italiane., 2011
Peer Reviewed Papers by Roberto Fabbri
For almost two decades, Gulf sheikhdoms have consolidated their political mandate and legacy thro... more For almost two decades, Gulf sheikhdoms have consolidated their political mandate and legacy through large acquisition programmes of artworks and through building world-class museums. The aim of these policies is to foster a sense of national collective identity internally, while promoting the trustworthy profile of a fully advanced society to the rest of the world. While this seems to be the regional trend, this article investigates the anomaly of Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI), a Kuwaiti cultural institution predating most of the museums in the Gulf. I argue that the DAI offers an alternative narrative that focuses on art as a diplomatic agent to explain Islamic civilization in broad terms, as opposed to being limited to one country’s national discourse. In 1991, as a consequence of the first Gulf War, DAI’s building was burned down. This unusual condition of being a ‘museum without walls’, regrettably protracted for many years, transformed DAI into a fluid entity showcasing the depth of Islamic civilization locally and internationally through its broad collection. DAI’s primary tool of cultural diplomacy was, and still is, its travelling exhibitions. This article explores their museographical aspects, surrounding context, and subsequent reception.
Identity & Culture in the 21st Century Gulf | Autumn 2016, Nov 23, 2016
The Emirates Airlines website welcomes visitors by stating that Dubai’s iconic architecture is no... more The Emirates Airlines website welcomes visitors by stating that Dubai’s iconic architecture is not only encouraged, but “actively pursued.” A subsequent list of evidence describing extreme heights, unconventional
shapes, and cutting-edge materials supports the claim. The Gulf states have turned to architecture as a way to build globally-recognized skylines. This wave of new, iconic buildings is often an attempt to
build an urban uniqueness which, moreover, is part of the quest for a stronger national and social identity....
FACES . Journal d'Architecture n.70, Jan 2012
Pour la philosophie des sciences, un paradigme
est la matrice disciplinaire adoptée
par une com... more Pour la philosophie des sciences, un paradigme
est la matrice disciplinaire adoptée
par une communauté scientifique. Il constitue
et délimite le champ, la logique et la pratique
à suivre de l’étude même : il identifie
l’objet d’étude de la recherche scientifique, les
problèmes auxquels on ne peut déroger et la
meilleure technique pour les affronter. Dans
son application, un paradigme est la conjonction
d’expériences, étayées par des maquettes,
qui peuvent être étudiées ou répétées. Le paradigme
prédominant est souvent une façon particulière
de voir la réalité : davantage et autre
chose qu’une méthode scientifique générale.....
Articles by Roberto Fabbri
Domus. web edition, Apr 2015
Rampart gardens and geometrical green dunes weave paths and collective memories in the project le... more Rampart gardens and geometrical green dunes weave paths and collective memories in the project lead by Ricardo Camacho and StroopLandscape that revamps a large part of the Green Belt in Kuwait City.
All'infinito e ritorno. Spazi non Euclidei fra Luciano Baldessari e Max Bill / To infinity and back . Non-Euclidean Spaces between Luciano Baldessari and Max Bill
d'Architettura n.36, 2008
ANATKE n.59, Jan 2010
For many reasons Fondazione Garzanti is an athypical building. It is signed by an eminent firm, G... more For many reasons Fondazione Garzanti is an athypical building. It is signed by an eminent firm, Gio Ponti. Its contractor is an important one, Aldo Garzanti, who was, at that time, the editor of 'Domus' magazine. It is developed around a wide cultural and philanthropic programme: a foundation for resident young artists and an hotel, economical wheel for the investment. It is also designed as an urban space, giving a new appearance to the main street of the town. Furthermore, during fifty years it was owned by the same foundation and run by the same company. Also thanks to this reasons, it was almost entirely preserved: from spaces to part of its original furnitures. This work was considered for years a minor project of the Ponti, Fornaroli, Rosselli Studio. But now the fiftieth anniversary brings not only a conservation measure, but also a new interest: a multidisciplinary research programme, two international congresses, the restoration of the original drawings, two exhibitions and a forthcoming book represent the auspicious preamble for an appropriate project of knowledge.
Conference Presentations by Roberto Fabbri
SUMMARY: This panel will discuss the local and cross-cultural influences that led to modernizatio... more SUMMARY: This panel will discuss the local and cross-cultural influences that led to modernization and urban transformation in Gulf cities after the 1950s. The discussion will revolve around the role of architecture in shaping the built environment of these new cities, analyzing their development at the intersection of state-driven visions and ambitions, modernist design practices and their implementation, and construction techniques and labor imported and adapted to these local contexts. Among the Gulf states, Kuwait played an early and outsized role in constructing these new global processes of exchange. One of the first Gulf states to fully nationalize its oil industry, by the 1970s Kuwait was the third-largest oil producer in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia and Iran, extraordinary figures given its relatively minute size. Beyond the state's newfound regional importance, exemplified by the creation of an unprecedented framework for lending international aid for development projects in the Arab world, the most immediately visible impacts of Kuwait's wealth were at home. Within a few years of the exploitation in earnest of the nation's oil reserves after World War II, the state embarked on an ambitious program of urban clearance and modernization that would fundamentally alter the structure of the city center. The correlated motivations that informed the processes of modernization in the Gulf states remain at the threshold of architectural theory, postcolonial critique, and studies of visual culture. Taking Kuwait as a case study for understanding these broader processes of exchange, this panel seeks to shed light on the often overlooked relationships between acclaimed modern architects from abroad and local firms and actors in the region. Unfolding the complex dynamics of these transnational relationships, the session will explore counterpoints to the binary narratives that have governed descriptions of modern architecture in the non-West, dominated by an emphasis either on "first world" influences on 20th-century architecture and urban development or on locality and critical regionalism as forms of resistance. Recent literature on Kuwait's post-oil development has focused on the social, political, economic factors that underlay the nation's modernization, and has tended to reinforce the conventional dualism of "tradition versus modernity." In contrast to such models, this panel will explore ways in which the erection of the modern Gulf city was achieved through networks of collaboration between local and international architects, contextualizing these design practices and the architectural intentions and reciprocal benefits behind these exchanges.
Uploads
Books by Roberto Fabbri
Graphic layout by Abdalla Abdelrahman
Softcover
8 x 10 in. | 20 x 26 cm
416 pages, 1000 illustrations
ISBN 978-3-03768-166-4
Spring 2016
• The first systematic analysis of Modern Architecture in Kuwait
• 150 projects fully illustrated and analyzed
• Original drawings and pictures as well as contemporary photographical survey
• All projects from prominent international and local designers
• Designers and contractor biographical section
• Timeline relating to the regional context
• Unknown hidden treasures, including design competition entries and unrealized projects
From the late 1940s to the late 1980s Kuwait experienced an extraordinary social and civic transformation, deeply reflected in its urban environment. The complete demolition of the Old City centre and the comprehensive redesign of the urban form, together with the creation of the new neighbourhood units, catalysed the attention of major international designers working in synergy with local firms and authorities and leaving on the ground important examples of late Modern Architecture. Over a span of 40 years the process of reshaping Kuwait involved designers such as Kenzo Tange, Alison and Peter Smithson, Georges Candilis, Alfred Roth, Sayyed Karim, Hassan Fathy, Dar Al-Handasah, Mohammed Makiya, Rifat Chadirji, Basil Spence, BBPR, Pier Luigi Nervi, Felix Candela, I.M. Pei, SOM and TAC just to name a few.
As Kuwait gained independence and autonomy, the necessity of a new landscape to represent the freshly founded state grew high. A new urban environment was envisioned for a new state, therefore architects found here the possibility to expand their professional horizons and the challenge to compose an entire city, building by building, almost from scratch.
By following the professional trajectories of major practitioners and by reading the presence of the building in the urban context at the architectural scale, the study offered in this book examines and analyses a wide selection of buildings, finally presented as an architectural atlas.
The repertoire of more than 150 projects, spanning of over 40 years, is revealed as a collection of specimens, selected for their specific qualitative aspects, as examples of particular design methodologies or typologies, or else for their different adaptations to the severity of local environmental conditions.
This publication, supported by the prominent Kuwaiti institutions Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, is based on several years of research, which included on-site visits, photographic surveys and interviews with architects, planners, contractors, historians, and former city officials. The analysis was also supported by extensive archival investigation, which provided old city plans, drawings, original photographs, film footages, correspondences, legal documents, contractors’ brochures, architectural and construction press, journals, local magazines, popular press and a range of other documents.
The post-WWII environment along with political and artistic solidarity in the emerging Arab World promoted an exchange of ideas and individuals throughout the region. This edited collection uncovers the regional context that established the modern practice of architecture and planning between the 1940s and 1980s. The editors of "Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949–1989" selected a diverse group of contributors from both Kuwait and abroad to produce expertly researched and crafted essays and arguments. The interviews conducted by the editors between 2012 and 2016 appear as transcripts, while other relevant published materials produced in or on Kuwait from 1949 until 1989 are also featured. In their own essays, the editors explore broader topics such as the political and socio-economic process of modernisation in the country, the educational and professional establishment of the architectural practice in the region, and the development of a contemporary construction industry in Kuwait. Also, the volume’s introduction includes an atlas that traces the movement of architects, planners, and projects for and from Kuwait, mapping a series of unprecedented reciprocities between geographical, economic, political, and social realities in the Arab World. The second collection expands far beyond the first volume, challenging different narratives while also connecting divergent spheres to offer readers a critical look at a local perspective based on a regional context.
Le maître suisse a été un chercheur acharné de l’Espace, dans toutes ses déclinaisons possibles. L’Espace, ici, est entendu comme milieu anthropique ; comme un lieu construit par l’homme pour y héberger ses propres événements quotidiens, mais aussi comme un lieu de la pensée et des aspirations humaines.
Tous ses projets, des toiles aux architectures, sont des quêtes sur de nouvelles conformations spatiales et sur leurs corrélations avec l’homme. C’est sur la base de ces prémisses, que se meut la rédaction de ce texte qui présente les projets, ou les événements, non de façon chronologique mais dans un ordre qui tend à démontrer – au fur et à mesure – les concepts qui sont à la base des recherches composites de Max Bill.
Le premier chapitre le situe dans un cadre historique lu à travers des thématiques. Le deuxième chapitre analyse, en revanche, les toiles et les constructions « bidimensionnelles » dans la perspective d’extraire les principes régulateurs de la composition qui seront ensuite la clé de lecture pour déchiffrer ses oeuvres architectoniques. L’architecture est le sujet principal du troisième chapitre: dans le cadre d’une production architectonique aussi vaste qu’inconnue, certains projets ont été analysés, choisis pour leur « leçon spatiale ». La quatrième section analyse l’utilisation de l’Espace dans les sculptures de Max Bill afin de comprendre le passage des géométries euclidiennes à des espaces plus complexes.
INDICE
1. Max Bill, temi e traiettorie
2. La costruzione logica dello spazio
3. Percorsi italiani
Il viaggio negli anni della formazione
L’impegno politico antifascista con Ignazio Silone
Architetti italiani in Svizzera
Wiederaufbau e il Primo congresso nazionale sulla ricostruzione
La Triennale mancata: realtà nuova alla T8
Arte astratta e concreta a palazzo ex-Reale
VII CIAM Bergamo 1949
Divina Proporzione: convegno alla IX Triennale
Accordeon
4. Quattro progetti
Lo spazio e gli oggetti
La sezione svizzera alla VI Triennale di Milano, 1936
La matrice dello spazio
La sezione svizzera alla IX Triennale di Milano, 1951
Un contenitore per le arti
Il padiglione svizzero alla Biennale di Venezia, 1951
“Une affaire culturelle”
Il museo di arte contemporanea. Firenze, 1979-80
Bibliografia
Journals (editor) by Roberto Fabbri
Since oil was struck, this ‘brave new world’ has been a testing ground for experimental, risk-imbued architecture and real estate. The sudden affluence and ambition of the rulers to demonstrate progress and social advancement (sometimes expressed through outlandish ‘iconic’ designs) has certainly fired this drive. The building of cities seemed an appropriate culvert for the vast funds generated, turning what was once barren into a fertile land for real estate, as well as prioritising education, health and basic services such as water and electricity.
Furthermore, there is an ever-present sense of the ‘tabula-rasa approach’ that forced (or perhaps tempted) architects to pursue different and alternative design processes. Gulf cities seem to encourage the idea, if not always the reality, of be- ing able to ‘start again’, to be re-made, re-imagined and re-modernised. There is a sense of being in an ever-present ‘now’, with ‘historical’ projects stretching back....
Book chapters by Roberto Fabbri
‘Yes, I agree... a dream of a commission.’ Leslie Martin smiled, recalling the project brief for The Future Development of the Old City of Kuwait.1
One entire year to complete visual studies and experimental strategies to address the chronic malfunctions of the old part of the Gulf emirate. Four architectural firms from four different countries were invited not to compete but to read, absorb and reflect on the city’s current state and finally, to offer experimental solutions to a fabric that had lost its urban form, its identity, its soul. It was 1968, and BBPR was among the selected firms. (...)
Peer Reviewed Papers by Roberto Fabbri
shapes, and cutting-edge materials supports the claim. The Gulf states have turned to architecture as a way to build globally-recognized skylines. This wave of new, iconic buildings is often an attempt to
build an urban uniqueness which, moreover, is part of the quest for a stronger national and social identity....
est la matrice disciplinaire adoptée
par une communauté scientifique. Il constitue
et délimite le champ, la logique et la pratique
à suivre de l’étude même : il identifie
l’objet d’étude de la recherche scientifique, les
problèmes auxquels on ne peut déroger et la
meilleure technique pour les affronter. Dans
son application, un paradigme est la conjonction
d’expériences, étayées par des maquettes,
qui peuvent être étudiées ou répétées. Le paradigme
prédominant est souvent une façon particulière
de voir la réalité : davantage et autre
chose qu’une méthode scientifique générale.....
Articles by Roberto Fabbri
Conference Presentations by Roberto Fabbri