The Difficult Whole

Author(s): Pier Vittorio Aureli

Source: Log, No. 9 (Winter/Spring 2007), pp. 39-61
Published by: Anyone Corporation
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PierVittorio
Aureli
The Difficult Whole

Typology and the Singularity of the Urban Event

in Aldo Rossi's Early Theoretical Work.1953-1964.

Every is independent
program ofitsfailure,
- AldoRossi,A Scientific 1980.
Autobiography,

Near theend of Complexity and Contradiction inArchitecture ,

RobertVenturiwrites,"Anarchitecture of Complexity and
Contradiction doesnotforsakethewhole."1Venturirecog-
nizesthatitis a commitment to thewhole,nottherelativity
of a liberatedfragment, whichcharacterizes a formal,com-
plex,and contradictory architectural language.A difficult
1.RobertVenturi,Complexityand whole, "becausethewholeis difficult to achieve."2 The degree
Contradiction
inArchitecture
(New York: of of thewhole is determined the number of its
TheMuseum ofModern Art Paperson difficulty by
Architecture,
1966),88. For
parts. Venturi, a
given range from one to several,duality
2.Ibid. - two - is an
1
3. preferthe translation
of individualitaitself parts aspiration to a difficult unity.
del urbano
fatto ofthe
as"singularity This idea of thedifficult wholecontributes to a reading
urban event,"ratherthan"individuality
ofthe urban which
artifact," wasused in ofAldoRossi'sarchitectural theory, thecomplexity ofwhich
theAmerican ofAldo
translation Rossi's cannotbe it to a
della
L'architettura Anurban
citta. arti- explainedbyreducing totalizingconcept,
factpresupposesanalready materialized like disciplinary or
autonomy, byresorting to a vaguenotion
object-formcraftedwithanartistic of While for Venturi the difficultwhole
intention.
Though Rossiwould alsohave multidisciplinari ty.
fatto
interpreted urbanoasa materialized is a compositional device, in Rossi this idea represents the
object-form,I believe
that"urban event" formaland of therelationship
refersmore towhat
directely wasat politicalunderstanding
stakeinRossi'sview onthe architecture betweenthecityand architecture.
ofthe city;
namely, theevent - whether
asapolitical
decisionorcollectivewill- Rossi'stheoretical contribution mightbe bestsituatedin
thatmakes the
legible evolutionof the the difficult duality established by pivotalideasthat
the
citybydisruptingthe continuitythrough
which itforms SeeAldo
itself. The emergedfromhisviewson architecture
Rossi, and thecity.One is
ofthe
Architecture ,trans.
City Diane theconceptof typology as a generalizing viewof thecityand
Ghirardoand JoanOckman (Cambridge,
Mass.:MITPress, 1982). itsprocessof becoming,and theotheris theconceptof the
singularity oftheurbanevenft as a concretecategoryof the
architecture of thecity.
Rossiputstheseantithetical conceptsintoa difficult,
and
complex, problematic relationship thatis at thecoreof
his thought:theimpossiblerelationship betweenanalysisand
-
, or betweenpersonalinvention thescaleof the
project
architectural event- and theidentification of a collective
horizon- at thescaleof thecity.To stateit simply,thecon-
ceptof typology triesto includethecityin all of itsdimen-
sions,whiletheurbaneventhighlights thesingularity of the
architectural intervention as a partial,concrete,and identifi-
able contribution to thedevelopment of thecity.
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 Whatis themeaningof thiscomplexand oftencontra-
dictoryduality,of this"difficult whole" thatis notalways
resolvedin a cleardialectic,evenif one is strongly suggested
bytherationaleconomyof theurbanproject?
I maintainthatthedifficult wholein Rossi'searlywork
is theattemptto be in radicalcontinuity withthetheoretical
tensionexpressedbytheModernMovement,whilesimulta-
neouslyrecognizing theirreducibility of urbancomplexity
and subjectiveexperienceto easycommondenominators.
To supportthishypothesis, I will makea criticalanalysis
of theformative path that led to Rossi'scontribution to
typological studies.This path covers the period between 1953,
theyearin whichhis firstarticlewas published,and 1964,
theyearin whichhe wrotehisfirstextensiveessayson
typology. This analysisis a veryselectiveone,focusing mainly
on thoseaspectsthathavebeenovershadowedbyRossi'sbest
knowntheoretical work.This periodhas neverbeenthor-
oughlyanalyzed, either thenor today,eventhoughit repre-
sentsthemostimportant, intense,and complexpartof
Rossi'stheoretical development.
Rossi'sformative yearscan be dividedintothreesignifi-
cantphases.Duringthefirstphase,from1953to 1957,Rossi
wroteseveralessaysin whichhe beganto forma realist
attitudetowardhistoryand social,political,and culturalde-
velopment.As CarloOlmo has remarked, Rossi'sfirstinter-
ventionsare madethrough"continuousshiftsof meaning,
4.CarloOlmo, "Attraverso
i testi",
in all basedon thedeepeningof theconceptof tradition."4
AldoRossi,
opere(Modena:Nuova Alfa Rossioften
Editoriale,
1990),85. identified theconceptof tradition withthecon-
5.Aldo "Ilconcetto
Rossi, ditradizione ceptofreality in orderto understand traditionnotas "subju-
nell'architettura
neoclassica
milanese,"
Societa
,n.3(1956).ReprintedinAldo gationto theformalworldexpressedbyantiquity,"5 butas
Rossi,Scritti
Scelti
sull'architettura
ela reasonappliedto realityin orderto extrapolate linesof
citta Rosalo
, 1956-1972, ed.
Bonicalzi,
(Milan:CittàStudiEdizioni,
1975),4. structural continuity thatcouldcontribute to a morecon-
sciousperception of thepresent.
The secondphase,from1958to 196?,in whichRossi's
workwas mostlyreviewsand monographic essays,repre-
sentsa periodof broadand complexresearch,at timesfrag-
mented,on methodsfora generaldiscourseon architecture
and thecity.Thisphase,whichcoincideswithhiscollabora-
tionwiththemagazineCasabellaContinuità , is theperiodof
Rossi'seducation,mythicized by scholars, and oftenread
superficially. Here, Rossi moves through a vast and strongly
theoretical - fromurban
transdisciplinary landscape plan-
ning to literature,from art to sociology, from urban geogra-
phyto economy,fromphilosophy to an accurateanalysisof
canonicalarchitectural works- whichaddressedthepro-
grammatic needs of theemerging postwarcity.
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ForRossi,themove from neo-
REALISM INFILM
TOREALISM WAS
EPITOMIZEDINLUCHINOVlSCONTl'S
Stillfrom
Senso, 1954. a scene
shotinLa Fenice,where archi-
tectureISABACKDROPFOR
HUMANITY.

The thirdphase,from1964to 1966,includeshisfirst

attemptto definetypological studiesthroughresearchand
programmatic interventions, concludingin theanalytical
attempt to found a theoryof thecity.Rossiis influenced by
thestudiesof theFrenchschoolof urbangeography, which
is mentionedrepeatedly in Rossi'slaterbook,L'Architettura
dellacittà, and,aboveall, bytheresearchon type as an a pri-
ori synthesis conductedbySaverioMuratoriin the1950sand
'60s. WhileRossineverpreciselydefinedtheconceptof type,
it clearlyemergesthatit is notarchitecture as image,thatis,
a merelyperceptive fact;rather,typeis architecture as a
structural amiformalfact,thatis, as a complexexperience.
To revisitRossi'smanifoldapproachto theproblemof
thecityand itsrelationship witharchitecture, particularly
during his formative years,also means to challengethe
canonicalÇandsimplistic)readingof Rossias thefatherof
so-calledautonomousarchitecture. In Rossi'sview,autonomy
-
is notat all an a prioriideology a disciplinary distance
fromcontemporary culture- butsimplya politicaland for-
mal position,a preliminary economy ofdiscourse ratherthan
theresearchfora disciplinary self-defense indifferent to its
socialand politicalframework. In orderto disentangle the
complexity of Rossi'sdevelopment, which is notreducible to
disciplinary I
concerns, propose to characterize the three
phasesof hisformation withthreecategoriesthatelucidate
his struggleto embracethedifficult wholeof thecityand
architecture.
The firstcategoryis realism , thatis, theattempt, as in
Italianneorealistcinema,to documentman'slifein every
dimensionof space,time,and place.For Rossi,realismis the
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 abilityto represent thisdimensionthrougharchitectural
events.The secondcategoryis rationalism , or theattemptto
establisha highlyspecificknowledgeof a disciplinary land-
scape that cannot be reduced to formulas.
simplistic The third
categoryis theory, whichforRossiis an attemptto construct
a bodyof knowledgethatservesnotonlyas a recipefor
researchbutis also a teachablemethodology. The sequence
of thesethreecategories- realism,rationalism, and theory-
tracesthedevelopment of thetheoryof thedifficultwhole,a
contribution to architecturaland urbantheorythathas thus
farbeensimplistically reducedto all-embracing discursive
termssuchas disciplinary or
autonomypostmodernism.

Realism as the "businessof living"

is theonlyartabletodocument
Cinematography manys lifein its
totaldimension and
ofspace,time, place .
- VascoPratolini,Perun
saggiosui rapporti
fraletteratura
e cinema
, 194-8.

The educationof a greatintellectual oftenincludesat the

momentof itsbeginnings notonlytheseedsof thatperson's
futuredevelopment, butoftenalso thefinalresult.In Aldo
Rossi'scase,theveryfirstyearsof his educationcan be seen
as an alreadyconclusivemomentin thefundamental cultur-
6.SeeAldoRossi,
"Autobiographical his
al choicesthatmarkall of work.6
notesonmy December
etc.,
training, Rossi'sfirstcrucialexperiences wereat theMilan
inAldo
1971," Rossi.
LifeandWork ofan
Alberto
Architect, ed.(Cologne:Politecnico,
Ferlenga, wherehejoinedotherstudentsin thestruggle
Konemann, 24.
2001),
7.SeeGiovanni
Durbiano, maestri.to radicallyrevisethelegacyof theModernMovementand
I nuovi
Architetti
tra ecultura
politica nel to recoverpopulartraditions in theiraspirationfora new
(Venice:
dopoguerra Marsilio,
2000).
languageremovedfromboththeabstraction of late-mod-
ernistarchitecture and themonumentalism thatcharacter-
ized themostexcessiveformsof architecture in fascistItaly.7
Here he also met Ernesto Nathan a
Rogers, professor,
founding partner of thefirm BBPR, and editor-in-chief of
CasabellaContinuità.
In a sense,thismomentwas a prototype of interdiscipli-
naryeducation, in which the study of architecture was com-
binednotonlywiththestudyof thecity,a subjectbarely
established in postwarItaly,butalso withotherdisciplines-
art,literature, philosophy, cinema,sociology, urbangeogra-
phy,and, above all,politics.Rossi and his classmates dealt
extensively withthesedisciplines, whichwereconsidered
essentialelementsin a potentialnew racconto dellarealtà
of
(account reality)being nurtured by the Milanese "Young
Turks"as an alternative to thefunctionalist impasseimplicit
in themostsuperficial featuresof modernism. Butitwas
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 mainlytheimmediacyof literature and cinemain represent-
ingrealitythrough direct experiencethat,morethanarchi-
tecture,"educated"theyoungRossiaboutthecityand its
landscape.
Beginningin the1940s,thediscoveryand representation
of theurbanlandscapeas an indexof theactualrealitylived
bycommonpeoplewas a centralthemeof cinemaand neo-
realistliterature. In the1950s,theneorealistmovementtried
to achievewhat, youngcriticsMarioAlicataand Gio-
the
vannide Santishad earlyon definedas the"story" as an origi-
8.Alberto AsorRosa, e
"Letteratura nal andexemplary formof "realism."* The idea was to free
Cinema" inNovecento primosecondo
e
terzo
(Florence: Sansoni,1999,
2004), 186. realism from the simplistic roleof a document of realityin
9.While neorealism more
wasconcerned orderto intensify theepisodicfactsof everydaylifeas exem-
withthe filming ofthe everydaylivesof
ordinary the
people, ofrealism plaryhistoricaland socialcases.LuchinoViscontisfilm
aspiration
asexemplified inthe films
ofLuchino Senso(1954-)exemplified thetransition fromneorealismto a
Viscontiwastoelevate the"ordinary"to
a more consciousandpoliticallymilitant more rigorous form of realism9 in depictingthehistoryof
filmicform.Thetransition fromneo- of a
realismtorealism wasespeciallydueto Italy'swar of independence throughtheepicvicissitudes
theincreasedinvolvement ofthe culturalprivatetragedy.10 This narrativepatternhad beenadopted
ofthe
politics Italian Communist Party earlierin literature. Rossireferred to CesarePavese'snovelII
inthe filmindustry. affiliat-
Intellectuals
edwith thepoliticsoftheCommunist Compagno (The Comrade)11 and Visconti^filmOssessione as
Party,likeVisconti,opposeda moredra- thecornerstones of his "realisteducation."12 Il Compagno
maticandepic filmic which
style, was rep-
instrumentalina more com-
politically resented the most rigorous,politically committed realism,in
mitted "representation." whichtheeverydaylandscapeof itsunemployed andunedu-
10.SeeGiorgio Senso
Cavallaio, (Bologna:
Cappelli,1977). catedprotagonist, and histransformation intoa communist
11.Cesare Pavese,IICompagno(Turin:
Einaudi, 1950). activist, becomes the archetype for the experienceof a gen-
12.SeeAldo Rossi, "Una educazionereal- eration.Significantly, thistransformation takesplaceagainst
inAldo
ista," Rossi,Opere1958-1987, the - - whichcon-
Alberto ed.(Milan:Electa, backdrop of two cities Rome and Turin
Ferlenga,
1988),54. stitutethedramaticclimateof Pavese'saustererealism.The
implicitideologicalmessageis deeplyreflected in theurban
form, which is not represented monumentally, butratherin
itsimplications fordailyexperience.
It is important to highlight herethetwowaysin which
cinemaand literature influenced Rossi'srealisteducation.
On theone handthereis theinfluenceof engagerealismin
inspiringtheoverallact of commitment to thecityas a place
of everydaylife;on theotheris a morespecific, personal
influenceon Rossithatleadshimto therecognition ofevery-
day urban lifethroughtypicalfigures that coincide with
urbanimagesor architectural situationsthat can be easily
identified and coded.Rossiemphasizedthathisdiscoveryof
thearchitecture of thecityoccurredin sceneswherearchi-
tectureis something "atmospheric," a background not
reducibleto therestrictive characteristics of function and
program.Rather,architecture is a dailytheaterindifferent
to,yetparticipating in, what Pavese definedas II mestiere di
vivere: the"businessof living."Atthesametime,the
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 knowledgeof thecityRossigainedthroughfilmshouldnot
be considereda literalpreference fortheinstability of
images, filmic verisimilitude, or the narrative and didactic
characterof film.In hisreadingof realismin cinema-
Viscontisworkin particular- Rossistressedthattheprob-
lemwas to finda formallanguagethatcan immediately
depictrealityin bothitsexemplary and typical aspects;a for-
malizedrealityin whichman'slifeand habitsare a reality
1?.Duringhislectures,Rossi
used toref- thatis bothtemporary and partof a largerstructure.1*
erencecinema inanalmost obsessive and otherdirectors," wroteRossi,
manner. Hispassion for
cinema isalso "Pasolini, Visconti, Fellini,
documented ina movie hehimself "haveexpressedthecharacteristics of theperiphery in a
called
directed, Ornamento ,in
eDelitto
much more than book on architecture or
homage toAdolf Loos'sfamous of
essay powerfulway any
thesame name. Themovie wasproducedurbanismcouldhavedone.On theone hand,youhavethe
forthe XVMilan Triennale,andwas
made bycollaging different typicallandscapeof theRomanlower-classdistricts
together with
films, those
especially byVisconti. theirlost,desolateclimates,whichare nevertheless richwith
14.AldoRossi,"Lacittaelaperiferia,"
Casabella ,n.253
Continuità (1961):45; an inextinguishable vitality, theviolenceofwhichputspres-
alsoinRossi,Scritti
scelti -74.
,17} My sureon thewholecity.On theother,youhavetheMilanese
translation.
15.AldoRossi,"IllinguaggiodiPerret," suburbs,wheretheimmigrant is nothingmorethana mem-
IlContemporaneo
,n.33(1955)- berof thelaborforcein a systemofproductionin whichthe
bestpositionhe can aspireto is theroleof consumer.But
evenifthedegradation ofViscontischaractersand thedeso-
latelyricismof Fellini'surbanlandscapesseemfarfroma
desireforchangeor renewal,theabandonment seenin these
imagesis stillable to represent an incommunicable bitter-
ness, and a hard encounter with - the
reality changing
urbanrealityof themoderncityinhabitant."14
This sensitivity to thepassagefroman empiricaland
documentary reality asfoundto a familiar, repeatable,and
typicalreality made up of constituent facts be identified
can as
an originof Rossi'sinterest in thetypological characteristics
of architecture. It is also interesting to notethatRossi'sfirst
writings concentrated on Soviet realistcinemaand theurban
of
language AugustePerret, author of the reconstruction of
thecenterof Le Havre.1^ WhatRossiseizesin thesedifferent
worksis thewill to concentrate social,cultural,and ideolog-
ical expectations in a singleartifact -a
panoramaofpopular
suburbs, an architectural monument, theplan of a city-
or
artifactsthat, due to their typicality, are repeatable,and
henceinstrumental to theconstruction of a new sharedrep-
resentation of theurbanworld.
The Sovietcinemaseemsto suggestto Rossithetrans-
formation fromrealityas a documentary -
investigation
a "passionforthereal" thatpermeatesthemostadvanced
architectural and urbanthinking in theearly1950s- to
realityas an uninhibited story , thatis, realityas a projection
of socialand culturalexpectations thatare concretizedin
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AldoRossi,
photographof
Kremlin
Square,
Moscow,1954.
theauthor.
Courtesy

16.Rossi analyzes Aleksandr Dovzhenko's particularand popularhistoricalevents.16 It is in thisframe-

filmMich urin,highlightingthe director's to the "sweet and provoca-
realist
andnaturalist sodeeply
style, dif- workthatRossiseems appreciate
ferentfrom Sergei Eisenstein'sformal- tive"aspectof Stalinistarchitecture. In hisA Scientific
ism.What seems tostrikeRossi about
Dovzhenko's filmic isthe useof Autobiography, and in several lectures, interviews, and short
language -
thenaturalistform ofthe 19th century writings, Rossi recallshow a fundamental source of hiswork
from Balzac toTolstoy - linked tothe
recovery oflocal traditionsthought tobe was his direct knowledge of Moscow and the architecture of
thesource ofstrength forthe revolution- socialistrealism,fromStalinto DDR socialistmodernism.17
ary mentality promoted bycommunistTwo - -
See Aldo
ideology. Rossi, "La coscienza di trips to Moscowin 1955and to East Berlinin 1961
poterdirigere lanatura," Voce Comunista werefundamental to Rossi'sknowledgeof thecommunist
(1954).
17."My interestinsocialistrealism world. What seemed immediately to catchRossi'sattention
helped meridmyself ofthe entire petit- in Moscowwas an architecture thatrepresented themodern
bourgeois culture ofmodern architec-
ture:I preferred the alternativeofthe image of the city,especially the so-called "Seven Sisters"
broad streetsofMoscow, the pleasant built in the veritable micro-
andprovocative architecture ofthe sub- skyscrapers postwarperiod,
way, and theuniversity on Lenin's hills. citiesthat simulataneously took the form of events at a met-
I sawemotion mixing with a desireto
construct a new world. Many people ropolitanscale.In Rossi'sopinion,theseskyscrapers and the
now askmewhat thatperiod meant to stations, with halls like
me, andI believe I havetosay, above all, subway designed fairy-tale palaces,
thatI became conscious ofthe possibility suitablyrepresented theexpectations of a populationthat
thatarchitecture could beunified with was not
popular pride ... I havealways defended "dreamingthroughintellectual avant-garde
the greatarchitecture ofthe Stalinist utopias."18 In lectures, Rossi often mentioned how thebig
period,which could have been trans- and stations an
formed intoanimportant alternative for skyscrapers subway represented archipelago
modern architecture butwasabandonedofgreaturbanevents,in and of themselves able to "estab-
fornoclear reason." Rossi,AScientific lish"thedimensionand formof a This is further em-
Autobiography,trans. Lawrence Venuti city.
(Cambridge, Mass.: MITPress, 1981),40. in his surveyof Moscow,in whichhe
18Inhislectures, Rossi made this state- phasized thephotographic
contrast between thehugescaleof thesky-
ment toexplain the classic dramatizes
pastiche
staged byStalinist architecture. scrapers and other monumental artifacts withthecityitself.
to
Contrary many intellectuals who at thetimecon-
demnedStalinistarchitecture as retrograde, Rossisaw
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L. Rudnev,
Lomonosov Univer-
sity,
Moscow, Right:
1949-5?.
DiagramofMoscow's "Seven
from
Sisters," Casabella
Continuata,n.262(April on
1962)
AND
ARCHITECTURE URBANISMIN
theSovietUnion.

Stalinistarchitecture as a convincing formforthemodern

development of the city.19 experiencein Moscowwas his
His
firstawarenessof therelationship betweenthecharacterof
thecity,thepoliticalstrategies of architecture, and a modeof
architectural intervention basedon theidea of singular
urbanevents.WhatRossiseemedto learnfromtheprovoca-
tivestyleofMoscow'sskyscrapers was thepossibility of
architecture to imposeitselfas a cultural,builteventthat
evokessharedpopularthemes.This lessonwas largelydevel-
opedthroughtheinfluenceofphilosopher and political
thinkerAntonioGramscion Rossi'sgeneration.
As GiovanniDurbianohas highlighted in recent
researchon thetrainingof Italianarchitects in thepostwar
the
period, aspiration to architecture as a racconto dellarealta
was promptedbythestronginfluenceof theculturalposi-
tionsand choicesof theItalianCommunist PartyÇPCÏ). In
1948thePCI wentthrougha profoundpoliticaland cultural
afteritsdefeatin thefirstelectionsof republi-
19.Rossi the
joined Communist in turningpoint
Party
after
1956, the
RedArmyinvasion
of can Italy,and with theposthumouspublicationof Gramsci's
wasevidence
anactthat
Hungary, ofhis PrisonNotebooks
convictions. , written duringhisdetainment in fascist
20.Onthe between
relationship prisons.20Gramsci'sideologyfounditsstrength notonlyin
Gramsci's the
inheritance, and
PCI, his of orthodox but also in his advocation
Italian ingeneral,
culture seeGuido critique Marxism,
Gramsci
Liguori, conteso. diun
Storia ofpopulartraditions - thecultural, and
dibattito
1922-1996 Editori anthropological,
(Rome: artisticrealms - for the establishment of an effec-
1996).
Riuniti, necessary
tivealternative to thepowerof thebourgeoisclass.
46

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 Accordingto Gramsci,theroleof intellectuals was one of
mediationbetweenthelanguageofpopulartraditionand the
institutional culturalapparatus.The "Giovanidelle
Colonne,"21 groupof MilanPolitecnicostudentsto which
the
Rossi,GuidoCanella,Vittorio Gregotti, GiuseppinaMarcialis,
and othersbelonged,defendedpopulartraditionas a "cur-
rentof reality"opposedto theformalist and metaphysical
abstraction of theModernMovement.22
Gramsci'scombination of theparticipatory spiritpro-
Antonio Gramsci. motedbytheCommunistrevolution, theanalyticalapproach
of intellectuals, and thestudyofpopularculturaltraditions
immediately appealedto Rossiand hisgeneration, who saw
thisas an alternative to therhetoricof abstraction and cos-
mopolitanism imposedbytheInternational Style.Young
architects likeRossiidentified thecosmopolitanism Gramsci
criticizedwiththestylistic driftof theInternational Style.
As Rossisaid,itwas "a rhetorical and evasiveformalism"
withwhichtheInternational Styletriedto metabolizeand
21.Ironically
andpolemicallycalled removethe"decayof bourgeoissociety."2^
"Giovanidelle
Colonne"( Youthofthe A youngRossisaid thesewordsin his speechat the
Columns) DeCarlo,
byGiancarlo this
informalgroupofstudentsfoundthe Architettura Modernae TradizioniNazionali conference,
popularandcivic
built
expressionsof
tobea far
neoclassicism more theInternational Unionof Studentsand heldin
"progres-organizedby
sive" commited
andpolitically architec-Romein April1954.The conference was thefirstofficial
tural than
ideology See
functionalism.
Gian CarloDeCarlo,
"Problemi concreti occasion for debate among the new generation, and the
perigiovanidelle
colonne,"Casabella influenceof Gramsci's was Rossi's talk
yn.204(1955).
Continuità thought apparent.
I nuovi
22.SeeDurbiano, maestri,partic- was clearlyinspiredbyGramsci'sideas,as werethespeeches
ularlythefirst "L'invenzione Carlo
chapter, and FrancescoTentori.Althoughdiffer-
delle 15-55.
tradizioni," by Aymonino
2?.AldoRossi, at
"Speech the ent in tone, each restated Gramsci'sthemeof "cultureas a
Conference
International ofStudentsof moral in an architectural becamea
inSpecial
Architecture," Supplement of life,"which, framework,
NationalUnion
ofStudents(Praha: formdeeplyinspiredbypopularaspirations and thereal
Transcription, 1.
1954), needs of the common man's life.
24.Ibid.,
2.
25.Ibid. WhileAymonino naivelyidentified thenew,popular
26.Ibid.
contentas beingin "socialcenters,in theoutskirts of
Lombardy,in thebuildingsof thecooperatives of Emilia
Romagna, in the council houses of the TuscanyProvinces,"
Rossiseemedto alertarchitectural cultureto theexternal
misappropriation of realitythrougha "didactic,thematic,
neorealist"24 architecture. In essence,Rossicriticizedthere-
construction ofpicturesquesocialcontentthroughformal
effects.He suggesteda criticalcommitment to thedeeper
"historicaladherenceand substantial moralityof architec-
ture,as itwas conceivedand morallyinterpreted byTerragni
and Pagano."25 According to Rossi, the realistattitude was
notintendedas a formalmimesis , but as thedeep adherence
of architectural languageto man'shistoricalreality, in
which"men'sresponsibility to theirhistory"can be read.26
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 Thoughhe did notgivespecificexamples,Rossisuggested
thata breakwiththeModernMovementcouldonlytake
placeat thestylistic level,notat theprogrammatic one.
Tentori, who later collaborated with Rossiin his first
- the
important urban project restructuring partof the
of a
outskirts of Milan,aroundVia Farini(I960) - spokeof a
substantial continuity with"themoralattitudeof the
ModernMovement"(whichRossihad onlysuggested):"It
is necessaryto continuethehousinganalysisstartedbythe
architects of Germanrationalism, whichcan onlybutlead to
theevidenceof socialliving,to theabandonment of formal
spatial volumetric ideas that have never belongedto common
27.Tentori,
Special 4.
Supplement, men."27 The German rationalists' research on housing
28.GeorgLukacs, inEuropean
Studies to Tentoriand Rossito be a modernarchitecture
Realism
(London: Hilway Co., appeared
Publishing
1950).
"IIconcetto
diTradizione
removedfromstylistic anxietyand directedat general
29.Aldo
Rossi, themes linked with socialreality.
nelNeoclassicismo
Milanese," ,n.
Societa deeply
Also
3(1956). inRossi,Scritti ,1-24.
scelti The realismimplicitin theseverearchitecture of the
11.
30.Ibid.,
Aconcept
31. derivedfrom a definition GermanSiedlung , whoseformalaspectwas different from
byJoachim cited
Ritter, byCarlo themoreexperimental characterof theFrenchand Dutch
inVoltaire
Luporini eleLettres
philo-
Ilconcetto
sophiques. distoria modernist
nell'illumin- architecture of the1920s,was seenbyRossiand
ismo(Florence:
Sansoni, Rossi
1955). par- Tentorias an architectural
aphrased
Luporini'stitle
forhisessay
on analoguetowhatGeorgLukacs,
neoclassicism. in his StudiesinEuropeanRealism,definedas a fundamental
"Ilconcetto
32.Rossi, nel characteristic
diTradizione of realism:theconceptofsuitability .28Tentori
Neoclassicismo 9.
Milanese,"
developed a research program that went beyondmirroring
socialthemesvia an architecture parlante, anticipating Rossi's
idea of typeas a pointof encounterbetweenman'sneeds,
architectural invention, and theformof thecity.
This idea appearedin Rossi'sfirstimportant theoretical
contribution, written at the of
age 25: "Il concetto di
TradizionenelNeoclassicismoMilanese"(The Conceptof
Traditionin MilaneseNeoclassicism).29 The centralthemeof
thissociologicalstudyof formwas theconceptof tradition,
whichRossiconsidered"thefreechoiceofwhathistory
offered, theacceptanceof an orderwithinwhichitwas pos-
sibleto derivea wider,newerorderthroughrationalcriti-
cismofwhathad previously beendone."*0 Rossithenover-
laps the concept of tradition with the conceptof historyto
suggestthe"scienceof thebirthof thepresent."*1 "In order
forarchitecture to havea greatereffect and be discussedand
criticizedoutsideof a limitedgroupof specialists," Rossi
wrote, "there must be a broad,progressive movement within
in
societyand an interest publicspacethat,already itself, in
is an indexof freedom."*2 According to Rossi,publicspaceas
motivation fora new spaceof enlightenment, and freedom
as theacknowledgment of civilrights,couldbe represented
in a rationalarchitecture.
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 It is important, however,to emphasizethatRossiidenti-
fiedtheausterecharacterofworkssuchas Luigi Cagnola's
ArcoSempioneor GiovanniAntolini'sForoBonapartenotas
a proposalfora formaland metaphysical style,butratheras
a proposalfora rationallanguage,a languageof experience
moresuitableto be sharedas an intersubjective principleof
thecity.In thissense,RossiechoesLudovicoGeymonaťs
philosophicalthinking, which,betweenthe1940sand '50s,
introducedthethemesof rationalist thinking and thephilos-
lì.Rossi
quotedGeymonatin hisreview ophy of science in Italy.**
ofFracoise
Cali's Grec.
L'ordre Aldo to Geymonat, theepistemichorizonof reason
"L'ordine
Rossi, review
Greco," of According
L'ordre
Cali,
François Grec 1958, is the"consciousness governnature"on thebasisofuni-
,Paris, to
,n.228(1959).
Continuità,
Casabella in
Also
Scritti
Rossi, Themost
scelti. versalmoralprinciples.Geymonatconsideredtheausterity
important
bookbyLudovicoGeymonat isStudi
per of reasonnotas neutraland abstract,butas a criticalappara-
unnuovoRazionalismo
(Turin:Chiantore,
1945). tusdeeplysharedbyindividualsin theirdailyexperience,
something thatoriginates at theheartof criticalconscious-
ness.For reasonto be understood, it is necessaryto establish
a value thatmightbe universally accepted.This value,
to
according Geymonat, is the conceptof freedom, whichhe
identified as a modalityof relationsbetweenindividuals,
civicinstitutions, and theinstitutions of knowledgethat
definetheformsof coexistence.
Rossireconsiders therationalism of neoclassicalarchi-
tectureand of theModernMovementalonga similarlineof
thinking. In Rossis view,thedevelopment of architecture
fromneoclassicism to theModernMovementrepresented an
aspirationto sharedvalueslikefreedom, whichhe believed
was revealedin therulingclass'sinterest in therespublica-
in thespacethatpotentially represents theneedsof every-
one. Rossi'sinterest in typology beginsto developfromthis
idea of architecture.

Rationalism
Rossi'sinterest in typology did notdirectlyderivefromthe
studyof classicalsources,suchas thetheoretical workof
J.N.L. Durand and Quatremere de Quincy. In his theoretical
development, typological study evolved graduallythrougha
vast and heterogeneous series of articles,reviews,and con-
ferences,and couldnotbe reducedto a singledefinition. It
emerged in Rossi'scriticalwork through his closeattention
to theneedsof architecture as an urbanphenomenonfreed
fromtheoretical and methodological prejudicesand restored
to itsconcreteand rationaldimension.
The framework in whichRossidevelopedthebasisfor
a typological study was his collaboration withCasabella
Continuità, editedby Ernesto Rogers from 1958to 1964.
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 Rogershelda uniquepositionwithinthediscourseon archi-
tectureand thecityin postwarEuropeinsofaras he was at-
tempting to formulate a critiqueof modernism thatrejected
boththesimplistic dismissalof thelegacyof theModern
Movementand thebanalembraceof thatlegacyas a generic
ideal of technological and stylistic progress.Rogerspushed
theyoungcollaborators of Casabella- Rossi,Gregotti,
Tentori,Gae Aulenti,and Canella- to studyanomalousfig-
uresof modernity whoseworkhad challengedthecanonical
reading of architectural modernity.
Rossiusedhismonographic studieson Perret,Loos, and
PeterBehrens,and hisreviewsof booksbySigfriedGiedion
and Hans Sedlmayr, or on topicssuchas ArtNoveau and the
architecture of theFrenchEnlightenment, to broadenand
complexify the criticaland interpretative apparatusof mod-
ernarchitecture, whichat thattimewas stilllimitedto the
mainstream International Styleand narratives of thegreat
34.SeeAldo "Aproposito
Rossi, diun masters.*4 In developingan alternative readingto themaster
recentestudio
sull'Art
Noveau,"review
ofS.Tschudi Source narratives, particularly within thelandscapeof hisdiverse
Madsen, ofArt
Novueau,Oslo, Casabella
1956, Continuità
, interests, whichincludedurbangeography, economics,and
n.215 "Una
(1958); Critica
che
review
Respingiamo," ofHans politics,Rossi began to see the idea of type a criticaland
as
Sedlmayr,
Larivoluzione
dell'arte
moderna
,Milano, operationaldeviceforestablishing an underlying thematic
Casabella
1958, Continuità
,n.219(1958);
"Emil Kaufmannel'architettura readingof architecture and itsconfrontation withtheprob-
Casabella
dell'Illuminismo," n. lematicof the
Continuità, The of type
222(1958);
ReviewofSigfried
Giedion, city. conceptualessentiality
Architecture
jou andme,Cambridge,
1958, appeared to Rossi to be a useful reading device with whichto
Casabella n.2}8(I960).
Continuità, the of references that he estab-
Aldo
35. "Iproblemi
Rossi, ela go through complexsystem
Tipologici
inScritti
Residenza," Scelti
,1V>. lishedas a basisforcriticalworkand a theoryofarchitecture.
For Rossi,theidea of typeexplainedtheinterest some
architects had in repeatableand interpretable forms, as
not
massproductionbutin a moreideal sense,as theabilityto
thinkof thecityas a wholethroughthespecificpracticeof a
simplified vocabularyof architectural forms.Rossi'sinterest
in metropolitan anonymity, which he supported withLoos's
"normalized"architecture and polemicalwritingsagainst
ornament, becamean opportunity to statethatthepurismof
bothLoos and modernarchitecture was nota searchfora
metaphysical detachment from realitybutfora deeper
attachment to theanonymousand abstractcharacterof the
moderncity.In thissense,RossifoundLe Corbusier'scon-
cept,"thehouseis a machineforlivingin,"to be "themost
revolutionary statement of architecture, theone withthe
mostrealcontentfroma scientific of
point view."*5 The
architectural cultureof theearly'60s,however,was highly
dismissive of themoreconventional, totalizingattitudesof
modernarchitecture. In thisatmosphere, Rossiattempted to
emphasizethemovementof architecture towardthegeneral
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 and structural problemsof thecity,problemsthatwere
relatedto architectural expressions.
According to Rossi, architecture thatshowedawareness
of theproblemsof themoderncitycouldbe seenin thework
ofAlessandroAntonelli, Behrens,Loos, HannesMeyer,and
Atelier5. Theirworkfindsitslanguagein theempirical
groundofurbanreality, fromwhichthepracticeofarchitec-
tureextrapolates theprinciplesof itsdevelopment. In this
sense, one of the most concise definitions of typology, con-
sidereda fundamental linkbetweentherealityof thecity
and theconcreteness of thearchitectural event,is foundin
theessayon BehrensthatRossico-authoredwithhiscol-
36.AldoRossi,Gianugo "Peter leagueGianugoPoleselloJ6
Polesello,
Behrens eilproblema dell'abitazione Behrens* workappearsto Rossiand Poleselloas stylisti-
moderna," CasabellaContinuità
,n.240
(i960);alsoinScritti
scelti
,107-11. cally eclectic but consistent in thedevelopment of funda-
V7. 107
Ibid.,
TheArchitecture mental urban themes. "Behrens built fewurbanis-
38.Rossi, ofthe 45.
City, relatively
39.Manfredo a I960 of
Tafuri, graduate ticworks,"theywrote,"nonetheless, in thecharacteristic
the FacultyofArchitectureinRome, was
developinginthe framework ofurban- monumentality of his greatcomplexesthereis a profound
ism andplanning hisfirst his- linkwiththe
torical,
critical,
important
andtheoretical contribu- city;greatworkssuchas theMannesmanfac-
tions,
including a special
issueof tory in Düsseldorf or theFarbenofficesin Frankfurt are
,edited
Casabella with GiorgioPiccinato aroundtheformof thestreet."*7 Rossiwill
andVieri onCity-Territory,
Quilici, and clearlydeveloped
hisfirst
book, on modern Japanese archi- later ascribe this concept to theidea of theurban event, that
inwhich
tecture, hepaid specialatten- that an architectural form takes a element of the
tiontothe urban-planning work of is, typical
Kenzo Tange andthe Metabolists.
See city and developsit as an exceptionalone.
Manfredo Tafuri, Uarchitettura
moderna Hereit is possibleto see how,forRossi,typological
inGiappone(Bologna: Cappelli,1964);see
alsoTafuri,"Un piano perTokio ele study,as a formof rationalstudy,was basednoton norma-
nuove problematicheurbanisticacon-
,n. tivefactsbuton thepossibility
diArchitettura of architecturalformto evoke
temporenea,"Argomenti
4 (1961).Fora comparison ofRossi'sand urbanthemes.Le Corbusier'sUnitéd'Habitationin Marseille
Tafuri's
positions onthe seeAlice
city,
Bulla,"Inheritances,"
unpublished paper withitsrueintérieure , or theSmithsons'projectforthe
atthe ArchitecturalReflection
presented
Seminar, TUDelft, 2004-200$.
GoldenLane residential complexin Londonand its"streets
in theair,"are amongtheexamplesRossiconsideredtrue
representations of thecityin theformof urbanthemes J8
Here,type is rendered not through universal rules but bythe
and
immediacy singularity of an architectural event.

Architecture vs. Urban Planning: Rossi vs. Tafuri

Rossi'spositionwas stronglybasedon architectureas a basic,
yetpartialunit of the This
city. was polemicalin
particularly
theearly'60s,whenarchitects saw emerging urbanity largely
through the lensof urban-planning methodologies. 1963,
In
theOlivettiFoundationorganizedan urbanplanningsemi-
narin Arezzo,headedbyLudovicoQuaroni,GiancarloDe
Carlo,and EdoardoDetti,in whichRossiparticipated as an
alongwithotheryoungarchitects,
instructor, includingthe
28-year-old Manfredo TafuriJ9
Basedon hisexperienceat AUA(Architetti Urbanisti
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AldoRossi,Gianugo
Polesello, Associati),an architectural and urbanplanningpracticehe
LucaMeda,CentroDirezionale cofoundedin RomewithVieriQuiliciand GiorgioPiccinato,
COMPETITIONENTRY. ITALY,
TURIN,
Planandmodel.Domus
1962. Tafuriproposeda greaterdegreeof integration between
MAGAZINECALLEDTHEPROPOSAL
A urbanplanningand designas theagendafortheseminar.
"Stalinist
courtyard
formass This reflected an emerging in architecture fora
executions." the
Courtesy tendency
AUTHOR. moreorganiccollaboration betweenarchitects and otherdis-
ciplinesto facilitate
a moreintegrated and collectiveplan-
ning method thatwould grasp the new dimensionof the
city-region. Respondingto thenew political,social,and cul-
turalchallengesof thecity-region concept,Tafuri,Piccinato,
and Quiliciintroducedtheconceptof city a search
-territory,
fora new scaleofurbanplanningin whichurbanism
absorbedtheinformality and opennessof new geographic,
40.Giorgio Vieri
Piccinato, Quilici, and
economic, political structures.40 This newperspective on
Manfredo "Lacittà
Tafuri, Territorio could be seen as
versounanuova Casabella urban-planning
dimensione," methodologies partially
Continuità
,n.270(I960- inspiredby thewave of hopeforurbanplanninggenerated
41.Bruno "Una
Gabrielli, con
esperienza
Aldo inPer
Rossi," Aldo ,Salvatore bythefirstcenter-left-wing
Rossi government in Italyin 196?,and
ed.(Venezia:
Farinaio, Marsilio, 6J. thefullaffirmation
1997), of thewelfarestatein Europe.The semi-
42.Ibid.
narin Arezzo,as participant BrunoGabriellilaterrecalled,
was "a sortof fine-tuning of thethemesand problemsto be
facedin orderto relaunchproactiveplanningin Italy."41 But
forRossi,theseminar,whichhe alwaysrecalledas hispas-
sagefromresearchto theory, and themostdecisiveexperi-
in
ence hiseducation,42 becamean opportunity to radically
question urban as a
planning discipline itself.Confronting
Tafuri'sview of urbanplanningas a new dimensionfor
architectural practice,Rossiaccusedurbanplanningof rep-
resenting nothingbuta discursiveand ideologicalpractice,
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 withoutanyactualtoolsor immediatecommitment to the
realproblemsof thecity.As Gabriellirecalled,Rossistrongly
criticizedthevaguefoundations of theurban-planning
reforms proposedbyQuaroni,De Carlo,and Tafuri,as well
as themostfashionable urbanmethodologies of thetime,
suchas thenotionsof city-region and megastructure, to the
64.
43.Gabrielli, point where the seminar became deadlocked.4* Rossi'sréin-
troduction of thearchitectural dimensionof thecitydid not
represent therecoveryof a historicalform,as is commonly
maintained,butrathera searchfortheconcreteness of
as
objects opposed to the of
vagueness planning. Rossi made
clearthattheanalysisand projectof thecityhad to go
beyondthetotalizing,demiurgic, and diagrammatic attitude
ofplanning,whichhe believedwas toogeneraland simplis-
ticforconfronting therealityof an urbanterritory irre-
ducibleto an abstractcommondenominator. His critiqueof
urbanplanningwas clearlyopposedto thepositionof Tafuri,
who,at thebeginning ofhiscareer,assumedthatthescale
ofregionalplanningand megastructure was theonlymeans
forarchitecture to identify itselfwiththenew problemsof
contemporary cities.
Thus Rossiradicalizednotonlythecontinuation of the
trajectory of the Modern Movement, butalso an idea of
architecture as a circumscribed and realizedphenomenon, as
an elementof concreteness and empiricalrationality upon
whichit is possibleto projecta personalcommitment to
This
reality. was clearlymanifested in theearly,highly
polemicalarchitectural projectsthatRossiwas developingin
53

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AldoRossi,Gianugo Polesello, collaboration withLuca Meda and GianugoPolesello,which
LucaMeda,modelforthe he presented in Arezzoas "didacticdemonstrations" of his
Monument to theResistance
COMPETITIONENTRY.CUNEO,ITALY, argument. Workingagainsttheearly'60s fashionsof iconic
ASECTION
1962. DRAWING OFTHE exuberance,totaldesign,and thenaïveuse of technology
PROPOSALAPPEAREDONTHECOVER and as techniquesofurbandesign,Rossiand his
ofCasabellaContinuità. cybernetics
colleaguesdevelopedan elementary architecturalvocabulary
of simpleformsthatwould mergemonumentality and the
commonexperienceof theeverydayurbanlandscape.
Projectssuchas theircompetition entryfortheMonument
to theResistancein Cuneo(1962), theentryfora monumen-
tal fountainin thenew CentroDirezionalein Milan (1962),
and theimpressive Locomotiva2, a competition entryfor
thenew CentroDirezionalein Turin(1962), showedan
intensedetachment fromtheformalcomplexity of urban
designtypical of that time,and a predisposition a zero-
for
degreeformallanguagethataspiredto be a stageforurban
liferatherthanitsinfrastructure or iconicrepresentation.
TheseprojectssummarizedRossi'sidea of architecture as
event,interacting with thecomplexity of thecitythrough
theextremesimplicity and finitudeof itsform.Rossiand
Polesellolaterwrotea polemicaltextagainstthefashionof
"openform"as a metaphorforthetotaldesignof thecity:
"Onlya definedand finiteform,byvirtueof itsclearlimits,
44.Aldo Emilio
Rossi, Gianugoallowsforitscontinuity
Mattioni, and fortheproductionof further
Luciano
Polesello, "Città
Semerani, e actionsand theadaptationto unpredictable events."44
On
Territorio
negli efigu-
funzionali
aspetti
rativi
della continua,"
pianificazione severaloccasions Rossi maintained that an architectural
Proceedings XCongress
ofthe ofINU, intervention
Istituto
Nazionale
diUrbanistica
(Trieste, alwaystakestheformof a subjectivedecisionto
Mytranslation.
1965). confront theexistingcontextratherthanto overcomeit.
54

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 This decision,however,is notarbitrary, butrelieson a spe-
cificand sharedmethodology that,while it becomesconcrete
throughindividualexamples,alwaysrepresents thediversity
and tracesof an intersubjective
knowledge of thecity.This is
why at thismoment Rossifeltthe to
urgency systematize his
intuitionon typology intoa "scientific"framework. The
Arezzoconfrontation betweenRossiand De Carlo,Quaroni,
and Tafuriwas one of thefundamental provocations that
seemedto pushRossito further definehisfieldof theoretical
actionaroundtheidea of typology as botha concreteand a
general criteria
of analysisand design.

For a Theory on Architecture and the City

The publicationof Rossi'sfirstessayson typology in 1964-
coincidedwiththreeimportant eventsin hiscareer:theend
of his collaboration withCasabellaContinuità afterRogers
was firedforencouraging leftist views;a grantto conduct
urbanresearchon Milan,offered byDe Carlo;and thebe-
of a
ginning university chair at the Istitutodi Architettura di
VeneziaQUAV),whichhe tookon as an assistantprofessor.
Thesethreesynchronistic eventsconvergedin Rossi'sdeci-
sionto further hisworkon typology as a theoreticalmethod.
In histeachingat Venice,Rossisystematized hisresearch
methods,untilthenbasedonlyon roughand discontinuous
editorialwork,in theformof a teachable theory.Now typo-
logicalanalysis becomes themain focus of Rossi'sthinking;
thoughtthaton the one hand aspires to treatiselike
rigorand
on theotheris constantly focusedon theintermediate and
uncertainscalethatjoins architecture and thecity,analysis
and design,in a difficult whole.
Luciano Semerani,a professor at IUAVand Rossi'sclose
friend,recallsthat"in a confrontation in nearbyclassrooms
withGiuseppeSamona,thendean of IUAV,Aldogavea few
improvised lectureson type. . . [Samonà]maintainedthat
typological studyconcerneda possibleintermediate element
betweensensibleand intelligible, betweenformand content.
. . . Aldo,on theotherhand,referred to studiesofgeography
and naturalscience,and to anthropological interpretationsof
lifeand humanculturethatsee thecoincidencebetween
speciesand formsas havingan inbred,predetermined struc-
ture.BothRossiand Samonawereawareof SaverioMura-
tori,who was thefirstto reintroduce thenotionof typeat
IUAV,wherethesubjecthad beenpreviously reducedto sta-
45.Luciano "Arrivi
Semerani, e tisticalsurveysand professional manuals."4*
inAldo
Partenze," IlTeatro
Rossi, ela To understandhow Rossiestablished hisnotionof type,
Città Edizioni
(Milan: 9>
2003),
Unicopli,
attentionshouldbrieflybe givento theidea Muratori
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 developedwhileteachingin Veniceand Rome.46In
Muratori'sview,typeis notsomething to be classifiedand
selected,then adopted neglected, rathera "structure
or but
ofpermanent relations"thatsingleinitiatives simplyadopt
46.SeeGiorgio Saverio
Pigafetta, througha unitary andsynthetic consciousness.47 For Muratori,
Muratori
architetto.
Teoriaeprogetti architects do not create but invent in its
(Marsilio:
Venezia,1990), Mytrans-
103. , originalmeaning
lation.
Born inModena in1910, Muratori"to find,"rediscovering and developingwhatthecityitself
beganwith a series
ofprojects in
(often
collaboration
withLudovico Quaroni offers. If we acceptthisidea,thenwe also haveto acceptthat
andLuigi Fanello)inwhich rational in theevolutionary processesof thecitytherecan be no frac-
languageisstronglyreformedthrough turesbetweena
therecovery ofsevere,
classic
forms
that before and an after , unlesspersonal,deliber-
bringhiswork closetotheScandinavian nihilist attitudes are imposedthatare not
classicism
ofGunnar Asplund.Inthe atelymetaphysical,
postwarperiod,with hiscommitmentto coherentwiththesubstancethatconstitutes urbanstructure.
planningpublic housingandteachingat
theIUAV,Muratori began todeepen
the
the
During early 1960s, while he was teachingin Rome,
fundamental coreofhiswork: as
Type an Muratori^ radical,intransigent, and absolute positionelicit-
apriori
synthesis. ed attacks in the debate on architecture and thecity
47.Pigafetta,
104. strong
48.SaverioMuratori quotedinPigafetta,
duringthistimeof intenseurbantransformation. In
Muratori
Saverio architetto
,123.
49.Muratori, inPigafetta,
15. response to students who demanded transfer from hisclass
quoted
and to thegroupofyoungassistantprofessors who led the
attacks(amongthem,Tafuriand Piccinato),Muratorisaid,
"You thinkthatI'm stuckon someformulassinceyou see
themfromtheoutside . On thecontrary, we havebeenliving
on thesethings,we witnessa givenreality growingup under
our eyes,we findthatit is thetruereality , theone we are
looking for, and that it is gettinglost under thecamouflage
of crystallized theories."48 Muratori^notionof typewas a
strictlymethodological and radicallyantitheoretical position
thatattempted to recoverthewholenessof theconstruction
of thecitybyfinding withinit an intelligible, formative
unity that existsbeyond abstractschemes,models,meta-
physicalideas,or images."Weneedto acquirea sharper
understanding of architecture and anyformof art,"he
wrote,"byfreeing ourselves from theassumptionthatthe
artifactis onlya moment,an episodein time.This is a con-
ceptionof artdearto theromantics.On thecontrary, we
needto embracethewholerealityof a buildingas a manifes-
tationof a collectiveformalintuition- i.e.,as types- which
contribute to a particulararchitectural environment. This
meansthatwe haveto conceiveof individualarchitectural
expressions in all of theirphasesof development, each of
whichadoptsa previousformand includesit as an integral
partin a new and moreelaboratestructure able to encom-
passand expressa wholehistoryand tradition."49 Like it or
not,Muratorihad formulated thestrictest definitionof type;
Rossi'sformulation of theidea of typology, whileverydif-
ferentfromMuratori's,will use hisworkas a fundamental
pointof reference.
56

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AldoRossi, studysketch for WhatmovedRossiand Muratoritowarda theoryof
Urban Renewal AlongViaFarini architecture basedon theidea of typeas a "sharpunder-
inMilan,i960. Projectwith
Giuanugo Poleselloand standing of architecture,"freeing architecturallanguagefrom
Francesco Tentori.Courtesy theiconicand episodiccharacterof theoccasionalcreative
theauthor.
"gesture,"was a searchfora nonconsumable architectural
formimmanentto thelifeof thecity.For both,typological
studyas a scienceof thecitywas a searchforitsvitalcharac-
whichpersistdespitethequalitativeand quantita-
teristics,
tivevariationsin urbanformwiththepassageof time;itwas
thesearchforan architectural languagebasedon thelifeof
thecity.However,whereasMuratoribasedhistypological
studieson an organicidea of thecity,in whichthecollective
dimensionof dwelling is totalizingto thepointof denying
theindividuality and originality of architectural interven-
tion,forRossi,typological studyrepresented a more compos-
iteframework thatbecomesrealonlyin itsapplication, in
thesingularity of a decision,and in thesingularity of the
urbanevent.
Muratori^typological researchinvolvedcase studiesof
citiessuchas Venice,whichhe and his teamof researchers
mappedin theirphysicalentirety, bothtopographically and
50.SeeSaverio Studi
Muratori, peruna Rossi,bycontrast,
architecturally.50 basedhis typological
storia
operante urbana
diVenenzia
(Rome: on and limited facts.WhileMuratorichose
Istituto dello
Poligrafico I960).
Stato, study particular
51.SeeAldoRossi, della
"Aspetti the Gothic fabricof Venice as a paradigmof a continuous
residenziale
Tipologia a Berlino,"
Casabella
Continuità,
,n.288 in
Also
(1964). urban organism, Rossi chose Berlin,wheretypological evo-
Scritti
scelti
,237-52. lutionwas clearlyillustrated bydiscernible architectural
artifactssuchas Schinkelsvillas,therationalist Siedlungen ,
and theStalinallee a
, two-kilometer-long streetand urban
designintervention thatRossiadmiredas the"lastEuropean
"More or lessconsciously,"
street."51 he said,"theStalinallee
is proposedonlyforthispartof Berlin,concedingthatthe
57

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 cityis madeup of different factsthatemergeat different
Scritti
52.Rossi, scelti
,249. times;onlytheseprecisefactsare controllable elements."^2
UnlikeMuratori^conceptof organicwholeness,Rossicon-
structedthewholeof thecitythroughthediscretecomposi-
tionof differentpartswhichmaybe repeatablebutare in
themselves strongly individual
and therefore finite.Once
as a
again,typology general event and the urban eventas a
universalyetindividualelementoverlapin thewayRossi
imaginestheprojectof themoderncity.Later,in the
researchhe conductedon Milan,Rossiwas forcedto define
typologicalstudymoredeeplyin relationship to thecomposite
characterof themodernurbanfabric.In mappinga typical
area of Milan,Rossiwas againfacedwithan empirical
datumin whichanygeneralstatement also had to cometo
termswithsomething realand particular.
In analyzingRossi'ssourcesand references, it is com-
monly misunderstood thatRossi proposed a return to tradi-
tionalurbanforms.In fact,he proposeda researchmodel
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Opposite: AldoRossiCleft)with thatdid nothavea preference forone urbanformover
LucaMedaat theopening ofthe a morefunda-
XIIIMilanTriennale, sit- another,butrathertookintoconsideration
1964,
TING INFRONT OFTHETRIANGULAR mentalproblem,namely,thatthedefinition of an urbanplan
IronBridge theydesigned for mightonlyproceed from the analysis of the existingcondi-
THEENTANCE TOTHEEXHIBITION. whether "old" or "new." If in the Modern Movement
Courtesy theauthor. tions,
typology was thesearchfornew formsof thecity,in Rossi's
view,onlytheexistingcitycan be therealframework for
researchin whichto developthepremisesof urbanform.
The urbanlandscapethatemergesfromRossi'sattempts to
describethecityis at onceirreducible to a uniqueand finite
formand yetopento meaningful representation in discrete
urbanareas.The morethesesectionswerespecifieddimen-
sionally(elementssuchas thestreet,thebuilding,thedis-
trict),themoreitwas possibleto sharpenthebasisfora pre-
ciseurbananalysiswithoutfallingintoabstractcategories.
Nevertheless, thetensionbetweenthegeneraland thepar-
ticularin Rossi'stheoryof thecityremainsunresolved.The
difficulty,ifnotimpossibility, of achievinga straightforward
architectural methodin responseto therealand continuing
evolutionof thecity,as well as thedesireto construct a the-
ory that makes the relationship between architecture and
cityintelligible,finallyemergesin his firstdefinitive
attempts to theorizetypology.
To developa definition of theconceptof typology, Rossi
wrotefivepiecesin theformof lecturenotes,whichwere
onthe
53."Considerations relationshippublishedin thereaderforhis courseat theIUAV.^Buthe
between urbanmorphology andbuildingnever definedtypeapartfromin theseunpub-
typology"(1964), problems
"Typological conclusively
andhousing" (1964),"Methodological lishedwritings, whichwereoffered as theoriesdeveloped
problems ofurbanresearch"(1965),
manuals,andarchitecture" only within his concept of the relationship betweenarchitec-
"Typology,
(1966),and"The cityasfundamental
for tureand the In "Considerations on the relationship
the ofbuildings"
(1966).These city.
study between urban and for
arenow
essays published in in
Italian morphology building typology,"
Aldo Scritti
Rossi, scelti. Rossi a framework for
$4.SeeGeorges Chabot,LesVilles example, clearlyexpressed typological
(Gallimard:Paris,
1948). studiesas theurbanlandscape,or an empiricalexperienceof
55.Kevin Lynch,TheImage ofthe
City the
(Cambridge,Mass.:MITPress, The
1960). cityseenin itsexistingforms.Here,Rossirecovereda
Italianedition,
publishedbyMarsilio, classicthesisfromFrenchurbangeographers likeGeorges
wastranslatedbyPaolo apro-
Ceccarelli, who saw the of functions notas an
fessoratIUAV, atthe
aninstructor Chabot, problem city
Arezzo andRossi's
seminar, friend. organizational
close pattern but as an initialdatum evolving
towarda morecomplexand blurredrelationship, and thus
movingawayfrommodernist techniquesof urbanzoning.54
He also camecloserto theapproachto thecitydevelopedby
KevinLynchand laterused byRobertVenturiand Denise
Scott-Brown. For Rossi,typological researchmustdocument
theempiricalrealityof theurbanlandscapeand notbe im-
mediately invested withparticular ideologiesor metaphysics.
In thissense,thepublicationof Lynch'sTheImageofthe
Cityin Italianrepresented a provocative challengeforRossi.^
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 Lynch'sattemptto theorizetheempiricaldescription of the
urbanexperiencethrougha systematic coding of the imageof
theurbanlandscapeseemsto havestrongly affected Rossi,
who replacesLynch'simagewitharchitecure as a finalrepre-
sentationof theexperienceof thecity.Thearchitecture ofthe
city,therefore,aimedto go beyondtheperceptualand psy-
chologicalempiricalelementson whichLynch'smethodwas
basedbyconcentrating on theformaland structural aspects
of theurbanphenomenon.
Rossiused typological knowledgein orderto empirically
represent these structural and formalaspectsof thecity.In
thissense,urbanmorphology was nota simpleformalren-
dering of the urban fabric, but theenvisioning of thelogical
structure of relationships through which the cityas a whole
evolves.Accordingto Rossi,identifying thislogicalstructure
of relationshipswould nottransform themintogeneraland
totalizing statements. "What could be done,"Rossisaid,"is
to adopta languagethatallowsus to talkaboutthephenomena
thatmakeup our fieldof analysiswitha concreteness that
almostexclusivelybelongsto theempiricalsciences- with-
out categoriesthat,froma scientific pointofview,are too
- and to a with thefocusthatis
general perform survey
Scritti
56.Rossi, 210-11.
scelti, typicalof theempiricalmethodof science."56 FromRossi's
Aldo
57. Rossi, Manualistica,
"Tipologia, this meant
inScritti
Architettura," scelti
,299. perspective, affirming position grasping,through
58.Scritti
scelti
,307. an analyticalview of architecture and thecity,theessence
59.Aldo "Contributo
Rossi, alproblema
deirapporti
tratipologia emor- of therealistlegaciesof theModernMovementin orderto
edilizia
urbana.
fologia Esamediunaareastudio findthe intersections betweenwaysofliving,
inScritti
a Milano," scelti
,256. underlying
materialconditions, and architectural form."Such an idea
of architecture," saidRossi,"can be derivedfromthemain
linesof architectural thinking, fromthegreatwritersof
treatisesin theEnlightenment periodto thescholarsof 19th-
centurypositivism to the main interpreters of theModern
Movementin architecture."57 In Rossi'sview,thiscontinuity
meantfirstpurifying thetypological inheritance of the
ModernMovementfromexternalelements,suchas theim-
positionof standards."Confusionoftenoccursbetweenthe
datumas a tooland thedatumas an optimalmeasureor
standard.In thiscase,thedatumalmostbecomesan ideolog-
ical foundation, whichcan lead to seriousdistortions."58
For Rossi,"Abuildingtypology is concretely determined by
problemsrelating to land division, the formation of lots,
buildingregulations, and theneedsof dailylife.The rela-
tionship between these factorscan be established through
different forms, since theyare all disruptedbyradical
changesin life,in thesameway thatradicalchangessubvert
theformof thecity."59
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 Conclusions
Rossiwroteof concreteness, radicalchange,society, and
daily life:
however, as thetitles
of two of his Veniceessays
show,he insistedon thewordproblem. Rossiwas notin-
terestedin proposinga methodological recipeto builda
coherentand linearresearchprogram.In hisdevelopment
of a typological studyof theexistingcity,he no longer
viewedthecityas a problemto solve,butratheras a prob-
lematicon whichto basea morerealistattitudetowardthe
projectof thecity.For Rossi,onlywithsuchan attitudewas
itpossibleto definethecharacterof buildingsas particular
expressions fullyinvestedwiththeempiricalexperienceof
thecityitself.It was at thismoment,whenRossiassembled
thedifficult wholeintoa theory, thatthelegacyof the
ModernMovementwas surpassed.This did notoccurat the
levelof ideologyor style,butratheras a fundamental ques-
tionregarding theacceptanceof theexistingurbanland-
scapeas a theoretical plane;a planein whichtheprojectdoes
notimposea new conceptof habitablespace,butrather
acknowledges, explains,and thusretroactively justifieswhat
already exists.
This was nota passiveexercise but an active
one,in whichinterpretation providedthespacein which
to inventthecity.Andone thatRossihimself, startingfrom
thearchitecture of thecity,laterbeganto identify withthe
conceptof locus.

Aureliisanarchi-
PierVittorio
TECTWHO ALSOTEACHESATTHE
BerlageInstitute
inRotterdam.
61

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