The Architect as Enabler
Monday
8th April 2024 | 13:00 – 14:30 CET
Aula 201 Lingotto | Streaming on YouTube
INTRODUCTION
The lecture will define a new dialogue between bodies and things. From the Mediterranean matrices of space to the genomes for the multiple horizontal weaving of a future metropolis.
* Curators’ note: the lecture will be held in Italian with the possibility of brief interventions and reflections also in English.
BIO
Pepe Barbieri is Full Professor of Architectural Composition at the Faculty of Architecture in Pescara, and Director of the DART Department (Department of Environment, Networks, Territory). He publishes numerous studies and researches concerning the relationship between architectural design and transformations in contemporary cities, with particular attention to territorial infrastructuring, suburban areas, and urban sprawl in medium and small-sized centers. His projects have been exhibited in numerous prestigious venues, including the Venice Biennale and Milan Triennale.
Contacts
Architect Pepe Barbieri discusses managing various spaces in cities and buildings.He takes techniques in paintings as a reference for developing entities for different types of spaces. According to his approach Architecture “should make mute things speak” by taking both raw and developed materials, turning them to living spaces.
His examples for “speaking architecture” offering the spectators to connect include:Air-flowing through spaces, transparent objects, using shadows and lights, providing “human movements” to objects. He sees our living space both horizontal and vertical and offers to do a strategic architectural assessment by changing the background of the space to white and using the Mat-building, maintaining its presence. By placing certain objects such as staircases or porticos, we can create perspective and “movement of spaces” and offer “shelters”. Fragments are presented as important things, able to create many separated spaces in a city. Methods like Kintsugi to maintain them are encouraged.
The notion of activating the fragmentation within the body of cities and valuing the neglected interstices aligns with the concept of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of enhancing wounds. Architects, therefore, are tasked with more than just addressing existing needs; they must nourish the latent desire for alternative ways of inhabiting the future. This involves critiquing existing structures and spaces to create open, porous urban fabrics that generate added values of urbanity.
In such cities, several actions can be taken. Offering shelter and making streets vibrant are crucial. Generating urban voids, both uplifting and cutting through them, creates dynamic spatial experiences. Living on stairs and within thicknesses of urban structures enriches the fabric of daily life. The idea of Kintsugi, symbolizing finding beauty in imperfections, can be seen as a metaphor for adding value to urban fractures and spaces between buildings.
The generative power of architecture lies in its ability to foster new values of community and coexistence through spatial arrangements. Like Brunelleschi’s architectural objects, strategically placed designs can catalyze urban revolutions by altering meanings within the city fabric. By activating these fragmented spaces and embracing the in-between, cities can evolve into diverse, inclusive, and vibrant environments that resonate with their inhabitants’ desires for a better future.
In his lecture Professor Pepe Barbieri argues that architects should focus on fulfilling desires rather than just solving practical problems. He believes that it’s their role to transcend traditional problem-solving approaches and create meaningful places. Barbieri emphasizes understanding the relationship between people and their environment, envisioning cities and individuals as one interconnected entity. He illustrates his ideas with examples like Alvaro Siza’s white sheet design approach and the concept of cities as archipelagos. Barbieri also discusses the Mediterranean city as a model of this concept, highlighting its dense yet porous structure. He showcases projects like the Masp in São Paulo and Ibirapuera Park, demonstrating how architecture can blend with nature. Furthermore, he explores incorporating voids into urban design, such as staircase voids in ancient European cities. Barbieri’s lecture raises questions about the limits of architecture and the design, the role of walls and boundaries, encouraging us to rethink traditional constraints.
In professor’s lecture Pepe Barbieri, the concept of limit in architecture is understood as a threshold, something perceptible and traversable, a dilated line in space that becomes a place. Taking up the Japanese concept of Kintsugi, the condition of fragmentation of contemporary cities, a sort of “archipelago city”, is recognized as something to be exalted, not to hope for a reconstruction of the parts to form a unity, but to give meaning to fragments present and related to each other. Therefore, attributing strategic importance to these “open wounds” is an indispensable premise for giving value to the horizontal fabric of the city. As the example of the city of Naples clearly shows, the limit is seen as something porous, permeable, like the stone with which the city was built, and an interrupted sequence of inside and outside. In the “space between” the idea of designing that space of relationships in which movement is possible, a “dance”, a vital place that gives meaning to things is pursued.
Architect Pepe Barbieri’s discourse delves into the intricate management of urban spaces and buildings, drawing inspiration from techniques found in paintings to craft dynamic environments. He advocates for architecture that breathes life into inert materials, transforming them into vibrant living spaces that engage and captivate. Barbieri’s concept of “speaking architecture” encourages viewers to connect with spaces through elements such as air-flow dynamics, transparency, and the interplay of light and shadow. By strategically placing architectural elements like staircases and porticos, he proposes creating perspectives and fluid movement within spaces, offering a sense of shelter and refuge. Additionally, he champions the preservation of fragments within the urban landscape, endorsing methods like Kintsugi to honor their significance. This discourse echoes the sentiment that architecture is not merely about structure but about evoking emotions and fostering connections within the built environment, a theme echoed in the exploration of love’s material manifestations within Berlin’s urban landscape.
Pepe Barbieri ci offre un ragionamento su disposizioni spaziali.
Costruire competenze è far in modo che l’architettura non risponda ad una domanda, ma che sia attivata da un percorso diverso, e che magari scaturisca una domanda non del tutto presente.
Il suo messaggio è aperto e maneggiabile, non una prescrizione da seguire, ma una forma di conoscenza una modalità interrogativa, un’individuazione del problema senza essere necessariamente la soluzione.
Si ragiona sul rapporto tra soggetto e oggetto, il primo diventa tale solo se in contatto con il secondo; oggetto e soggetto nascono insieme, di conseguenza, durante la lezione, si dà un senso al flusso di vuoto, e alla stratificazione e porosità che danno un senso tra gli spazi. Per sottolineare il suo pensiero, Barbieri cita Álvaro Siza, le grandi città del sud Italia e le tendenze di frammento trovate nella città vecchia di Roma da Piranesi.
I limiti sono individuati nelle soglie, che tuttavia, come ci insegnano le quinte di un teatro, hanno un loro utilità, un limite, per quanto debba essere attraversato, ha senso di esistere.
Due to some language barriers, I was not able to understand every topic in depth, but with the examples and keywords given, here are the parts I was able to understand: Barbieri illustrates how architecture can harmoniously blend with nature, enriching the urban landscape. He also explores the incorporation of voids, reminiscent of staircase voids in ancient European cities, into contemporary urban design, challenging traditional notions of boundaries and constraints. And he talked about how you can get an idea about the city by observing people. Inspired by the innovative design approaches of architects such as Álvaro Siza, Barbieri emphasizes the importance of creating meaningful places that resonate with the interconnected relationship between people and their environment. Envisioning cities as dynamic entities resembling archipelagos, Barbieri proposes a reassessment of urban design principles, emphasizing the dense yet porous nature of Mediterranean cities as exemplary models. The multilayered and porous horizontal thickness: letting the city breathe.
Ultimately, Barbieri’s lecture ignites a dialogue on the transformative potential of architecture in shaping communities and reimagining the limits of design.
The class was held in italian, so i wasn’t able to understand most of it. He was emphasising the importance of grasping the connection between individuals and their surroundings, seeing cities and people as interconnected entities.
Pepe Barbieri, the lecturer, began by outlining his theories on how to develop the skills necessary to adapt to new questions. And in line with his concept, it can be accomplished in four ways: looking for a new dialogue, breathing life into cities, using spatial devices, and creating future prototypes. And went over each topic one by one while providing examples of notable structures like the Centro Cultural in São Paulo, the Palazzo Strozza in Florence, and OMA’s concept for the Hoboken Station Redevelopment Plan. And after that he gave an explanation of what open, permeable acts in a city’s fabric create additional urbanity values. Which, in his words, provide shelter, breathe life into the streets, create generative urban voids to lift and cut, living on staircases, and stay in the thickness. The examples of Adolf Loos’ Villa Müller, the Gobierno Civil’s “scatole di vetro” delle logge, Brunelleschi’s porticos, MVRDV’s Markthall, Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos’ Mercat dels encants, and many more were mind-blowing.
Architect Pepe Barbieri’s lecture he showed the importance of managing urban fabrics from detailed studies and references. According to Barbieri, “speaking architecture” is the notion that an architectural form or design may convey and express thoughts, feelings, and cultural values. This idea highlights the idea that architecture is a form of language in and of itself, able to communicate meanings and messages to people who engage with it, rather than only a practical or artistic undertaking.
This approach encourages architects to consider the cultural, historical, and social contexts in which their buildings are situated, fostering a deeper connection between architecture and its environment. This might involve strategies such as mixed-use zoning, green building design, and the preservation of open spaces and natural habitats. The limit is viewed as something porous and permeable, like the stone used to build the city, and as an interrupted sequence of inside and outside, as the example of Naples clearly demonstrates. The goal of creating a “space between” is to create a relationship-rich environment that facilitates movement and serves as a crucial hub for meaning-giving.
Barbieri’s concept of “speaking architecture” underscores the importance of architectural design in addressing the complex and multifaceted challenges posed by contemporary urbanization, particularly in the context of territorial infrastructuring, suburban areas, and urban sprawl in medium and small-sized centers. By understanding and responding to these challenges through innovative design solutions, architects can contribute to the creation of more livable, resilient, and inclusive cities.
Using the Japanese concept of Kintsugi, the fragmentation of modern cities—a sort of “archipelago city”—is acknowledged as a phenomenon that should be elevated; the goal is to give meaning to the fragments that are already there and connected to one another rather than to envision a reconstruction of the parts to form a unity. Therefore, valuing the horizontal fabric of the city requires attaching strategic significance to these “open wounds.”
By understanding and responding to these challenges through innovative design solutions, architects can contribute to the creation of more livable, resilient, and inclusive cities.
What the professor emphasises from the outset is a personification of the object, considered as a tool to hold on to life. It constitutes the main actor of any kind of intervention. It is realised in function of the object, not for the purpose of it. The architect becomes a means to give life to an object, the object is not a passive figure but an active one within the process. At one point he says that “Only the relationship with the subject decrees what condition it is in” and compares it to Shroedinger’s cat because only once it is accomplished is its purpose actually determined, before it is uncertain. The architect is no longer just called upon to solve a need, he no longer just responds to a given question but modifies it or brings forth one that is not yet evident. His role becomes more challenging because he has to see beyond.
In fact, he then puts together several case studies where he highlights the relationship between fullness and emptiness and how this has its own active role within the architecture and is not simply an “absence of matter”.
The Professor Pepe Barbieri’s lecture was about one of the unresolved themes of contemporaneity: the detachment between bodies and things and the necessity of re-materializing. According to the architect, there is a need for a more vital and richer relationship between bodies and things, which seems to be disappearing in contemporary times. Thanks to several examples illustrated by the professor, we can understand how much it is important for architects to provide a greater number of opportunities not only to create places and objects, but spaces from which new possibilities can arise. The goal shouldn’t be to fulfill a need, but to express the desire for something, actively engaging in the transformation of the place. The entire conception of the relationship between transformation and authors must change to make sense of the multiple horizontal fabric of cities. The example of the fragmentation of “archipelagos” cities explains this concept well: we shouldn’t think of a collection of separate things, but a collection of islands interconnected.
Professor Pepe Barbieri’s lecture was about one of the unresolved themes of contemporaneity: the detachment between bodies and things and the necessity of re-materializing. According to the architect, there is a need for a more vital and richer relationship between bodies and things, which seems to be disappearing in contemporary times. Thanks to several examples illustrated by the professor, we can understand how much it is important for architects to provide a greater number of opportunities not only to create places and objects, but spaces from which new possibilities can arise. The goal shouldn’t be to fulfill a need, but to express the desire for something, actively engaging in the transformation of the place itself. The entire conception of the relationship between transformation and authors must change to make sense of the multiple horizontal fabric of cities. The example of the fragmentation of “archipelagos” cities explains this concept well: we shouldn’t think of a collection of separate things, but a collection of islands interconnected.
Professor Pepe Barbieri contends that architects should prioritize fulfilling desires over merely tackling practical issues. He highlights the importance of grasping the intricate connection between individuals and their surroundings, viewing cities and their inhabitants as an inseparable whole. He supports his viewpoint with examples like Alvaro Siza’s minimalist design strategy in addition to other instances showing cities that are dense but focus on permeability of the city, with the materials used to build. He showcases endeavors such as the Ibirapuera Park to illustrate how architecture can harmonize with the natural environment. Additionally, he explores the integration of voids into urban planning, drawing parallels with historic European cities’ staircase voids. Barbieri’s discourse prompts a critical examination of the boundaries of architecture and design. It raises questions about the significance of barriers, both physical and conceptual, and urges a reevaluation of traditional limitations.
The lecture was interesting, however it was entirely in Italian, therefore I mostly appreciated the case studies the Professor shared with us. Like the approach of Alvaro Siza for new way of designing. And some landscapes of European cities, how these new designs are integrated within the city, creating a new pattern, also inspired by different art forms.