1 CRITICALITY
For Rogers, one of the most important aspects of being a modern architect was to exercise a critical understanding of, and a creative response to, reality and the challenges of artistic practice. The architect, according to Rogers, cannot be satisfied with just developing a good project, as professionally sound as it may be: there is a moral obligation to put her/his skills, creativity, and intelligence to good use for the advancement of the art, the meaningful shaping of the environment and the betterment of society.
The seeds for his notion of criticality were already planted in the young Rogers during his formative years at the Politecnico in Milan through the teachings of one of his professors, Ambrogio Annoni, not on modern architecture per seâwhich at that time was still struggling to make its way through the schoolâs conservative environmentâbut on preservation. While Rogers and his fellow classmates Banfi, Belgiojoso, and Peressutti did not learn muchâwith few exceptionsâfrom Politecnicoâs conservative, historicist faculty, essentially going through a self-directed education, sensitive to what was happening in Northern Europe in the 1920s, the teachings of Annoni had a lasting impact. What characterized Annoniâs theory about preservation was the so-called âcase-by-caseâ approach, whereby the architect has to exercise her/his best judgment, through rational method and artistic sensitivity, while tackling the problem at hand without preconceived ideas or ideological strategies about what and how to preserve. This was in stark contrast with the leading preservationist of the time, Rome-based Gustavo Giovannoni, who preached an ideologically rigid approach to the preservation of historic structures and urban organisms, in addition to an ideological opposition to modern architecture.1 For a case-by-case approach, which Rogers and his professional partners at BBPR followed later in their career when they were given commissions involving historic fabricsâbut also more in general for any projectâthe exercise of critical judgment was crucial. However, it had to be supported by a rigorous method of analysis, alternative options evaluations, and a creative process: a method similar to the one that was at the foundation of the Modern Project in architecture, as symbolized by Corbuâs famous dictum âArchitecture is a well-posed problem.â Architecture became a problem that could be rationally defined without preconceptions, critically evaluated through a rational method and creatively resolved as a critique to consolidated stereotypes.2
Rogersâ process of self-education included an intense study of the most advanced research going on at that time in France, Germany, Austria, and Russia, and among the many lessons that he learned from the pioneers of modern architecture was the critical mentality that would serve him and his partners well in their later career. As Rogers later observed, while interrogating himself about the common denominator of Corbuâs manifold research, geared at envisioningâbeyond stylistic formulasâwhole new dimensions and manifestations of modern living as critiques of consolidated cultural patterns,
Le Corbusierâs first act is a complete rejection of consolidated models, not only in terms of forms, but especially in terms of the contents that determine those forms. More than an inventor of original forms, he is an inventor of âworldsâ: the world of those who dwell, the world of those who co-habit within the city, the world of those who work in the countryside, the world of those who retreat to pray in a church or in a convent. The world, finally, of those who need care in a hospital.3
Beyond important figures within the field of architecture, recentâsuch as Loos, Van de Velde, Gropius, and Le Corbusierâand more distantâsuch as Leon Battista AlbertiâRogers also found inspiration to form his own critical sensibility in other protagonists of Italian culture and society, such as philosopher Enzo Paci and industrialist Adriano Olivetti.4 We shall discuss the relationship between Rogers and the former in a later chapter, but here we should dwell on the relationship with the latter, because it also relates to the BBPRâs first important âcriticalâ work.
The Valle dâAosta Master Plan
Enlightened capitalist, man of great culture, combining innovative business vision with a genuine humanitarian spirit, Adriano Olivetti belonged to the second generation of a legendary Italian industrial dynasty, initiated by Adrianoâs father, Camillo. Rogers, twenty-five, and Adriano Olivetti, thirty-three, met in TriesteâRogersâ hometown where he continued to return frequentlyâin 1934 to discuss a possible commission for the young firm of BBPRâjust graduated in 1932âand other Milanese professionals: a regional master plan for Italyâs north-westernmost region of Valle dâAosta. Olivettiâs factoryâat the time producing typewriters, based on Camilloâs notable 1930 M40 modelâwas located in Ivrea, a small town north-east of Turin, just at the foot of the Alps, and along the river Dora Baltea that runs from the Valle dâAosta to the south of the Po Valley. Olivetti understood that Ivreaâs potential for growth was also related to the growth of its hinterland, consisting mainly of the Valle dâAosta, hence his interest in launching a comprehensive regional plan for the economic and social development of that region.
Far and logistically secluded from the more developed areas of industrial Northern Italyânotably the industrial triangle of TurinâMilanâGenoaâthe mountainous territory of the Valle dâAosta was suffering from poverty, lack of economic development, and weak infrastructure. Nevertheless, the valley boasted spectacular natural environmentsâe.g., the Mont Blanc and the Cervino/Matterhorn mountainous groupsâthat needed only to be exploited for tourism. Olivetti had the vision to unlock the valleyâs untapped potential. However, he did not see just an opportunity for economic growth, as he also cultivated a genuine humanitarian concern for peopleâs living standards. Certainly influenced by his father Camilloâs inclination toward a moderate form of âsocialismââin addition to his own vague initial fascination with fascist âcorporativismâ5âAdriano had a vision for community development and a humane approach to industrial growth that benefited from architecture and urbanism. As Rogers recalled many years later in his passionate commemoration of his dear friend Adriano,6 the Valle dâAosta Master Plan, beyond its own value as a regional plan, was the embodiment of Olivettiâs philosophy: politics, social reform, economy, and urbanism converging together toward an idea of civic growth. In his foreword to the master plan document Il piano della Valle dâAosta, Olivetti outlined his clear vision: âThe plan wanted to show how, going beyond traditional and limited models, a modern state could change a region where there is a need of renewal and environmental recovery, to bring it back to its entire social and human dignity.â7
FIGURE 1.1 BBPR, Piano per la Valle dâAosta (1934â36), urban design plan for the city of Aosta by Banfi, Peressutti, and Rogers. Š BBPR, courtesy of Alberico Belgiojoso.
Completed in 1936âwhen it was exhibited at the IV Milan Triennaleâand officially and fully presented in 1937 in Rome, the plan, whose team included, as architects/planners, BBPR and already experienced and recognized professionals such as Piero Bottoni, Luigi Figini, and Gino Pollini, consisted of a massive set of 450 boards (150 x 50 cm) and five models. In its introductory part, the plan offered an analysis of natural assets, geography, history, demographic trends, economy, social characters, infrastructure, and tourism. The master plan also included more detailed plans for the Italian area of Mont Blancâby Figini and Polliniâthe Breuil Valleyâby Belgiojoso and Bottoniâthe city of Aosta and the tourist center at Pilaâboth by Banfi, Peressutti, and Rogersâand a new residential neighborhood in Ivreaâby Figini and Pollini. For each of these detailed plans, the urbanistic and architectural vision rested on a thorough analysis of geography, agricultural activities, land-ownership, existing housing conditions, demographics, and economic strengths and weaknesses. One of the team members, Piero Bottoni, proudly considered the plan âthe most comprehensive regional plan developed so far in Italy and probably in the world.â8
As exemplified in the vision for Aosta by Banfi, Peressutti, and Rogers, the proposal advanced a critique of current conditions and development models, to suggest a new modern environment in a harmonic dialog with nature. The refined and balanced fabric of abstracted, modern volumes was tempered by a clear, though veiled and subtle, historical reference to Aostaâs Roman history, with the new stadium situated the way a Roman amphitheater would have been located in a typical Roman new town. The 3D urban design interpretation of a 2D larger planning strategy, aligned with the most advanced experimentations by Corbu and other Northern European architects and planners, was also a critique of traditional disciplinary tools and modes of operation.
Rationalism of the 1930s
The critical approach that BBPR manifested in the Valle dâAosta large-scale planning work was also taken for their initial architectural design challenges. BBPR fully engaged in the fervor of urban renewal and new construction pursued by the fascist regime, taking a political alignment with the Fascist National Party that Rogers and all the others, in hindsight, deeply regretted. Rogers did not shrink to comment on various occasions about the mistake they made, along with many other artists and architectsânamely, the most distinguished of all, Giuseppe Terragniâwho had embraced the fascist ideology. Rogers recalled that âthrough egocentrism, we posited absurd syllogisms, such as the one that went: Fascism is a revolution, our art is revolutionary, therefore Fascism will have to adopt our art.â9 In fairness, the fascist regime maintained a rather ambiguous position toward cultural and artistic movements, mostly encouraging rhetoric and monumental revivalsâand increasingly so through the yearsâbut also supporting modern experimentations, such as in the fortunate case of the competition for the new railway station in Florence (1932), won by Giovanni Michelucciâs team. As Palmiro Togliatti, who eventually became the post-Second World War leader of the Italian Communist Party, already noted in 1935:
What do we find in the Fascist ideology? Everything. It is an eclectic ideology ⌠an exasperated nationalist ideology ⌠[but also] fragments of social-democratic models ⌠organized [controlled] capitalism ⌠and from communism: planning, etc. The Fascist ideology contains a series of heterogeneous elements. We need to keep this in mind, because it allows us to understand what this ideology is functional for.10
This contextual extenuation notwithstanding, the painful mistake remains, especially when compared with the few artists and intellectuals, such as Edoardo Persico, who saw the real nature of the regime from its early years and instead maintained a firm and ethical stance of opposition.
In spite of their political blindness toward the fascist regime, BBPR continued to cultivate a working method that led them to grow a body of work that Bonfanti and Porta did not hesitate to call âcritical architecture.â11 Already in the mid-1930s, they took part in several national design competitions, the first important being the one in 1934 for the Palazzo del Littorio in Rome, the new headquarters of the Fascist National Party on via dei Fori Imperiali, in the midst of the archeological district of the Roman Fora. More than 100 teams participated, seventy-two were selected for a public exhibition, and twelve for a second phase of the contest. BBPR, with Figini and Pollini, and engineer Arturo Danussoâwho several years later would consult with BBPR for their landmark work, the Velasca Tower in Milanâdeveloped a project with a clearly modern vocabul...