Home

Search People, Research Interests and Universities

Log In

The Form of the Discourse: A Contextual Hermeneutic of Vittorio Gregotti's "Territory" more
by Maura Lucking

Lucking

TheFormoftheDiscourse:AContextualHermeneuticofVittorioGregottisTerritory

Inthecontextofcontemporaryarchitecturaldiscourse,carefulhermeneutical

attentiontothesignificanceandsignificationofthevariousapparatusofthebuilt
environmentarethestatusquo.Rarelyisaplacejustaplace,ratheritisaHeideggerian
place-form,oraspaceindicativeofHenriLefebvressocialmethodologyofproduction.

Download (.pdf)

Cumbersomeandminuteasthesedistinctionsmayseem,theyformthenecessaryframeof
Lucking_Gregotti.pdf

referenceformeaningfulcriticalanalysis.Andyet,amongstthemanyover-loadedphrases
ofarchitecturalhistoriography,thenotionofterritoryremainstobefullyintellectually
unpacked.Sooften,thetermissimplytakenforgrantedasaplaceholderforthepolitical
andbellicoseconnotationsoflandorganization,awordtobefilledandthenemptiedagain
attheauthorsdiscretion.Butisitpossiblethatthisnebulousconceptcarrieswithit
implicationsnolongerfullyunderstoodorevenapparenttothecasualuser?

ItalianarchitectandtheoristVittorioGregottitookupthetermwithcalculated

purposeinthemidnineteen-sixtiesinordertopositanexpanded,networkedrelationship
betweenescalatinghumansettlementandthemultifacetedlandscapeinpostwarItaly.
Whilethehistoricalimplicationsofhiswordchoiceandmanyofitsdevelopmentalfactors
areuniquelysituatedinanItalianspatiotemporalcontext,Gregottisaffinityforcritical
theory(particularlyphenomenological,structuralistandanthropologicalmodels)isevident
inthemannerinwhichhedevelopshisargumentforadeeperengagementwithwhathe
referstoastheanthropogeographicalenvironmentthrougharchitecturalintervention.
Yetdespitethisapparentengagementwithinternationalintellectualdiscourses,muchof
thisprevalentItalianneo-rationalistphilosophywascategorizedasinsularandofmarginal
influenceabroad,theresultofwhichbeingthatGregottisseminal1966bookonthetopic,Il

Lucking

territoriodellarchitettura, remainsun-translatedinitsentirety.1Dueperhaps,inpart,to

9.67 MB

territoriodellarchitettura, remainsun-translatedinitsentirety.1Dueperhaps,inpart,to
theItalianturnawayfromtheInternationalStyleaestheticofglassandsteelsignificantly
earlierthanlatemoderncriticalevaluationabroad,theItaliansreintegrationofhistorical
typesandbuildingtechniqueswasseenabroadatthetimeassomewhatprovincial.
Gregottihimselfprescientlysurmisedthatthereevaluationofhistorysetsusoppositea
dilemma:eitherweshallreapthecivicpromiseitofferstous,celebratingitforourfellows
andaffectingthemorweshallbecondemnedtotheterriblesilenceofaprivate
perfection.2

Despitethisrelativeinaccessibility,Gregottisargumentisembodiedasasynoptic

andintelligibleargumentspanningasignificantperiodofhiseditorialcareerthrough
excerptedtranslationsfromIlterritoriodellarchitettura andvariousperiodicals,including
Casabella,Rassegna,EdiliziaModernaandtheBritishArchitecturalDesign.Theissueof
territorymorebroadlyhastakenonnewintellectualandpragmatictopicalityinrecent
yearsinbothpoliticalandenvironmentalcontexts,asspecialissuesofarchitecturaljournals
anduniversityresearchclusterstakeonthesignificanceofterritoryinthetwenty-first
century.ThispaperassemblesGregottisnotionofterritorythroughitsvariedintellectual
incarnationsandattemptstosituateitinthenationalandglobalcontextsoflatemodern
architectural,environmentalandsociopoliticaldiscoursesinthehopesofproviding
contemporaryscholarshipwitharicherlineageofterritoryanditsimplicationsthrough
other,typicallyunassociatedintellectualmovements.Beyondtheworksglobalscope,
Gregottiswritingscomeintoclearerfocusasaradicallydifferentunderstandingoftheterm

1Note,forexample,JorgeOtero-PailosintroductionofGregottismentorErnestoRogers

contributionstoearlyEuropeanphenomenologicalwritingsonthebuiltenvironmentinthe
introductionto ArchitecturesHistoricalTurn,thendecisiontoomitRogersfromtheprimarybody of
thetextbecauseofthelimitedinfluenceofthesewritingsabroad.JorgeOtero-Pailos, Architectures
HistoricalTurn:PhenomenologyandtheRiseofthePost-Modern(Minneapolis,MN:Universityof
MinnesotaPress,2010), xxiv-xxv.
2VittorioGregotti,quotedinJosephRykwert,ArchitecturalNarratives, VittorioGregottiand
Associates(NewYork:Rizzoli,1995),13.

Lucking

thanthoseemergentincontemporarypoliticaltheory.3Ratherthananagentofaggression
fromanoppressivepower,Gregottisterritoryaddressesthemodernparadigmof
homelessnessbyadvocatingthatarchitectsreclaimandbearwitnesstothehistoryof
landscapeinatrans-temporalattempttobindadisplacedpeopletoaterritory,independent
ofnationorhomeland.

TherecenthistoryofItalianpoliticsandculturebore,ofcourse,asignificantbearing

onthecountrysarchitecturalattitudesinthepostwaryears.Gregottisown1968book,
NewDirectionsinItalianArchitecture ,situatesthecountrysartisticfactionswithintheir

politicalaffiliationsandmusesintheintroductionontheusefulnessofahistoryofItalian
architecturalcrisisonaninternationallevel.4HeisanevidentfollowerofHegelian
dialecticalhistory,ashenotestheconstantstruggletosynthesizemodernityinItalywithits
fluctuatinghistoricaltraditionsandthestateofbasicambiguityofmuchofcontemporary
Italianarchitecture,boththroughcomplexityofmeaningasmuchasthroughthe
unsuccessfulsolutionofproblems,resultantfromafaileddialecticbetweenutopiaand
reality.Politically,thismanifestsintheFascistgovernmentstangledconnectionswiththe
Rationalistmovement.GregottiidentifiesthedeathofarchitectEdoardoPeriscoin1936as
aturningpointinthedivorcebetweentheideologyofthemodernmovementinItalyand
thepurelyaestheticsymbolismofRationalistcollectiveGrupo7thatwouldbeusedto
supporttheFascistpopulistagendaathomeandabroad.5

Thisculturalassociationofmodernismwithpoliticalauthoritarianismlingeredlong

afterthewarthroughanaversiontotheInternationalStyleaestheticand,morerelevantly

3OfwhichMichelFoucaults Security,Territory,Population(NewYork:PallgraveMacmillan,1988)is

perhapsthemostubiquitous.Foucaultdraws,however,onHannahArendtsnotionsofoccupiedand
diasporicterritoriesinWeRefugeesandotherscollectedin TheJewishWritings(Berlin:Shocken,
2007)andtheconceptpersistsinGiorgioAgambenswork,includinghisrecentcollectionofessays
onpoliticaltheory,SovereigntyandLife(SanFrancisco,StanfordUniversityPress,2007).
4VittorioGregotti,NewDirectionsinItalianArchitecture,trans.GiusseppinaSalvadori(London/New
York:StudioVista/GeorgeBraziller,1968).
5Ibid,24-26.

Job Board

About

Mission

Press

Blog

Stories

We're hiring engineers!

Academia 2014

FAQ

Terms

Privacy

Copyright

Send us Feedback