Phenomena of Relations

Edito r

Collyright lnfo rmatiou

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And"u' C. Croufflan
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Ooc.:d Kr1Jld~fIler

C 1955 H alker.-1rtCenttr

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and Mouachtuetu
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Poola loca cei
u.rcan O'HerliJIy
Cuue Horiri
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Within The City

Phenomena of Relations

Steven Holl

Design Quarterly 139

Contents

Introdu ction

Space/ Parallax/ Perspective

Serni-Automatic Programming
Correlational Charts
Matter/Tactiliry

20

Case Study

Porta Viuoria, Milan

Introduction

4 5

The beginning driJts off.

tite end oanishes.
Ther e is nei ier start nor finish;
I am in tire pause,
1 neith er end nor begin,
whatl soy ...
the city in iu circular [ever
repeats and repeau.
Octavio Paz
In the middle 01 this phrase ...
New York Ciry, 4 October '987,

10

prn :

Walk ing clow n Seco nd Avenue, 1looked up

astonished b y a huge projection of white

light . Cast onto the underside of a lo", cloud
canopy over th e city, the lum inous
parallelogram hovered dir ect ly above a
skyscra per on 53rd Srreet. Th e frozen plan e
of white light defined a space betw een the

bottom of the clouds and the building tops

sr

Rising f rom a ce .... fa

the l urface

of th c ciry. Sud denly a lower n yin g puff of

clouds blew through thi s space, ces ting a
free-form sha dow across the white
pa rall clogram .
The new urban space of thi s incid ent
is only one among a ph enomen a of relati on s.
Time, matter, space a nd light iruerm esh
with the activities of a modero city forcing
us to reconsider assumptions o urb an
plannin g.
Large modero cities cha racte ristical ly
are composed of isolated buildings
cnveloped in resid ua l space. To reorder and
creare urban space, we must go heyond
maximiz ing fl oor-area ratio s or building on
the lost lines of a ciry grid. Plan imetric
orga niza uon is insufficient in a ciry of tal l
bui ldings. Spa tial percep tion and
development in an urban set ting req uire a
three-dimensiona l, sec riona l a pproach that
gives primar)' importance to the views of
perambularing res ide nte who traverse
shifting ground planes , experienc mg thc ciry
from m ultiple fram es of referen ce. In this
way , new volume tr ic spe ue l compositio ns
ca n be project ed , even ir the current

poli rical -econ omi c hegem on v of la nd

specula tion forestalls the search for a
broad er view.
T he underd eveloped periphery of the
cer ner city ca n provid e sites for the symhesis
of these new spa tia l com posiuons. Berwecn
the center ciry a nd the coun rrysi de a n
intensified urb en realm will spri ug up, e
cohe rent mediato r between the extremes of
the metrop olis a nd th e ag ra ria n plain .
lndiscrimine te consumprion by
speculative development syste ma tica lly
defaces the landsca pes of Europe and
Americe . Not dense enough to be urban, not
ope n enough to preserve the rural , sprawl
conf lates ciry a nd lnndsca pe into a thin
homogenei ry. Ye r what remains of th e
wild ern ess mu st be preserved ; eg rarian
landhold ers sho uld be aided in their effons
ro rcsist the peuy encroachment of
speculators. ln the midd le zone berween
landscape und ci ty, there is hopo for a new
synthes is of ur ba n life a nd ur ban form o
lmensirv of experience in th e ciry is
eq uivalent to sereniry a nd silence in a Io rest.
BU[ur ban viralit y dependa 0 11 pro gramma tic
a nd spa tiu l inten sificarion. Progra mmauc
consciousness. essential to spatia l
com posirion, is crucial to ule q uality of
urban life. New programs an d new mod es
of organ iza lion inevita ble in an evolving
sociela l SLrUClUre mUSI find an eq uivalclll
substa ntia lity in urban fOrIn. Urba o space
a pproache d from lhe sim ullaneous
inl era cti on of prog ram, section, an d
material inte rre la tes to fonn a psyehologica l
field. From lhis slandpo illl, m e erea tio n o(
urb an space is a philosophical rd leclion .
The word less silence of a rchitec lura l
a nd urban fonn has a phi losop hicaJ
eq uiva lclll in pheno menology. Resisting the
la ngu age -based approach o( the
decon slrucli vists, its focu s is on the
experientinl. Per ccpli on a nd the se nscs a re
intertwin ed with the material, space a nd
light of urban form o

"Space/ Parallax/Perspecti ve"

d iscu sses motives fo r the conce ptio n of
urban space th roug h perspecrive a nd me
ove rlap ping of spa tia l and perceprual ficlds.
"Semi-Automa ric Programm ing"
a nem pts to speculate 0 0 th e ra nge of
program s that could inhabit a projected
urba n field.

"Correlational Charts" diegrams a

m nge of possibl e urban bu ilding secrions.
These a re chu rted as a form of secuo na l
invesrigation , for furth er explo ra tion.
Diverse releuouships of section here suggest
eq ua Jly di verse relati on ships o program o

"Metter/ Tactility" brings the au itude

of relati on ships dow n te the sce le of
ma terials a nd cons truc tion . Moving from
the macro : urban space, LO the micro: the
cons uucrion det ail ; we heve [um ped over
the sca le in which arc hi tect ura l order is
clea rly ser, i.e., the ind ivid ua l bui ldin g.
Thus th e u rle Phenomeno 01 Relations
cha racte rizes th is study as th oughts that
hover aroun d th e edges of architecrure;
tho ug hts that need th e precision o an
architecrural idea Io r activa tion.
A test of these ideas is seen in a project
conceived Ior th e Porta Vinoria sec tor on
the pe riphe ry of Milan . lni ria ted as pan
of th e Xvll Trien na Je of Mil n, it illusrrates
a speci fic investiga tion o( a ll ar ea 0 0 the
perimet er of t.hat. city.

6 7

Space/Parallax/Perspective

fig.

fig a

What is tak en into considera tion bv the

perceiver in studying th e spa tial field
between buildings?T he individu al buildin g
does not monopoliz e one's thoughts.
Conceru ra tion is on th e rela tionships
between buildings: th e terrain , th e
sky, light, axes of movement.
In a four or five story city, urban space
ca n be envisioned at the groun d plane in a
simple "figure-ground" plan . Urba n space
is reconciled to one hori zontal plane
(x-y space, fig. 1).
At a metropolit an scale, sections of
buildings are man y times grea ter than th e
dim ensione of plans. Urba n space is form ed
by vertical groupings, terrest rial shifts,
elongated slots of light, bri dges and vertical
peneua rions of a fixed horiz ontal.
Urba n space has a horizontal dim en sion tra nsformed by vertical rela tionships.
T he vertica l ("'z '" dim ensi n) is equa l to or
more imp ortant th an the horizon tal. T his
perp endicular spa ua l order is amplified by
a ran ge of sta tion poin ts from vario us levels
of the ground plan e (fig. 2). From the upper
floor s of a tower, a roof terrace, a subway
platforrn or an und erpass, urban perspective
in the "a" dim ensi n is exper ienced on a

shifting ground plane (fig. 3).

fig. 3

JI cmd IJ. IJ(m;,lIa:r

C. I'f:rlicu/ ~hifl

For a building lo be motionless is the

cx ception: our pleasure comesfrom mooing
about so as lo makc the building 11Iove in
tum, while we enjoy all these combinations
ofts parts. As theyoary ; the colw nn turne,
depths recede, ga Lleries glide: a thousand
VlSlOns escape. . .
Pau l Valrv

The Method o/ Leonardo

\'Ol/:.' B/a/:k

a~pho/t

dis(lPPfV'rs nnder a whlte

b/,,,,kel.
I1n eren g/o", al nig"t
bri~htenl areet

spoces

0",1 CO(lrtl. Soise is

dampelled

/O

o w /u'sper.

brokM on{l' bJ' Ihe

,),,:,uiollll/ rifl;in[/. o[ n
tire chaln , So" nd. fighl,
ami cuy: 'p'lCe are
p /",,,o,,,,,n,,/{l- C/"",!!"".
E''ef)'lIlOuflake lake, a

difiere'" for", .

T he exper ience of par allax-c-the cha nge in

the a rrange me nt of surfaces defining space
du e to the cha nge in position of a viewe r-c-is
tra nsforr ned when movemen t a xes lea ve
the horizon tal dimen sion o Vert ica l or
obliq ue direcu on s of movem eru throug h
urhan space mu ltiply its experience . Spatial
definition is orde red by a ng les of per cep ticn.
T hc edge s, conto urs a nd surfaces of
th e strucrures th a t define ur ban spaces
(redefi ned in parallax) must be considered
in terma of the phen omen on of light. Here
the idea of "Facade" is lOO limi tin g. T he
expe rience of curved urb an space gene rated
by the slight rotation of ind ivid ua l plan ar
faca des is inseparabl e from the pa r bola of
su nlighton its bo undary . T he movemen t of
sunlight exert s rela tiona l forces on epa ua l
definit ion that engage the body of a
stationary building. Forces of sun, sha dow
a nd the reflecriviry of material s im eract .
T he defi nition of city spaces a l night
dep ends on ellipses of projected light,
glowing glass facades, and the
tran sforma tion s ind uced by miSIS a nd rain .
A den se com plex o blocks cut by a ca nyo n
street by day is redefined by nigh t as
shimmer ing prisma oflight in a chia rosc uro
of sha dows. T'here a re asto nishing effects of
vapors of fog al nigh t when clo ud s of white
ligh t surround the to ps of liglued towers, or
golde n gauzelike ribb ons radiare into the
night sky. Beyond d rawing-b oard geometry,
the actu al spatial definition s of th e city
are interlocked in a web of reletionships
with movemcnt, parallax a nd light.

Til''''f! bod.

thf.

hJd.

tu-'u/in" th r oody. dl>#Ulf!

(lI'I"l'.''l'.,tq~Jonrord

T he prob lem of proposing urb an space

for a merropoli ran sector whose program
elem en rs, a rchi tectu ra l parts a nd social
aspects a re as yet unk nown (an d ma y
alw ays be in some sta te of flux ] leads US l O
propose beginning from a perspectiva!
experience of bounded space. The
disrri buuon oCelemenrs in a field with a
sense of enclosure is imagiued (mm th e
poin t oCview of me perceive r. Oblique
vertica l or hori zon tal axes of movement
alter mi s field of view a s it overla ps
with other fields . Instead of a pri ori plan s
projected la ter iruo perspecu ve drawings,
perspective views are mad e and cest
ba ckwards imo pla n fragmenta (fig. 4).
A point oCview, a poi nt oCexperience of
the urban 6eld , is reconciled to movem en ts
of the body and changes of pe rceprion .

Po teruia l alignmen ts, partial exposures, and

occuha rion of sugges tive eleme nts are a l1
implied in a perspe ctive view. Here me
a ppe ute of me field of visin invites tb e
pe rceiver l O invem . Th e nex t perspecuve
view is provoked by me preceding view:
spa u al perspecuve dra wings are not so
mu ch picto rial as th ey are indica uve of a
rout e complete with parallax. Cc nsider an
actua l experie nce in a mod ero city: rising
from a subway through a caviry ro an
un en closed surfa ce, me dom inant view may
conrinue up a tower; me head rihs beck ,
e ne ste ps forward and up, th e sense of space
ce nnot be ca prure d in a plan drawin g. Fro m
a fixed position, sin ing on th e temh f100r
lookin g o ut over a space aboye fou r story
buildi ngs surrounded by a rwenry story ser
o blank party walls, one is un a ware o th e
pla n dim en si n, or th e str eer space. An
invigor aring view o the contained urban
space high a boye th e str eet berween urba n
block s is a nim ated by shifting strips of
sunlight or birds flying dared evil betw een
obliq ue ga ps in buildings.
Envisioning urban spac e in perspecuva l
views assumes a perceiver inserted into a
cond ition meant ro suggest a nd involve the
imagin arion in envisioning whet lies
beyond . T he poir u of view of the perceiver
in a n ope n I ield is not f ixed . T he perceive r
has the a uthoriry to re-cemer. to isola te his
or her own visi n within th e orga niza rion
planned a nd expected. Rather th a n th e
esta blishment of a single center with a
symme trical hierarch y (as in fifteenth cem ury Europe), or reconcilia tion ro (he
lack of any Iocus in a chaos of f decentering"
{today's deco nstructivi srs], a re-cen tering
allows for proj ection Irom a cente r in
eac h ind ivid ua l. T he reare m ulliple centers
a nd multiple viewpoints in me urban 6eld.
A city sector is not mad e Cor a mass of
10 , 0 0 0 ; il is ma de for 10, 0 0 0 indi"i d ua l
souls. Each has the ea pa city to manifest a
spiril and in turo an imate th e psychologicaJ
field oCurban space.

10

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pJ!NI()"'l"n(/

/"nd/"nt:f'

ofro u ~~ + ~"~p'tU/Qn

H(llhl "( (m/ollomy

7711' u'lH'illa?X~IIn1nll
paJI Cf'nlrol " am I" Eql
F/"~/H'fJI

11

Serni-Automa tic Programming

Modem merropolitan life is charac terized by
programmati c flucrua rion : rurbulem shifts
in dem ographics, wobbling changes in
th e desires of resrless populations, and the
alternarion of local and regional political
wings. Even a t th e scele of a single building,
the inirial program bri ef is rypically shaken
up a nd reorganized during the planning
pr ocese. \l'hen a portien of program is taken
a wa y, the a rchitect is ofte n involved in
inven ring new programs to occupy th e
building enve lope.
In case of programmaric Iluctuarion,
thi s disquietude ca n be teken as an
edvantage. Is prograrrunatic indeterminacy
a disaster for an y architect who as pires to
a relati onship of form ro fun crion ? WiU th e
profu si n of m e deco rative skin a pp roae hwith its unrelated histo ricist pastiche-epreveil simply as a solution COI' imemal
indeten ninacy?
Let th e arc hitec t project spaees and
bu ildin gs wit h a conscious irnention of
pr ogrem mari c rich ness. T he pal pita rion of
the intemal funct ions in the large pr ojcct
un furl s again st an ope n thought procesa
of programma tic associarion. T he open
association of spa tia l sketc hes to prog ra m
suggcs uons (a ction images) is fertilized
by ga the ring a nd juxtaposing.
We would not call for a new disordered
a rchitecture to ma tch the diso rder of
culture; such d uplication echi eves no other
dimen sio n, but simply expresses an
a ffirmation of the cbao uc. Ra ther, we would
pr opose experime nta in search of new
orders, th e proj ection of new relati onships.
Thi s is not to transpose our stu dy imo a
sys tem or method, and yet m e energy
inherem in m e opening up of relationships
presems us with a contin uiry of orde ring
th at compela reflection .
Cons ide r the experience of ree ding a
co mprehens ive moming oewspaper. Here
is indica tion of an orde ring of life in sociery.
Perheps the Iollowing untenahle
juxtaposition should be paralIeled in urban

Ch,-ch, Ims a ball.

atw-uu1 h~r

,..tI

Enclmm.,.for

d~l~rt

~ldinf{

\ Ol~,

7an/u

lo lh~

Dialogicel Principle
u/ M'-khail 8 " kll/Ul . twu
0I'/JOSIlt'S ar'r h('ftI
tlJ8f'Ihf'r bul
7~/~~ Ih~

final

nJlUt"l

sludy

of

rrQl

opposf'd.

terms: besid e an anide describing a

billion-ton Iloaung island o ice with rwelve
research bu ildings that is d riting
e round the Iorth Pele , is a n a nide
on the construcrion oCa 24 COOl diam et er
water tunnel , and a piece on th e aus te rity
program of a religious cult. Nexr ro a column
on insomnia and the sleep moveme nt o
plams ia a huge d iag ram o the " Paci flc
Ri.m- trade nerwork, an article on Japanese
factories in Mexico , a nd a photograph oC a
hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole.
To prccisely rra nslete thoughts nnd
feelings spa rked by incredu lous
rela rionshi ps is as proble mmatic as
rranslaring an English word into a ll of
the world's 2796 langueges. Precision of
the ra rioua l gives way to inruition;
subj ecrive dimensio ns gro und physical
dimen sione.
Semi-a utoma tic programming
q uestions, compares a nd contemplares diverse combina tions without decisive claims
t O insrru mentaliry. Jts purpose is to ser one
to think .
A spa tial arrangemenl, a smell a nd a
mu sica l phrase may be imagined simulran cou sly. Dep end iug on th e ewa reness
a nd imaginauon of the perceiver, an
initi al visu al 6eld ca n provoke subjec t
matter , and imply programs. We co uld
speak oC the soun ds implied by an array of
brinle linear COnTI S, o r the way a view smells.
An individual 's cultura l associations,
rccogniuo n of material s a nd imagination of
th eir properti es, a nd the physiological
effects o space and enclosure all preser u
individuallimirauons.T he perce iver's an gle
o vi sion an d preconception is potentially
ope n lO tb e ad hesion of unforeseen
associ a uo ns. Rather than a llowing prejud ice
to be a primar-y subjective de te rmi nar u,
one eould induce program a ssocia uons by
heightening th e possible numbcr oC
pr ogram s ro occupy an urban setring.
lsola ted buildings of a single function .
the nOnTI of th e sub urban , are scerce in th e
compression of a ciry where abutmem a nd
connection oC buildings cause fun ct ions
lO iruersect . Various urban bu ildi ng
relat ion shi ps ca n be orga nized in en
a na lytica l chart suggesring correspond ing
prog ra mma tic relatio ns.

12

13

Correlaciona! Charts

Promu~' "'utIOlU

0".,

1top

\~

... lnd"
5 H l/hm

A table of t l.inks and Corr ela tions" suggests

classificetion: analyzing interrelarionships
of erch itectural form in the modern city. lf
the simple recons rirution of bistori c building
types is Irusrrated by rnodem urban
complexities, th e interrelati onal properties
of th ese co mplexities may be a wa y of
rethinking urban fonn and program o
Corre lations draw anemion toward
interd ependent cha racteristics in an urban
field . Diverse building secr ions and program
relauon s are a kind of prepo siuon al cha rt
suggesring me inrrinsic inrersection of
programs as a bond, fast ening or disjun cu ve
force . This analytical observari on differs
fundam ental ly Irom that of the typological
study of the ciry. Here the miner link is the
besis of a primary inter nal ord er (allowing
for prog rammatic flux). Overlapping ra ther
than separeted, funcuons inh abit hybrid
building forms. Th e relation berween thi ngs
is the focus, rathe r th an th e obj ect-rype. T he
zero point of such a relati on al chan is a
secuon at the surface of the earth. We begin
with the four prima ry rela tion ships: under
the earth, in the ea rth, on the earth, and
over the ear th . A second condition of
relation extends the analysis to the second
dcgree, and so on toward a correlauve cha rt.
Despite the regularity of this
nrrangement, each individual cross-product
has a diffe rcnt implication. Each diag ram
suggests a cond iuon thet, however, is too
vaguc to be identified immediarely . T o
be developed in anot her form, me condition
is sounded Ior its sectional implication s.
Vl hat is open, closed, connected or
detached directa rhe analysis and clarifies
a n implied programo

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Matterffactility
Th e space of a single room, like the vast
space of a ciry, is defined by juxt ap osiu ons
of man er. T he stuff of which something is
made has emotive qu alities. T he
transparency of a membran e, the chalky
dullness of a wall, the glossy reflecrion of
opaque glass a nd a beam of sunlight
int ermesh in recip roca ! rcla tionships,
formin g th e pa rticular phenomena of a
place. Civen a n architect ural idea, th e
rela uo nships of construction ma terials
imp ose a dim ension tha t penetrates
percepti on through mau er to ta ctili ty.
Mauer iruer lockin g with the perceiver's
scnses provides m e detai l tha t moves us
beyond acute sight to tacrility. From
linea rity, concavity an d tra nsparency to
hardness, elesucity a nd da mp ness,

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But this is a time of simulacru m, in

which most thin gs exist in order to represent
some thing else. Mind -numbing replicas
prolifera re. Profitable mis-direction of
human crea tivity has turned whut was mere
rep lica tion into a n intem al tr an spl enunion
of cultu ra l dim ensiona. On a dom estic
sca le, jerry-buil t houses wu h grotesque
facades sta nd as miserable imiuuions of
their more d ura ble models.
For the imagisr, simula rion is th e a im .
Wha t ca n be done with painted cardboard
or facsimile plastic is expedient to thc
desired view. Wide-an gle distortion of a
color-corrected ph otogra ph becomes th e
final synthesis of a n urchite ctura l proj ect.
Th e ma teri al a nd tacrile dime nsione of
a rchit ecture a re erased by th e color
photograph . Spat ial propor uon s distended
by tenses are now pla nned with the lens
as a n end . Uncritical e nd ambi tious, th e
imagist-ar chitect has allowed archi tectu re
to becomc simula tion, oblivious te
sensol1' esse nce.
If the imagist practices e n e rchite ctur e
of "concealment," resistan ce takcs
form in an ar chi tectu re of " revealin g."
Architecture of rnauer and tacu liry aims for

.6 17

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a " poecicsof revea ling " (Martin Heidegger).

"Reveali ng" require s a n inspi ra tion of
joinery. A sense of th e relauon of detail to
rnass estab Jishes a surface imensiry and
deli cacy from the micro lO the macro sca le.
Parallel to the emouve aspecr of pcetry- the
emorive side of huma n nature is ero used by
proportions and th e tacrile dimen sion o
Initial conce pt provides ..h e int ellectual
dimension that is given emotive form in
material a nd detail . T his relationshi p in 8
work establi shes an emo uonal rie, in a
psychological sense, lO the experience o(
a rchitectu ro. In a cultu ral sense, a decisive
affirmation, even at the smallest seale, can
bee r out un a rgument for a rchitecrure over
mere building [although this work is
ma rgina l in today's socie ry of simula riou).
T he link of perception th rough marter
10 the tecrile is taken up in an effort 10 creare
qualiues over quanriti es. Through an
awa reness of the necessity of eraft in
constru crion, we questio n the concepl of ou r
arlo In ancient Cr eece, nrt was fused with
the resks oClife. The word techne referred
simuhaneously 10 an, to a sense of
phil osophy, a nd to the skil ls of a craftsma n.

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Case Study
Porta Vittoria, Milan

20

21

Site
A Ireight rai l yard, now in disuse (pa rt o the old rai lroad belt aro und Miln}, bordered by
blocks or hou sing of differeru rypes, th e site Iron ts a nta " La rgo Marinai d'Italia, "
a ragged park on land reclaimed Irom a poultry and vegetable market.1t is in the nin eteenthcentury gridded portion of Miln , outside th e histori cal cerne r.

Program
The only fixed program is th e new " Passame" subwa y sta tion. which is th e ca talys t provoking
the rethinking o th e area. Other fun ctions lO be loce ted at the site include a bus sta tio n and
gar age Ior thiny bu ses; an air terminal sta rion from th e airpo rt of Linare (which ca n use
the Passante system for interconnecrion ): hotels: offices; a nd sorne housin g. The proposal
is also meant to provok e conside ra tio n of other pro gr am s for th e reclamation of thi s
metrcpolitan site.

Urban Stra tegy

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Fro m a dense cent er, Miln unfold s in circles rin ged by a patchw ork grid that fina lly spra wls
ragged ly into th e landscape. Aga inst this ccntrifuga l urban spra wl (from the dense corc to
the light perip hery } a reversal is proposed : ligh t and fine-grai ned toward the centerhea vy and volumerric towa rd th e perip hery . This proposa l proj ects a new out er rin g of dcnsity
and intensiry, adjoin ing the rolling gr een of a rccon stituted lan dsca pe.

Bite E lements
For the existing park, Largo Marin ai d' Italia, a giant pond is proposed to reconcile the park
with its nam e. T he Palazzina Liberty is restored as the Dario Fa Pavilion and is access ible
by rowboat only. A series of floating walkways connects a seaman's exhibition : residential
apartments hover over tin y objects: an Dar , 8 hom , a carving. Old sailors discuss th e artifacts
with pessing visitors; stories ar e the material o the floatin g exhibition.

,.I

Al the ed ge of th e pond is a large metron om elik e Mon ument to T oil, in mem ory o the
loading a nd unl oading of goods tha t once filled this site. As the slow movement of each pipe
beam reaches the end of a beat, a drop of water is emiued from its top oNear by, an aviary
housing two wbite claves juts out of the park, br inging light to an underground assemb lage.
Across Viale Umhria, in a Carden ofSo unds, the park infiltrates the ur ban area. Within
thegarden is a seasonal children's zoo whose animals requi re a variery of cages end enclosures
(the goat, the chicken, the cow, etc.}. Other Iiule program s are implied by the titles of var ious
ureas: The See-Saw, Fishing, The Picnic, The Water-chute, The Sleigh, La Commedia
Italiana, The Octopus, I-Iun ting, Fireworks, Bocci Ball.
To the south of the site is a large public Botanical Carden with gless-roofed forms in a
sprouting diversity paral1el to the vegetation within . Over the sIoping earthe n {loor of the
interior areureas for experimental botany , checker and chess ta bles and meeting table e.
Th ese are scatte red throughout the green density o the vegeta tion. On the ground of the
eastern portion is a dark ened hall contai ning a cinema that dissects its interior.T he pu blic
is exposed to back-p rojection 0 0 constructed objects, multiple separation and other
cinematic experimenta.

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ExiJling Porta Vit/oria me

01 Mi/mI

Sitl' wit h Subu'fIY Station by Commcne di Mila l/o

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Bounding me Botanical Carden is 8 large public fouruain that is negotiated via stone
steps and passages inrerwoven with cascades of water. T he fountain ope ns onto a long basin
Ior aqua tic activities an d barge-borne tbearrical events. Al tbe edge of this ope ning is a hotel
Ior unh appy lovers . The plan has no interior corri dors , ra ther all me rooms of the hotel are
set back -to-back . One large glass corridor belts the building. Al the top is a crooked
caf -louuge and a wiry rruss conta ining a Iootbridge l O a suspended cha pel. 011 the northeesr
porti en oCthe site a water cha nnel is Ilanked by rudimentary housing or the homeless.
earby, a public gymnesium is organi zed in a strip interwoven with spectator reas. To the
west is a school of the humaniries. hs cent ral block of lecrure rooms is banded by study
room towers; visiting professors live in the upper portions. From the main building, a walkway
connects to two wedge-sha ped interrelat ed workshop-studios. To the west a ram p cycles
through a two-pa rt correlating faciliry, leading upwer d into spaces more an d more re mete,
arr iving al a mechani cal roofto p sim ulating teleological suspensin.

If el1-Eo ll S ile- Section

EUII -Jrf'&/ Site Sectio..

Near Via F. Hezzonico is a sancruary of the muses filled with an cien t stone fragment e.
A modern cinema is inserted from the east. Th e puhl ic can move hack and forth from celluloid
simulation to stone materialiry.
Th e new suhway sta tion opens to the west onto an elongated ga p. Here the visitor passes
thro ugh several acu vities, rising throu gh an elliptical passage to the Carden of Sounds.
Bureau cret ic an d administra tive activities (formless and always in flux ) are given specific
urh an charac ter in a thin tower, a four-sided pentagon, a double-flux slab (whose section
can he altered} and large gulleries along the water basin. Th e three lobbies of these work
arees are connecred by a centra l neck -shap ed space.

Across Viale Muguello, to the east, larger progrnms fit into the existing city fabri c. T he
ai rpon connection stauon sits there; adjacent is the bus garage, housed below a public arena
and velodrom e.
Of these specific ideas, several might be realized, and yet the overall srra tegy and
intentio n depend s on noneof them. T hey serve only as examples for the figure in the land scape
of this ciry forwhich the unkn own is a source of optimism. To affirm the joy of me presenr,
to find lines of escape, to subvert en overall urban plan from within-c-via architecture-e-is
pan of projecting 811 open futu re as a source of freedom.

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