Abstract

Louis Kahn is often credited with having in his National Assembly in Dhaka (1962–1983) introduced modern architecture to Bangladesh. In fact at least as technologically advanced construction as any he employed was already in use there. Nor was he the first to use a sophisticated abstract esthetic in what was from 1947 to 1971 East Pakistan. The importance and originality of the National Assembly instead resides in the care with which he built in reinforced concrete and the forms into which he required that it be cast. These were esthetic decisions rooted in a particular theoretical position, they were located outside established modernist practice of the time in both South Asia and the United States. Indeed operating at such a great remove from home may have heightened Kahn’s authority to implement these forms even as it substantially complicated their execution.

Abstract

The framework of the Italian restoration doctrine is based on the reception and transmission of the memory of the past. However, interventions in modern architecture represent a radical drift in the sense that they mostly consist of reconstructions, refurbishments, and renovations. Such work disregards the sense of value acknowledgment that is implicit in architectural conservation and neglects the importance of material conservation. The uneven fortune of the School of Mathematics at Rome׳s University Campus illustrates this situation. This predicament is similar to that of many other modern buildings that have been declared “monuments” by mouth but are actually bent to listless and insensible use, mistreated, and hardly maintained. The recent work carried out at the School of Mathematics proves that interventions on modern buildings are mostly insensitive to their true significance and are often carried out in extreme urgency for mere practical reasons, if not for political opportunities. Modern buildings can be true architectural monuments that express great esthetic potentials and retain notable historical weight in the history of architecture, therefore, they should be regarded as highly representative of our recent past and maintained as such.

Abstract

tese trata da concepção e da implantação do Plano de Curitiba, no período de 1965a 1975. O marco inicial é a elaboração do Plano Preliminar de Urbanismo de Curitiba, um trabalho coordenado pelo arquiteto Jorge Wilheim e executado com a colaboração de uma equipe de arquitetos de Curitiba, grupo esse que dará origem ao Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano de Curitiba (IPPUC), em 1965. Os fatos urbanos resultantes do Plano de Curitiba revelam o desenho de uma estrutura urbana linear que conjuga transporte coletivo com uso do solo multifuncional. A estrutura urbana é tangencial ao centro da cidade, permitindo a transformação da Rua XV de Novembro em área de pedestres. O Plano de Curitiba é identificado como um processo sequencial e um trabalho coletivo, sendo que, para efeito de sistematização, o intervalo temporal é subdividido em dois períodos, notadamente: concepção (1965-1970), e implantação (1971-1975). Concomitante à investigação do Plano de Curitiba, também se objetiva pesquisar o desenvolvimento e as transformações do projeto urbano no após-Guerra, com especial interesse no ambiente intelectual e nos projetos de arquitetura e urbanismo no âmbito do Team 10. O método estipulado divide a pesquisa em duas partes, com investigação sobre a evolução e projeto da cidade moderna no após-Guerra, e a evolução e projeto da cidade de Curitiba, com o objetivo de relacioná-los. Concatenadas com o método, as amostras foram coletadas principalmente em dois arquivos de projetos, no Het Nieuwe Instituut, em Rotterdam - vinculado a uma pesquisa realizada na Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), na Holanda -, e no arquivo da Biblioteca IPPUC, em Curitiba. Como resultado, defende-se a hipótese do Plano de Curitiba como um desdobramento de outro moderno brasileiro. The thesis is about the conception and implantation of Curitiba\\'s Plan, from 1965 to1975. The initial milestone is the elaboration of Curitiba\\'s Urban Preliminary Plan, a study coordinated by architect Jorge Wilheim and executed with the collaboration from a team of architects from Curitiba, this group will later start the Institute of Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba (IPPUC), in 1965. The urban facts resulting from Curitiba\\'s Plan show the drawing of a linear urban structure, which joins a multifunctional land use with public transportation system. The urban structure is tangential to the city downtown, allowing the renewing of XV de Novembro Street to a pedestrian area. Curitiba\\'s Plan is identified as a sequential process and a group work, whereby, for a systematic organization the time gap is subdivided in two periods, notably: conception (1965-1970), and implantation (1971-1975). Simultaneous to the investigation of Curitiba\\'s Plan, also aims to research the development and changes of the urban design in the Post-War, with special interest in the intellectual environment and the architecture and urbanism projects in the Team 10 context. The stipulated method divides the research in two parts, with the investigation about the evolution and project of the modern city in the Post-War, and the evolution and project of the city of Curitiba, aiming to relate them. Correlated with the method, the samples were collected mainly from two archives of projects, at Het Nieuwe Instituut, in Rotterdam -related to a research done at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), in Holland -, and the archives from IPPUC Library, in Curitiba. As a result, the hypothesis of Curitiba\\'s Plan as an unfolding of another Brazilian Modern is defended.