I took advantage of the day FAI (thank you!) of springto visit the house of ArmsbyLuigi Moretti at the Foro Italico, like so many others waiting for the last entry.
It is not the first time that I talk about it, I had already done in Architectureof the twentieth century, but it can not be otherwise, given the importance and beauty of this iconic building of Italian rationalist architecture, which has remained inaccessible for too long time after have been looted, upset and abandoned.
It is not the first time that I talk about it, I had already done in Architectureof the twentieth century, but it can not be otherwise, given the importance and beauty of this iconic building of Italian rationalist architecture, which has remained inaccessible for too long time after have been looted, upset and abandoned.
 |
| Imagesfrom Luigi Moretti's archivesince 2000 partof the State Archives |
It 's alwaysbeen for mea point of reference, since the timesof the universityso much so that for one design examI wanted to"copy" itat all costs, especially resumingfacade designedby the horizontalityof the elements instoneand the professor(the bestI met!), who was at least thirty yearsolder than me,looked at mewith a smileas if to saythatI was reallyout of fashiontocopyMorettiwhenthere werearoundEisenmann, Gehry, Hadid and Holl, Nouvel etc.... Who knows whathe’dsay todaythat almost everyyear we can buy a new book on Moretti(maybe it’s anexaggeration)and there is acrowd waitingto see hishouseof Arms.
Furthermore I have been able, in the middle of post-modern epoch, when a museum must be designed necessarily in Stirling style, to remain in doubt until the last if "copying" Mies in Berlin or Le Corbusier in Tokyo and at the end I chose the first for obvious superiority(!)
The house of arms today has beenpartiallybrought backat the origin, as meaning that ithas been releasedto theview by removingthe safety equipments addedon the north side for theaccess to the room. The restorationhas not yet beencompletedandit is impossible notto notice theobviousdistortioncreatedby wallingat the ground floorof the very elegant connection elementbetween the twomain volumes.
The buildingis soperfectin hislines to seem at first sightand from far amodelor, to put itmore contemporary, a displayingon the computer,butwhen you approachit you can capturevery wellits materiality, isfullycladin stone,andthehorizontaldimensionof the facade, which from a distance lookscomposed ofthin bandsof stone,assumesthe right proportions.
Another thing thatmakes the buildingeven more beautifulandmore abstractis the"natural"framewhereit is placedagainst the backdropof theverdantslopes of Monte Mario, sothat stayingin thegreat hall of thefencingand looking throughopeningsto the northwith the right perspective(to avoid the new"bowl"of thecourt), it seems to be inthe middle of apark.
[...] Moretti appears on the scene of the Foro Italico as a designer in 1933 with some smaller projects, but it is quite probable that had inpectore - even as Plinio Marconi says - this major project since that date.The same Enrico Del Debbio, until then responsible for the work of the Foro, is surprised and forced to change his 'guest quarters' by the dislocation imposed at the scene bythe building of Moretti; more than just one building, the house of arms is in fact a kind of plot built, and is like a strategiccornerstone. The great armory and the most complex multifunctional building that joins with the head and a kind of suspended arm raised, are totally separate buildings, connected only stylistically; but the great emphasis placed by Moretti network built platforms and pathways at multiple levels suggests to seize the two terraces of connection is not in their frail physicality, intentionally accentuated by aerodynamic shapes. The terraces materialize shares of Use main identical, the two functional parts: the high platforms, from which you view the world.(Carlo Severati)
In confirmation of how strong has been the impact of Moretti's building, you just need to see the pictures of the Guest Houses south of Del Debbio as it was originally, as well documented in the publication Enrico Del Debbio Architect - The measure of modernity, from which I extracted the images, the text in italics below and the information about the building.
In 1932 the building was built just to the river, with the language already used in the Academy of Physical Education: a long architectural body, bass and articulate, covered in plaster red-brown with a thin base and white marble architectural elements.
Five years later he built the nearby House of weapons of Luigi Moretti, a composition of two volumes of pure L-clad entirely in white marble.
To return to all the same homogeneity Debbio radical changes to its building design, proposing an adjustment in both volumes (with the raising of a plan, the demolition of part of the head, the simplification of facades) and external image with a complete coating of white marble.
Actuallylooking at theoriginal photosit seems to methatthe Lodgewasmuch more beautifuland proportionatein the originallower-washed redandbrownwithwhite marbleelementsas the buildingof the Academy ofPhysical Education.
Theuniform coatingmarbleithasa littletrivialized, especially in comparisonwiththemore elegant andproportionate "near"andthe elevation of aplanhas deniedthatthehorizontalmomentumthatgave strengthto its length.
The buildingis stillanother goodexample of rationalist architecture, even in its revised version, and as the nearbyhouseof arms,without aproperfunction.
Theuniform coatingmarbleithasa littletrivialized, especially in comparisonwiththemore elegant andproportionate "near"andthe elevation of aplanhas deniedthatthehorizontalmomentumthatgave strengthto its length.
The buildingis stillanother goodexample of rationalist architecture, even in its revised version, and as the nearbyhouseof arms,without aproperfunction.