Clare Melhuish

Lorenzo Ciccarelli

Italy and the UK experienced a radical re-organisation of urban space following the devastation of many towns and cities in the Second World War. The need to rebuild led to an intellectual and cultural exchange between a wave of talented architects, urbanists and architectural historians in the two countries. Post-war Architecture Between Italy and the UK studies this exchange, exploring how the connections and mutual influences contributed to the formation of a distinctive stance towards Internationalism, notwithstanding the countries’ contrasting geographic and climatic conditions, levels of economic and industrial development, and social structures. Topics discussed in the volume include the influence of Italian historic town centres on British modernist and Brutalist architectural approaches to the design of housing and university campuses as public spaces; post-war planning concepts such as the precinct; the tensions between British critics and Italian architects that paved the way for British postmodernism; and the role of architectural education as a melting pot of mutual influence. It draws on a wealth of archival and original materials to present insights into the personal relationships, publications, exhibitions and events that provided the crucible for the dissemination of ideas and typologies across cultural borders. Offering new insights into the transcultural aspects of European architectural history in the post-war years, and its legacy, this volume is vital reading for architectural and urban historians, planners and students, as well as social historians of the European post-war period.

Exchanges and transcultural influences

Post-war Architecture between Italy and the UK

Renzo Piano is one of the world’s greatest living architects and creator of a host of iconic modern buildings, including the Pompidou in Paris, the Menil Collection in Texas, Kansai Airport in Japan, the Shard in London and the new Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Written and created in collaboration with the Piano Foundation in Genoa, this richly illustrated volume covers the early work as well as the most recent designs, making a complete survey of his career to date. Starting with his beginnings with the Pompidou Centre in the 1970s (in collaboration with Richard Rogers) the story continues up to construction of one of his latest works, a spectacular new bridge in Genoa in 2020. The book explores all of the studio’s main projects: the public spaces and museums, airports, theatres, and libraries. As well as giving unique insights into the creative process of Piano himself, the book includes numerous unpublished designs and photographs. In the process the book reveals Piano’s unique way of handling light and space, as well as his particular attention to the social implications of the profession of architect and the relationship of buildings to their urban environment and landscape.

Renzo Piano

Galileo Galilei

Dialogo di Galileo Galilei Linceo matematico supremo dello studio di Padova, e Pisa. ... Dove ne i congressi di quattro giornate si discorre sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano; ..

Lorenzo Ciccarelli

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