Galata waterfont: models, types, and the morphology of meaning in architecture

“Ars simia natura” (Boccaccio, 1360) is a concept that has cut in two the history of the arts. Hence the modern figurative revolution the misunderstanding of this notion it has depleted architecture to a mere branch of the visual arts: architecture instead possesses its own compositional techniques and we consider here the dialectics between type and model in architectural composition as a metaphor outlining the elements of a design theory focused on meaning. The proposed theory founds itself on the transposition of Raffaele Panella’s teachings to the domain of Urban Morphology and adapting them for the purpose to achieve meaning in architecture. The contemporary project should accept any restraint imposed by the context, and fit within the processual evolution of the surrounding urban tissue, but by considering the collective memory it should also use recognisable elements to communicate, the design models (Carpenzano 1993). Every designer uses a model in his design activity, but not all are aware control of this creative process. The use of models in composition, not to be confused with the copy, belongs to an ancient school of thought, dating back to Aristotle, and feeding the history of architecture, all the way to the best tradition of modern architecture. We can find reference to the use of models in architectural composition in the design activity of “Gruppo Architettura” in the ‘60 in Italy and in the project for East Rome, designed by Raffale Panella, Costantino Dardi and Carlo Aymonino for the XV Milan Triennale in 1973 (Aymonino, Panella, Dardi, 1973).