Urban voids and building renewal in Boston, New York and Rome: urban fabric and process like tools for the project

In the second half of the 20th century, the rules of architectural composition suggested that projects should be based on abstract volumes, detached from structural considerations and calibrated according to statistical values. Such projects were vaguely orientated towards classical morphemes, then in the 1990s, more overtly towards formal abstractions where the building’s composition turned into a sort of gigantic sculptural feature with its own forceful expression – a self-standing artwork whichthat also happened to be used by people. The costs and the inadequacies of this approach to urban problems and modern architecture have recently demonstrated the limits of such a crudely formal practice. A closer examination, beyond the scope of this paper, would be useful for a design approach arising from an investigation into the intrinsic qualities and potential of materials; but; but, on this occasion, I’d like to try and summarise the research and opinions on the codified and recognised forms of urban patterns and building blocks undergoing a process of urban transformation; in particular regarding areas occupied by infrastructures or green spaces which, under the pressure of urban development, become voids located at focal points. This type of exploration has proved to be particularly useful for an architectural research project. Recently, maybe due to the crisis, doubts have emerged regarding the “sculptural composition” approach to architectural design, sometimes championed by politicians to convince people – but I would say to deceive them – that the dominant economic group has real managerial ability. There’s no doubt that the look of a building can produce strikingly significant effects (Guggenheim by F. Gehry, Auditorium by R. Piano,) especially when they are conceived as exceptions to the rule; but architecture, with a capital “A” to be seen in working class areas, must show itself to be in line with the characteristics of the inherited fabric, measured against the present and the language of modernity.