This will almost certainly be a multi-post series as the Architecture Biennale contains far too much for a short post and our short attention spans. In this first post, some background and general impressions, and a promise to follow up with more specific accounts of the installations, research stations and national pavilions. I first experienced the Biennale in 1985, and I remember seeing Aldo Rossi’s “Progetto Venezia” gateway and wandering …
A year ago this week I attended the last social event pre-pandemic, a vernissage of an exhibit of ceramics at my studio/gallery space. And then for a few days I lived in paranoia as it became clear that the Coronavirus was spreading at events like that. Thankfully no one took ill there, but for the next two months we watched the country, and the world change. Lockdown turned my vibrant …
As part of my teaching for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Rome Program in Architecture this year I have worked hard to bring as many voices as possible into the (virtual) classroom. My small group of students, working from home (in California for the most part) are already feeling isolated during these difficult times and listening to me for hours on end isn’t going to solve that. I have …
For my readers in Rome (at least those with Italian language skills and architectural interests): come to the talk by Piero Sartogo this Friday 17 May 4:00 pm at the Sapienza University Architecture Department, Aula Bruno Zevi.
On Sunday I went out on my bike with the intention of filling some pages in a little sketchbook, pages that have been empty for too long. Somehow I found myself leaving Italy to enter Vatican City, inside St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time in years. I live less than a mile from Pope Francis but it is rare that I drop in on his little nation. The few …
Join our small group (no more than six), off-the-beaten-track workshops. Hands-on experience working with maps and measurements, timelines and time travel. The geographic area we cover is between Castel Sant’Angelo and Piazza Navona The historic periods run from the Etruscans to today’s Romans. These walks are carefully choreographed but, as Rome is unpredictable, they are also inevitably improvisational. Signing up for the Studio Rome workshop unlocks a whole world of …
A short video I made to document the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.
One of a short series of architectural videos looking at some of Rome’s hidden treasures. This video is about San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura, one of the churches built by Constantine outside the walls.
Reflecting, after the earthquake in Central Italy, about the country’s ecological risks Shortly after the 2009 earthquake in l’Aquila I was invited to attend a meeting of the Commissione Nazionale Grandi Rischi, part of Italy’s civil protection organization. The subject was calamities, whether environmental or anthropic, and how to prepare and respond. My take-away from this meeting was that the four phases of calamities are quite clear but our memories are short and …