Constructed Environment Research Network

Spatial Choreography: Giancarlo De Carlo’s Use of the Percorso Narrativo in Collegio dell’Aquilone, University of Urbino

The link between dance and space, which is to say between dance and architecture, is of course, a metaphor. Space has been considered an integral and, occasionally, an almost palpable element of architecture at least since Borromini in the 1600s. More recently, following a trajectory set by Team X (later, Team 10), Giancarlo De Carlo noted that space and the organization of physical space is fundamental to architecture. Essentially, for De Carlo, space was inextricable from the concrete elements that define its boundaries and shape our occupation, gesture, and movement. In following the precedent set by Leon Battista Alberti, De Carlo modeled the space of a building and its organization after the city. Notably, his work for the University of Urbino became both a mirror and an extension of the urban fabric. Our experience of this spatial choreography, in a way similar to a Cubist painting or a film, is as a montage, assembled from moments garnered and remembered along the route, or percorso, through space. Architectural elements are never perceived as singular. They act in combinations, forming what amounts to spatial constellations. In the space between, this choreography comes into play, forming alternately, alliances or tensions. Both the architectural elements themselves and the geometry of their configuration, serve as references or mnemonics––bridging his interventions and the city of Urbino. The percorso is unified––its parts are gathered into a coherent whole––by a narrative structure that plays the decisive role in the choreography. For De Carlo, the larger narrative or discourse is integral to social space and a necessary reflection of the city. This paper traces the development of the percorso as a geometric organizing structure in De Carlo’s buildings at the residential campus of the University Urbino, specifically addressing the Collegio dell’Aquilone (1973–1983). The greater purpose is to present a case for understanding choreography as a critical tool in De Carlo’s design process of reading the territory.

This paper, Spatial Choreography: Giancarlo De Carlo’s use of the Percorso Narrativo in Collegio dell’Aquilone, university of Urbino, examines the architecture of space––focusing on the percorso as a geometric organizing structure in De Carlo’s Collegio dell’Aquilone (1973–1983) at the residential campus of the University Urbino. Its goal is to present a case for understanding choreography as a critical tool in De Carlo’s design process of “reading the territory”. It is the result of a long-term and on-going examination into the design processes and architecture of Giancarlo De Carlo. I believe that the importance of a deeper reading of De Carlo’s work is especially vital today. The wider architectural polemic, and even educational pedagogy, is being reshaped as we negotiate the complexities of new and sustainable approaches––approaches that consider both the intensely local and the broader global contexts of design practice. De Carlo’s search for an “authentic architecture” lead to a situated modernism that is rooted in place, encompassing historical and natural forms, patterns of inhabitation, cultural identity, sociopolitical practice, and collective memory. I believe that these form a fabric that is inextricable from the notion of sustainable design. His analytical and research-driven participatory design practice of “reading the territory” remains the mantra for leading architectural practices and educational approaches throughout Europe. Despite his influential practice, his extensive publications, including the journal Spazio e Society, and his directorship of International Laboratory of Architecture and Urban Design (ILAUD)––all of which have formed a fertile matrix for subsequent architectural practices––De Carlo remains on the fringes of the architectural discourse in the United States.

Since 2013, I have been focusing my scholarship on De Carlo’s architecture––specifically, examining his built work in Urbino––to advance a greater understanding and to codify lessons that can be learned from a deeper reading of his work. It is not enough to look at his architecture as a scattering of images or to consider his buildings as objects. We need a more substantive foundation from which we may embody the lessons and carry them forward. My efforts and publications on De Carlo have been contributing to an international discourse and have been recognized for advancing a deeper reading of his approach to design that has been informed by forays into anthropology, literature, historical knowledge, experience, design processes, as well as conversations with architects who have worked with and been influenced by De Carlo. In addition to publishing my findings, I have been able to incorporate these lessons and design practices into my teaching––from the holistic structure of our Study Abroad Program in Urbino to the design courses that I teach in San Antonio, Texas. I am currently organizing my writings on De Carlo into an outline proposal for a future book publication.

—Mark Bilzard