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architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
, Rationalism is an architectural current which mostly developed from Italy in the 1920s and 1930s.
Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
had claimed in his work ''
De architectura (''On architecture'', published as ''Ten Books on Architecture'') is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide f ...
'' that architecture is a science that can be comprehended rationally. The formulation was taken up and further developed in the architectural treatises of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. Eighteenth-century progressive art theory opposed the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
use of illusionism with the classic beauty of truth and reason. Twentieth-century Rationalism derived less from a special, unified theoretical work than from a common belief that the most varied problems posed by the real world could be resolved by reason. In that respect, it represented a reaction to
Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...
and a contrast to
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
and
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
. The term ''Rationalism'' is commonly used to refer to the wider International Style.


Enlightenment rationalism

The name Rationalism is retroactively applied to a movement in architecture that came about during the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
(more specifically,
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
), arguing that architecture's intellectual base is primarily in science as opposed to reverence for and emulation of archaic traditions and beliefs. Rationalist architects, following the philosophy of
René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...
emphasized geometric forms and ideal proportions. The French
Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...
emerged in the mid-18th century with its roots in the waning interest of the Baroque period. The architectural notions of the time gravitated more and more to the belief that reason and natural forms are tied closely together, and that the rationality of science should serve as the basis for where structural members should be placed. Towards the end of the 18th century,
Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand (Paris, 18 September 1760 – Thiais, 31 December 1834) was a French author, teacher and architect. He was an important figure in Neoclassicism, and his system of design using simple modular elements anticipated modern ...
, a teacher at the influential École Polytechnique in Paris at the time, argued that architecture in its entirety was based in science. Other architectural theorists of the period who advanced rationalist ideas include Abbé Jean-Louis de Cordemoy (1631–1713), the Venetian Carlo Lodoli (1690–1761), Abbé
Marc-Antoine Laugier Marc-Antoine Laugier (Manosque, Provence, January 22, 1713 – Paris, April 5, 1769) was a Jesuit priest until 1755 than a Benedictine monk. He was one of the first architectural theorist. Laugier is best known for his ''Essay on Architectur ...
(1713–1769) and
Quatremère de Quincy Antoine-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy (21 October 1755 – 28 December 1849) was a French armchair archaeologist and architectural theorist, a Freemason, and an effective arts administrator and influential writer on art. Life Born in Paris ...
(1755–1849). The architecture of
Claude Nicholas Ledoux Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...
(1736–1806) and
Étienne-Louis Boullée Étienne-Louis Boullée (12 February 17284 February 1799) was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects. Life Born in Paris, he studied under Jacques-François Blondel, Germain Bof ...
(1728–1799) typify Enlightenment rationalism, with their use of pure geometric forms, including spheres, squares, and cylinders.


Structural rationalism

The term structural rationalism most often refers to a 19th-century French movement, usually associated with the theorists
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
and
Auguste Choisy Auguste Choisy (7 February 1841 – 18 September 1909) was a French architectural historian and author of ''Histoire de l'Architecture''. Biography Choisy was born in Vitry-le-François. He studied architecture in Paris at the École Polytechniq ...
. Viollet-le-Duc rejected the concept of an ideal architecture and instead saw architecture as a rational construction approach defined by the materials and purpose of the structure. The architect
Eugène Train Eugène Train (1832–1903) was a French architect who taught for many years at the École des Arts Décoratifs. He is known as an advocate of rationalist architecture, which he applied with large schools such as the Lycée Chaptal and Lycée V ...
was one of the most important practitioners of this school, particularly with his educational buildings such as the
Collège Chaptal In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
and Lycée Voltaire.


Early 20th-century rationalism

Architects such as
Henri Labrouste Pierre-François-Henri Labrouste () (11 May 1801 – 24 June 1875) was a French architect from the famous École des Beaux-Arts school of architecture. After a six-year stay in Rome, Labrouste established an architectural training worksh ...
and
Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...
incorporated the virtues of structural rationalism throughout the 19th century in their buildings. By the early 20th century, architects such as
Hendrik Petrus Berlage Hendrik Petrus Berlage (21 February 1856 – 12 August 1934) was a Dutch architect. He is considered one of the fathers of the architecture of the Amsterdam School. Life and work Hendrik Petrus Berlage, son of Nicolaas Willem Berlage and An ...
were exploring the idea that structure itself could create space without the need for decoration. This gave rise to
modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
, which further explored this concept. More specifically, the Soviet Modernist group
ASNOVA ASNOVA (russian: АСНОВА; abbreviation for russian: АСсоциация НОВых Архитекторов, ''Association of New Architects'') was an Avant-Garde architectural association in the Soviet Union, which was active in the 1920s ...
were known as 'the Rationalists'. Rational Architecture (Italian: ''Architettura razionale'') thrived in Italy from the 1920s to the 1940s, under the support and patronage of
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
’s
Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
regime. In 1926, a group of young architects –
Sebastiano Larco Sebastiano is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (1650–1724), Italian cardinal * Sebastiano Baggio (1913–1993), Italian clergyman * Sebastiano Bianchi (16th cent ...
,
Guido Frette Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The me ...
,
Carlo Enrico Rava Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...
,
Adalberto Libera Adalberto Libera (; 16 July 1903 – 17 March 1963) was one of the most representative architects of the Italian Modern movement.Adalberto Libera at DARC (Dept. of Architecture and Contemporary Art, Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage) Biog ...
,
Luigi Figini is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
,
Gino Pollini Gino Pollini (19 January 1903 in Rovereto – 25 January 1991 in Milan) was an Italian architect. Life Gino Pollini was born in Rovereto on January 19, 1903, to Luigi Pollini, a shopkeeper, and Teresa Miori Pollini. At the time of Pollini ...
, and
Giuseppe Terragni Giuseppe Terragni (; 18 April 1904 – 19 July 1943) was an Italian architect who worked primarily under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and pioneered the Italian modern movement under the rubric of Rationalism. His most famous work is the C ...
(1904–43) founded the so-called
Gruppo 7 Gruppo 7 was a group of Italian architects who wanted to reform architecture by the adoption of Rationalism. It was formed in 1926 by Luigi Figini, Guido Frette, Sebastiano Larco, Gino Pollini, Carlo Enrico Rava, Giuseppe Terragni and Ubaldo Castagn ...
, publishing their manifesto in the magazine ''Rassegna Italiana''. Their declared intent was to strike a middle ground between the classicism of the ''
Novecento Italiano Novecento Italiano () was an Italian artistic movement founded in Milan in 1922 to create an art based on the rhetoric of the fascism of Mussolini. History Novecento Italiano was founded by Anselmo Bucci (1887–1955), Leonardo Dudreville (1885 ...
'' movement and the industrially inspired architecture of
Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
. Their "note" declared: One of the first rationalist buildings was the
Palazzo Gualino The Palazzo Gualino is an office building in Turin, Italy built in 1928–30 for the entrepreneur Riccardo Gualino by the architects Gino Levi-Montalcini and Giuseppe Pagano. It is an important example of early Italian rationalist architecture. ...
in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, built for the financier
Riccardo Gualino Riccardo Gualino (25 March 1879 – 6 June 1964) was an Italian Business magnate and art collector. He was also a patron, and an important film producer. His first business empire was based on lumber from Eastern Europe and included forest concess ...
by the architects
Gino Levi-Montalcini Luigi "Gino" Levi-Montalcini (April 21, 1902 – November 29, 1974) was an Italian architect and designer. Biography Luigi Levi was born in Milan to Adamo Levi, an engineer from Turin, and Adele Montalcini, a painter. Like his sisters Anna (1905 ...
and
Giuseppe Pagano Giuseppe Pagano (20 August 1896 – 22 April 1945) was an Italian architect, notable for his involvement in the movement of rationalist architecture in Italy up to the end of the Second World War. He designed exhibitions, furniture and interiors ...
. Gruppo 7 mounted three exhibitions between 1926 and 1931, and the movement constituted itself as an official body, the Movimento Italiano per l'Architettura Razionale (MIAR), in 1930. Exemplary works include Giuseppe Terragni's
Casa del Fascio A ''casa del Fascio'', ''casa Littoria'', or ''casa del Littorio'' () was a building housing the local branch of the National Fascist Party and later the Republican Fascist Party under the regime of Italian Fascism, in Italy and its colonies. ...
in
Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
(1932–36), The Medaglia d'Oro room at the Italian Aeronautical Show in Milan (1934) by Pagano and
Marcello Nizzoli Marcello Nizzoli (; 1887 - 1969) was an Italian artist, architect, industrial and graphic designer. He was the chief designer for Olivetti for many years and was responsible notably for the iconic Lettera 22 portable typewriters in 1950. Wor ...
, and the Fascist Trades Union Building in
Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
(1938–43), designed by Cesare Cattaneo, Pietro Lingeri, Augusto Magnani, L. Origoni, and Mario Terragni. Pagano became editor of ''
Casabella ''Casabella'' is a monthly Italian architectural and product design magazine with a focus on modern, radical design and architecture. It includes interviews with the world's most prominent architects. History and profile Casabella was founded i ...
'' in 1933 together with Edoardo Persico. Pagano and Persico featured the work of the rationalists in the magazine, and its editorials urged the Italian state to adopt rationalism as its official style. The Rationalists enjoyed some official commissions from the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini, but the state tended to favor the more classically inspired work of the National Union of Architects. Architects associated with the movement collaborated on large official projects of the Mussolini regime, including the University of Rome (begun in 1932) and the
Esposizione Universale Roma EUR is a residential and business district in Rome, Italy, part of the Municipio IX. The area was originally chosen in the 1930s as the site for the 1942 World's Fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism, ...
(EUR) in the southern part of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
(begun in 1936). The EUR features monumental buildings, many of which evocative of ancient Roman architecture, but absent ornament, revealing strong geometric forms. In the 1950s in Italy, studies on rationalism and the methodology of science were developed in the twentieth century in particular by Gualtiero Galmanini, who left an imprint that was later followed by many, influencing the starchitects of his time.


Neo-rationalism

In the late 1960s, a new rationalist movement emerged in architecture, claiming inspiration from both the Enlightenment and early-20th-century rationalists. Like the earlier rationalists, the movement, known as the Tendenza, was centered in Italy. Practitioners include
Carlo Aymonino Carlo Aymonino (18 July 1926 – 3 July 2010) was an Italian architect and urban planner best known for the Monte Amiata housing complex in Milan. Early life Born in Rome, he studied at the University of Rome, obtaining his degree in 1950. In ...
(1926–2010),
Aldo Rossi Aldo Rossi (3 May 1931 – 4 September 1997) was an Italian architect and designer who achieved international recognition in four distinct areas: architectural theory, drawing and design and also product design. He was one of the leading exponen ...
(1931–97), and
Giorgio Grassi Giorgio Grassi (born 1935) is one of Italy's most important modern architects, and part of the so-called Italian rationalist school, also known as ''La Tendenza'', associated most famously with Carlo Aymonino and Aldo Rossi that emerged in Ital ...
. The Italian design magazine ''Casabella'' featured the work of these architects and theorists. The work of architectural historian
Manfredo Tafuri Manfredo Tafuri (Rome, 4 November 1935 – Venice, 23 February 1994) was an Italians, Italian Marxist architect, historian, theoretician, critic and academic. He was described by one commentator as the world's most important architectural histo ...
influenced the movement, and the
University Iuav of Venice A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
emerged as a center of the Tendenza after Tafuri became chair of Architecture History in 1968. A Tendenza exhibition was organized for the 1973
Milan Triennale The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy. History The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...
. Rossi's book ''L'architettura della città'', published in 1966, and translated into English as ''The Architecture of the City'' in 1982, explored several of the ideas that inform Neo-rationalism. In seeking to develop an understanding of the city beyond simple functionalism, Rossi revives the idea of
typology Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
, following from Quatremère de Quincy, as a method for understanding buildings, as well as the larger city. He also writes of the importance of monuments as expressions of the collective memory of the city, and the idea of place as an expression of both physical reality and history. Architects such as
Leon Krier Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
,
Maurice Culot Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor * Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...
, and
Demetri Porphyrios Demetri Porphyrios ( el, Δημήτρης Πορφυρίου; born 1949) is a Greece, Greek architect and author who practices architecture in London as principal of the firm Porphyrios Associates. In addition to his architectural practice and ...
took Rossi's ideas to their logical conclusion with a revival of Classical Architecture and Traditional Urbanism. Krier's witty critique of Modernism, often in the form of cartoons, and Porphyrios's well crafted philosophical arguments, such as "Classicism is not a Style", won over a small but talented group of architects to the classical point of view. Organizations such as the Traditional Architecture Group at the
RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...
, and the Institute of Classical Architecture attest to their growing number, but mask the Rationalist origins. In Germany,
Oswald Mathias Ungers Oswald Mathias Ungers (12 July 1926 – 30 September 2007) was a German architect and architectural theorist, known for his rationalist designs and the use of cubic forms. Among his notable projects are museums in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Colog ...
became the leading practitioner of German rationalism from the mid-1960s. Ungers influenced a younger generation of German architects, including
Hans Kollhoff Hans Kollhoff (born 18 September 1946 in Bad Lobenstein, Thuringia) is a German architect and professor. He is a representative of Postmodern and New Classical Architecture, as well as a protagonist of New Urbanism. Early life Kollhoff spent the ...
, Max Dudler, and Christoph Mäckler.


See also

*
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
*
Modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...
*
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
*
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...


References

* *


External links


"Rational architecture"
In John Walker's ''Glossary of art, architecture & design since 1945''.
"The Heroism of Rationalism?"
Hans van der Hijden, 2012 {{Archhistory Architectural theory 20th-century architectural styles