“Sequences of Architectural Landscapes”: the Construction of Public Housing in the Early 1950s between Naples and Basilicata

Abstract

The article Sequences of architectural landscapes that opened the number 270 of the magazine "Domus" in 1952 - the director Ponti was in the jury of the competitions of INA Casa - focuses on an aspect of particular interest, that of the construction of the urban image related to the public housing, revealing, at that time, an attention to the quality of the relationship between houses and cities much more closely than one can imagine if one looks at the current de-qualification of the suburbs. It is at the crucial moment of the Reconstruction that the phase of reflection on the concept of townscape, developed by Cullen, begins, during which one questions the sense of the aesthetics of the buildings: the shared idea is that the urban landscape is the true bearer of harmony and "beauty" in the cities, as also verified by Giovenale on «Urbanistica», precisely in relation to public housing. Naples, in this sense, is at the forefront, following the example of Rome, but with originality and autonomy, while these convictions reach the most disadvantaged areas of Basilicata, as highlighted by Rogers. In the editorial on «Casabella» of 1959, he stimulates the comparison between what produced by the best architects and engineers of those years. That intent that is pursued here, on the basis of documentary acquisitions, highlighting that attempt to avoid the conformity of the urban environment, giving identity to the places.

Keywords

• storia della città
• case popolari
• paesaggio urbano
• napoli
• basilicata