A symbolic interpretation of six cities. From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
14/06/2020.
[Boston] USA
metalocus, NADIA GHELFI
metalocus, NADIA GHELFI
Italian architect Stefano Corbo and Chinese architec Qianyu Liu present From Geometry to Topology, an imaginative reading of six existing cities: Cairo, Rome, Beijing, Paris, New York and São Paulo.
These cities share the strong urban growth and the symbolic importance acquired over time. In parallel, they are metropolitan centers that have developed on distant structures and urban fabrics.
These cities share the strong urban growth and the symbolic importance acquired over time. In parallel, they are metropolitan centers that have developed on distant structures and urban fabrics.
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From geometry to topology by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
The research analyzes and reinterprets six cities examined according to two simultaneous tools: topology and appropriation which, unified, form a joint of combined and at the same time balanced entities.
On the one hand, the topology analysis allows us to read the spaces of the cities for their visible characteristics but also for their virtual possibility of transformation. On the other hand, appropriation allows us to recognize a dynamic common to all these cities: the presence of symbolic buildings with generative relevance.
On the one hand, the topology analysis allows us to read the spaces of the cities for their visible characteristics but also for their virtual possibility of transformation. On the other hand, appropriation allows us to recognize a dynamic common to all these cities: the presence of symbolic buildings with generative relevance.
From Geometry to Topology.
The assemblage of six cities.
by Stefano Corbo and Qianyu Liu
From Geometry to Topology is an imaginative reading of six existing cities: Cairo, Rome, Beijing, Paris, New York, and São Paulo. These cities – their morphology as well as their architectural specificities – are first analyzed and then re-interpreted via two main simultaneous tools: topology and appropriation.
Topology
The study of material conditions such as scale and proportions is counterbalanced by the obsessive application of multiple design techniques: fragmentation, collision, transplant, grafting, estrangement, etc. The polarity between these two different moments fabricates a reading of the urban space which is other, in the sense of a focus on topological conditions of adjacency and superposition. In other words, the same space of the city can be read for its visible and current characteristics, but also as a virtual possibility of transformation.
Appropriation
Similar to Andrea Palladio’s transposition of the Portico of the Pantheon into his Villa La Rotonda – where the act itself of transferring implies variations and contradictions – the six cities of this project are informed by a specific dynamic: iconic architectural episodes are repetitively manipulated and variedly applied to re-shape not only the current urban fabric of those cities, but also the figure-ground relationship. Among those architectures are the Mogamma Building in Cairo, the façade of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in Rome by Bernini, the perimeter of the so-called Forbidden City in Beijing, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Flatiron Building in New York, and Lina Bo Bardi’s Museum of Art in São Paulo. Those structures, once applied to the indeterminate ground of the city, cease to be simply architectures and turn into signs, or transformative patterns. Their relevance is not only historical; it becomes generative.
Outcome
In the Age of Hyperobjects, through topology and appropriation, these six cities constitute an assemblage: composite yet unified entities that, to quote Manuel DeLanda, “in addition to persons, include the material and symbolic artifacts: the architecture of the buildings that house them; the myriad different tools and machines used in offices, factories, and kitchens; the various sources of food, water, and electricity."
More information
Architects
Stefano Corbo, Qianyu Liu.
Dates
2020.
Stefano Corbo
Stefano Corbo (1981) is an Italian architect, researcher and Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he also serves as Graduate Program Director. Stefano holds a Ph.D and an M.Arch. II in Advanced Architectural Design from UPM ETSAM Madrid (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura).
Stefano has taught at several academic Institutions: Nanjing University; LAU Beirut (Lebanese American University); the Faculty of Architecture in Alghero, Italy; ETSAM Madrid; and has been a guest lecturer at Städelschule (SAC) Frankfurt, Deakin University in Melbourne, College of Design Minnesota, ESALA Edinburgh, the University of Miami, and the University of Wisconsin.
He has published three books: From Formalism to Weak Form. The Architecture and Philosophy of Peter Eisenman. (Ashgate- Routledge, 2014), Interior Landscapes. A visual atlas. (Images, 2016) and, more recently, Notes from the Underworld (Schiffer, 2019). In 2012 Stefano founded his office: SCSTUDIO Architecture and Design.
Stefano has taught at several academic Institutions: Nanjing University; LAU Beirut (Lebanese American University); the Faculty of Architecture in Alghero, Italy; ETSAM Madrid; and has been a guest lecturer at Städelschule (SAC) Frankfurt, Deakin University in Melbourne, College of Design Minnesota, ESALA Edinburgh, the University of Miami, and the University of Wisconsin.
He has published three books: From Formalism to Weak Form. The Architecture and Philosophy of Peter Eisenman. (Ashgate- Routledge, 2014), Interior Landscapes. A visual atlas. (Images, 2016) and, more recently, Notes from the Underworld (Schiffer, 2019). In 2012 Stefano founded his office: SCSTUDIO Architecture and Design.
Qianyu Liu
Qianyu Liu is a Chinese architect. He studied at CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts) in Beijing and at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), where he just completed his Master’s degree in Adaptive Reuse.
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