The politics of vibrant matter: consistency, containment and the concrete of Mussolini’s bunker

This article explores the idea of how vibrancy can be produced. Specifically, the attempt is to investigate the multiplicities of vibrancy by considering one of Mussolini’s bunkers. The author examines the location of the bunker in the EUR (Esposizione Universale Romana) neighbourhood in Rome, the bunker’s materiality, and the context and social meaning of the bunker through a contemporary art exhibition called ‘Confronti’ (Confrontations) that took place in the bunker in 2009. The article argues that while emphasizing matter’s inherent vibrancy may be useful in some cases, there is also merit in further unpacking the ways in which vibrancy is produced. In this example, the concrete bunker expresses vibrancy through the processes involved in the emergent material form, and in the sustained politics and social considerations embedded in valuing tangible urban heritage

Estética urbana: uma análise através das ideias de ordem, estímulo visual, valor histórico e familiaridade

Este artigo examina a dicotomia entre a abordagem da estética filosófica e a da estética empírica, assim como os impactos da estética formal e da estética simbólica, a partir das respostas de usuários do espaço urbano de Porto Alegre. São investigados os impactos estéticos causados por cenas urbanas com diferentes níveis de ordem e estímulo visual, com e sem valor histórico, e com diferentes níveis de familiaridade. É também examinada a existência ou não de diferenças entre as respostas estéticas de arquitetos, não arquitetos com curso superior e pessoas com o primeiro ou segundo grau. Ainda, são identificadas as razões para as avaliações realizadas por esses três grupos. Os principais resultados evidenciam o potencial da estética empírica em explicar as avaliações estéticas e revelam o impacto positivo e preponderante da ideia de ordem e estímulo visual em tais avaliações

Rome’s pasts and the creation of new urban spaces: brecciation, matter, and the play of surfaces and depths

In this paper I look at how the discovery of remnants contributes to creating new spaces in the city. I use the geological metaphor of brecciation drawing upon the work of Sigmund Freud to elaborate on how materials from the past and the present are jumbled in a nonlinear fashion to enable spatial multiplicity. I then illustrate these ideas through the case study of the Sala Trevi/Mondadori building in Rome which exemplifies the ongoing dynamics of the play of surfaces and depths when remnants are featured as part of the design. This is done by outlining ways in which the building unfolds spatial and material juxtapositions, and by elaborating on three elements that are indicative of the metaphor of brecciation. I conclude that when material and spatial entanglements occur, the metaphor of brecciation goes further than the metaphor of the palimpsest in facilitating spatial transformation in the city: spaces can be modified and create new possibilities with the past, enabling tensions to coexist in the present whilst not limiting reconfiguration in the future