In the course of the 20th century contemporary architectural culture has brought to light a progressive crisis in urban public space and highlighted certain degenerative phenomena. A complex situation in which the devastating dominance of road traffic, increasing privatization and a lack of good projects able to favour the processes of socialization, which for centuries have been fundamental in determining the relationship between community and public spaces, emerges. At the same time both sociologists and anthropologists have highlighted the progressive disintegration of society, a fact which has brought about great changes, still currently underway, in the way in which reality is commonly elaborated. An ever more hedonistic, consumer society has turned the fundamental parameters of social living upside down, especially the ones connected to the values of personal and collective identity. Extreme individualism, which seems to have become man’s new nature, has created great disenchantment and progressive disinterest towards public life and whatever is connected to it, including the construction of the material environment. At the same time, never before have we seen so many experiments and projects regarding public space. This persisting paradox leads us to question how important this public space is, both in the past and today, in terms of the roles and functions which characterize it. The way public urban open spaces, which are regulated spaces open to public access, are used has evolved and changed over the centuries. They have changed in terms of size, form and function. The fact that access to these places has been free and accessible to all has meant that they have played a crucial role in the way in which our communities are socially organized, bringing about a process of constant negotiation between the different parties regarding their shape, the way they should be used and their symbolic meaning. Public spaces have therefore always been fought over, a battlefield between different factions of society who wanted them for different purposes ( religious, ethnic , political etc). Over the years the right to occupy these spaces both physically and symbolically has manifested itself in various forms- in particular as regards the collective activities which we call rites. Rites can, in general terms, be defined as a sequence of conventional actions which a community symbolically elaborates as a way of establishing an identity within a social system. It is generally believed that in the disintegration of contemporary society many rites connected to a traditional use of public spaces have disappeared or changed within the system of collective relationships- many rites which used to express a shared value are nowadays nothing more than symbolic. At the same time the most recent anthropological studies have tended to re-evaluate the importance of ritual practices in contemporary society and highlight their versatility and ability to adapt. If once upon a time rites marked the fundamental passages of life, such as: family, school ,religious and working life, today they are more to do with leisure and recreation as well as image and the consumer society we live in. It therefore becomes essential to try and reinterpret the phenomena linked to public spaces so as to question what the aims of a project should be. This research deals with the complexities of planning public spaces so as to make them spaces which represent our society focusing on the relationship which connects its structure /equipment to the carrying out of collective ritual-like activities. This thesis aims to explore the recreational element, which seems to have taken over the way public spaces are used, to see if it is the expression of a semantic fracture in the physical and symbolic construction of cities or whether, on the other hand it is the result of the natural evolution of postmodern man’s representational space. This thesis is made up of four potentially independent but closely linked parts and each provides supporting theoretical apparatus for the parts which follow. The first section highlights the importance of ritual practices in the structure of the social lives and material environment of communities. To begin with I point out what structural aspects these rites have in common excluding specific aspects in differing contexts. Rites are a complex way of organizing social structures which is based on the need to define a specific dimension of space and time: a kosmos in which human activities becomes filled with symbolic meaning. This study aims to classify these rites with regard to the mechanisms they use to control social life. The second section looks at the relationship between the material environment and the attribution of an individual and collective sense which makes it a place in an existential sense. The study defines the kosmos as an interior, circumscribed , inhabitable space and points out which elements of space organization and which processes of identifying the value it has characterize it. We can perceive some elementary forms of space organization which enable us to recognise certain archetypes in ritual spaces as the first human expression of building an artificial place. The same parameters are then applied to the evolution of public urban open spaces (urban interiors) which are then examined as places which have some kind of logical organization. The third section takes an in-depth look at the relationship which exists between the location of a public space, its structure/equipment and the specific collective rites which have been performed there over the course of history. The study introduces the concept of “thematized space” in a bid to summarise the process which characterizes a public space which has been set aside for a specific collective purpose, including its formal, functional and symbolic aspects. By looking at different examples taken from the history of architecture this study shows how public spaces used for ritual activities have some elements in common which enable us to identify and compare them. By then closely examining the main planning theories elaborated in Europe we can then see that there has been a progressive tendency to “de-thematize” public spaces in the course of the last two hundred years. The potential relationship between this phenomenon and the progressive decline in public space is then analysed The fourth and final section focuses on the role of public spaces in contemporary cities in a bid to identify common tendencies and approaches in the way in which they were planned. First of all new cultural, social and economic dynamics are introduced and these prove to be a determining factor in the structure and adaptation of urban interior spaces : from the phenomenon of place marketing to those connected to the visual consumption of the postmodern city. These aspects are essential if one is to fully comprehend many of the new types of rituals which characterize public spaces. The study looks at a wide range of case histories of recent works and verifies if there are possible common elements to be found which are able to define a particular theme.
La cultura architettonica contemporanea ha rilevato, nel corso del XX secolo, una progressiva crisi dello spazio pubblico urbano ponendo al centro dell’attenzione alcuni fenomeni degenerativi. Un panorama complesso in cui spiccano la devastante dominanza del traffico veicolare, i crescenti processi di privatizzazione, ma anche la scarsa qualità di molti progetti, ritenuti innanzi tutto incapaci di veicolare quei processi di socializzazione che per secoli hanno costituito il fondamento del rapporto di identificazione tra la comunità e lo spazio pubblico. Parallelamente sociologi e antropologi hanno messo in evidenza il progressivo destrutturarsi della società, che ha determinato sostanziali mutamenti, ancor oggi in atto, nei processi di comune elaborazione della realtà. L’ascesa di una società edonistica e consumistica ha indotto il rovesciamento di alcuni dei parametri fondativi del vivere sociale tra cui quelli legati ai valori identitari individuali e collettivi. L’individualismo esasperato, assunto a nuova condizione naturale dell’uomo, determina la sostanziale disaffezione e il progressivo disinteresse nei confronti della sfera pubblica e dei fenomeni ad essa connessi, compresi quelli di costruzione dell’ambiente materiale. Al contempo mai come negli ultimi anni si è assistito a progetti e sperimentazioni sullo spazio pubblico. Questo permanente paradosso induce ad interrogarsi sul significato attribuito in passato ed oggi allo spazio pubblico in funzione dei ruoli e delle funzioni che ancora lo caratterizzano. Gli spazi aperti urbani di uso pubblico, ovvero quelli in cui, sia pur regolato, l’accesso è libero per tutti i cittadini, sono venuti generandosi e modificandosi nel corso dei secoli per entità, forma e funzione. Il loro stesso costituirsi come spazi liberamente accessibili e fruibili ha svolto un ruolo cruciale nella strutturazione della vita sociale delle comunità determinando un costante processo di contrattazione circa la sua conformazione, le sue modalità d’uso e i valori simbolici ad esso attribuiti. Lo spazio pubblico si è dunque sempre costituito come uno spazio conteso: un terreno di confronto/scontro tra le differenti intenzionalità delle collettività (religiose, etniche, politiche, etc.) coesistenti all’interno della società. Nel corso della storia la rivendicazione al diritto di occupare fisicamente e simbolicamente lo spazio pubblico si è materializzata in varie forme, tra cui, in particolare, lo svolgimento di quelle attività collettive che definiamo riti. I riti possono essere inquadrati, in termini generali, come sequenze di azioni convenzionali che una collettività elabora simbolicamente per riconoscersi e farsi riconoscere all’interno di un sistema sociale. E’ opinione comune che nel processo di destrutturazione della società contemporanea molti riti legati ad un uso tradizionale dello spazio pubblico siano decaduti o abbiano mutato significato all’interno del sistema delle relazioni collettive; numerose manifestazioni che un tempo esprimevano un ordine di valori condiviso oggi sono spesso ridotte al loro simulacro. Al contempo gli studi antropologici più recenti tendono a riconsiderare il rilievo delle pratiche rituali nella realtà contemporanea sottolineando la loro duttilità e la loro capacità di trasformazione. Se i riti un tempo sancivano i passaggi fondamentali della vita familiare, scolastica, religiosa e lavorativa oggi li ritroviamo legati agli ambiti del disimpegno e tempo libero, intrecciati al culto dell’immagine e dei consumi. Diviene significativo tentare di leggere il riflesso di questi fenomeni nello spazio pubblico urbano per rimettere in discussione le finalità stessa dei progetti. La presente ricerca affronta la complessità del progetto dello spazio pubblico come spazio di rappresentazione sociale focalizzandosi sul rapporto che lega la sua conformazione|attrezzatura allo svolgimento di attività collettive ascrivibili ad una dimensione rituale. All’interno di questo percorso la tesi intende esplorare la deriva ludica che pare essersi impossessata dello spazio pubblico per chiarire se essa stessa è l’espressione di una frattura semantica nella costruzione fisica e simbolica della città o viceversa costituisce la naturale evoluzione dello spazio di rappresentazione dell’uomo postmoderno. La presente ricerca è strutturata in quattro sezioni potenzialmente scorporabili e tuttavia saldamente integrate ciascuna delle quali fornisce apparati teorici di supporto per le parti successive. Nella prima sezione viene posta in evidenza la rilevanza delle pratiche rituali nella strutturazione della vita sociale e dell’ambiente materiale delle comunità. In primo luogo vengono identificati gli aspetti strutturali che accomunano le manifestazioni rituali, esulando dalle specifiche forme assunte nei differenti contesti. Il rito viene così definito come una forma complessa di ordinamento delle strutture sociali, che si fonda sulla necessità di circoscrivere una dimensione spazio-temporale specifica: un kosmos entro il quale le attività umane si caricano di un significato simbolico. Lo studio fornisce una prima classificazione dei riti in funzione dei meccanismi attraverso i quali regola il vivere sociale La seconda sezione prende in esame il rapporto tra l’ambiente materiale e l’attribuzione di senso individuale e collettivo che lo rende un luogo in senso esistenziale. Lo studio definisce il kosmos rituale come un interno circoscritto e abitabile, esplicitando quali elementi sintattici di organizzazione dello spazio e quali processi di significazione lo caratterizzino in quanto tale. L’identificazione di alcune forme elementari di organizzazione dello spazio connesse al nostro sistema percettivo, ci consente di riconoscere alcuni archetipi che ritroviamo nello spazio rituale come prima espressione umana di appropriazione fisica e simbolica di un luogo. Gli stessi parametri di indagine sono in seguito applicati all’evoluzione degli spazi aperti urbani (interni urbani) di uso pubblico che vengono così ricondotti alla loro dimensione strutturale di luoghi sintatticamente organizzati. La terza sezione approfondisce la relazione che sussiste tra l’ubicazione, la conformazione/attrezzatura dello spazio pubblico e lo svolgimento di specifici riti collettivi nel corso della storia. La ricerca introduce il concetto di tematizzazione per sintetizzare il processo che caratterizza lo spazio pubblico votato ad un uso collettivo privilegiato, coinvolgendo sinergicamente aspetti formali, funzionali e simbolici. Prendendo in esame differenti esempi tratti dalla storia dell’architettura la ricerca mostra come gli spazi pubblici tematizzati da attività rituali presentino elementi sintattici e grammaticali comuni, che consentono di identificarli e compararli. Successivamente attraverso una disamina delle principali teorie di pianificazione elaborate in contesto europeo si evidenzia la progressiva de-tematizzazione degli spazi pubblici nel corso degli ultimi due secoli, esaminando le potenziali connessioni tra questo fenomeno e il progressivo declino dello spazio pubblico. La quarta e ultima sezione si focalizza sul ruolo dello spazio pubblico nella città contemporanea nel tentativo di identificare comuni tendenze o approcci che accomunino le proposte progettuali ad esso inerenti. In primo luogo vengono introdotte le nuove dinamiche culturali, sociali ed economiche che si rivelano determinanti nei processi di conformazione o trasformazione degli interni urbani: dai fenomeni di place marketing a quelli legati al consumo visivo della città postmoderna. Questi presupposti risultano indispensabili per comprendere molte delle nuove forme di ritualità che caratterizzano lo spazio pubblico. La ricerca prende in esame un’ampia casistica di interventi recentemente realizzati verificando la presenza di eventuali elementi sintattici e grammaticali comuni nella loro conformazione/attrezzatura in grado di definirne una relativa tematizzazione
Lo spazio pubblico come spazio rituale. L'influenza delle pratiche collettive nel progetto degli interni urbani
LENZINI, FRANCESCO
Abstract
In the course of the 20th century contemporary architectural culture has brought to light a progressive crisis in urban public space and highlighted certain degenerative phenomena. A complex situation in which the devastating dominance of road traffic, increasing privatization and a lack of good projects able to favour the processes of socialization, which for centuries have been fundamental in determining the relationship between community and public spaces, emerges. At the same time both sociologists and anthropologists have highlighted the progressive disintegration of society, a fact which has brought about great changes, still currently underway, in the way in which reality is commonly elaborated. An ever more hedonistic, consumer society has turned the fundamental parameters of social living upside down, especially the ones connected to the values of personal and collective identity. Extreme individualism, which seems to have become man’s new nature, has created great disenchantment and progressive disinterest towards public life and whatever is connected to it, including the construction of the material environment. At the same time, never before have we seen so many experiments and projects regarding public space. This persisting paradox leads us to question how important this public space is, both in the past and today, in terms of the roles and functions which characterize it. The way public urban open spaces, which are regulated spaces open to public access, are used has evolved and changed over the centuries. They have changed in terms of size, form and function. The fact that access to these places has been free and accessible to all has meant that they have played a crucial role in the way in which our communities are socially organized, bringing about a process of constant negotiation between the different parties regarding their shape, the way they should be used and their symbolic meaning. Public spaces have therefore always been fought over, a battlefield between different factions of society who wanted them for different purposes ( religious, ethnic , political etc). Over the years the right to occupy these spaces both physically and symbolically has manifested itself in various forms- in particular as regards the collective activities which we call rites. Rites can, in general terms, be defined as a sequence of conventional actions which a community symbolically elaborates as a way of establishing an identity within a social system. It is generally believed that in the disintegration of contemporary society many rites connected to a traditional use of public spaces have disappeared or changed within the system of collective relationships- many rites which used to express a shared value are nowadays nothing more than symbolic. At the same time the most recent anthropological studies have tended to re-evaluate the importance of ritual practices in contemporary society and highlight their versatility and ability to adapt. If once upon a time rites marked the fundamental passages of life, such as: family, school ,religious and working life, today they are more to do with leisure and recreation as well as image and the consumer society we live in. It therefore becomes essential to try and reinterpret the phenomena linked to public spaces so as to question what the aims of a project should be. This research deals with the complexities of planning public spaces so as to make them spaces which represent our society focusing on the relationship which connects its structure /equipment to the carrying out of collective ritual-like activities. This thesis aims to explore the recreational element, which seems to have taken over the way public spaces are used, to see if it is the expression of a semantic fracture in the physical and symbolic construction of cities or whether, on the other hand it is the result of the natural evolution of postmodern man’s representational space. This thesis is made up of four potentially independent but closely linked parts and each provides supporting theoretical apparatus for the parts which follow. The first section highlights the importance of ritual practices in the structure of the social lives and material environment of communities. To begin with I point out what structural aspects these rites have in common excluding specific aspects in differing contexts. Rites are a complex way of organizing social structures which is based on the need to define a specific dimension of space and time: a kosmos in which human activities becomes filled with symbolic meaning. This study aims to classify these rites with regard to the mechanisms they use to control social life. The second section looks at the relationship between the material environment and the attribution of an individual and collective sense which makes it a place in an existential sense. The study defines the kosmos as an interior, circumscribed , inhabitable space and points out which elements of space organization and which processes of identifying the value it has characterize it. We can perceive some elementary forms of space organization which enable us to recognise certain archetypes in ritual spaces as the first human expression of building an artificial place. The same parameters are then applied to the evolution of public urban open spaces (urban interiors) which are then examined as places which have some kind of logical organization. The third section takes an in-depth look at the relationship which exists between the location of a public space, its structure/equipment and the specific collective rites which have been performed there over the course of history. The study introduces the concept of “thematized space” in a bid to summarise the process which characterizes a public space which has been set aside for a specific collective purpose, including its formal, functional and symbolic aspects. By looking at different examples taken from the history of architecture this study shows how public spaces used for ritual activities have some elements in common which enable us to identify and compare them. By then closely examining the main planning theories elaborated in Europe we can then see that there has been a progressive tendency to “de-thematize” public spaces in the course of the last two hundred years. The potential relationship between this phenomenon and the progressive decline in public space is then analysed The fourth and final section focuses on the role of public spaces in contemporary cities in a bid to identify common tendencies and approaches in the way in which they were planned. First of all new cultural, social and economic dynamics are introduced and these prove to be a determining factor in the structure and adaptation of urban interior spaces : from the phenomenon of place marketing to those connected to the visual consumption of the postmodern city. These aspects are essential if one is to fully comprehend many of the new types of rituals which characterize public spaces. The study looks at a wide range of case histories of recent works and verifies if there are possible common elements to be found which are able to define a particular theme.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/89608