Process architecture

Salvatore Re, Praticelli student residence

Abstract

Alessandro Melis: Praticelli, the first Pisan work of European scope to enter the national architectural panorama: after Carmassi, in Pisa, is anything changing?

Salvatore Re: Yes, in fact I hope that Praticelli is the first of many. There isn’t a culture of architecture, because it’s not seen as a socially useful contribution. You only need to look at the maps of new architecture in Italy: while in the north there are real chances to compare, in the south, just like the centre, the situation turns out to be critical. Firenze is the prime example of this: history has brought it to the modern day with a rich cultural heritage but it is also the thing that has suffocated us; the heritage has become deadwood. Nowadays we see progress, modernity, only as something out of sync with history: urban planning and architecture, are they supposed to be for people or not? There is not often a lot of con- sideration for people. Tuscany could offer a great deal of opportunities, and Pisa in particular could, due to the way it is, shine out in both a regional and international context. The railroad station, the Piazza dei Miracoli complex, the Università degli Studi, the Scuola Normale, the Scuola of Sant’Anna, the CNR research centre, are the elements of a city at the cutting edge, of excellence; so how come all these realities never manage to communicate? At the end of the day, maybe the problem lies in the isolation of the various cultural components of the city. Until it manages to change this way of looking at things, the development of the city is going to be compromised. We need to believe the city already offers all the opportunities to transform itself, it’s an inevitable process.