Space and Society Giancarlo De Carlo Collected editorials

“Città, territorio, piano” editorial series directed by Giuseppe Imbesi n. 56

This book is structured to offer a “story” or a reflection that seeks to convey the social importance of architecture; that is, the reevaluation of the contradictory question regarding the connection between architecture and a society composed of the individuals who inhabit it. The reasons behind, and the relevance of Giancarlo De Carlo’s thinking, his civic commitment, and his ethical responsibility in particular, are investigated through a careful reinterpretation of the editorials in the magazine he oversaw, «Space and Society» – here collected and republished. It is a targeted overview, a recomposed narrative that reveals the web of relationships between the magazine and the context of historical events. The object of the discussion is not so much participation – although this is a key word – but rather architecture’s role within habitat. In these editorials, De Carlo proposes a different way of approaching architecture, whose lines still allow for different perspectives today and continue to shape new forms of social space. The richness and fertility of the approach, as it emerges through the editing of «Space and Society», makes available to the public the ongoing dynamics of a critical vision that, in the very formulation of its contents and positions, reflects a propensity for debate that supports the reader’s growth, inviting us to compare and reflect on different viewpoints. It is not so much the answers that are reached in the heat of the moment that are important but, rather, the method of reflection itself, the identification of paths to explore, and an openness to the adventures of thought.

Isabella Daidone (1984). Architect, PhD and Doctor Europaeus in Architectural Design. She was mentioned in the “Bruno Zevi Prize 2014” for her PhD thesis. She attended the Erasmus Placement at the Université Paris IV – Sorbonne, France. She won the “Bergamo Architecture Prize 2011” 4th edition. She was at Expo Milano 2015 for the “Experia” competition organized and promoted by the Polytechnic University of Milan, Rai Expo, and the Italian Pavilion. She has participated as a speaker in numerous seminars in Italy and in 2020 at the FAU of the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. She worked as a contract teacher for “Fundamentals of Architectural, Urban and Landscape Design” at Unipa. She has published articles and projects nationally and internationally that reflect active research aimed at deepening the impact of architecture on society; specifically the interaction between cities, space, and inhabitants.