Aldo Rossi's The Architecture Of The City

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The Architecture of the City (MIT Press, 1984),
Aldo Rossi

Aldo Rossi, an Italian architect, was also an influential architectural theorist in the 20th-century. The Architecture of the City was published in 1984 which was his major work of architectural and urban theory.

In the introduction, Rossi points out that the embodiment of artistic intentions and the creation of a better living environment are two eternal features of the building. The building gives the community a particular image and is closely related to society and nature. It is different from arts and sciences. The city evolves from the settlements. It develops over time, and the primary theme is continually modified. Rossi criticises the functionalism and also most of the city
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It should extract from the history of the building. It is because the historic building is not only material but also in living memory. The built city is a set of collective memories that embody a dimension of time.

Chapter 1: The Structure of Urban Artifacts
In this chapter, Rossi elaborates the view of typology. The architecture of the city summarises the city’s form. There are two different meanings. First, the city is a large man-made object, growing over time. Second, urban artifacts characterise by their history and form. The urban artifact intimately relates to a specific place, event and form in the city. Rossi raises questions related to urban artifact: individuals, places, memories and designs themselves.

Rossi's typology studies are elements that cannot be reduced and equated with a form. Such as housing, houses with corridors have a long history and appear in every city. Rossi states that the house as a
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Planning is a modern phenomenon, economic power is its main impact, which also makes the economic factors will play a leading role in the evolution of the city. However, the economic factors cannot be a complete explanation of the structure of urban buildings. Some buildings are certainly not because of the economic needs, but the needs of the city itself. Rossi also states that politics is a decisive factor. “Politics as choice.” People always and only through the political system to ultimately choose the image of the city, but this choice is a set of wishes, not they can

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