VESPER Nº13 GIANCARLO DE CARLO. "TRAJECTORIES"

In 2005, Giancarlo De Carlo passed away. A naval officer, architect, engineer, professor, member of Team 10, founder of the Ilaud, director of the magazine 'spazio e società' and the editorial series 'Struttura e forma urbana', he was the author of numerous realised plans and projects, alongside proposals and architecture projects that remained on paper, as well as books and writings. He was, above all, allergic to labels and manifestos. Twenty years after his death, it is possible to examine in detail the many enduring directions this architect left behind. Simultaneously, one may observe the multiplication of trajectories as a modus operandi and as a figure that releases discordant energies. A stellar imagery emerges based on actions such as: severing ties with the past, changing one's mind, swimming against the current, relaunching towards the future, writing about doubts and failures, leaving incomplete traces for others to interpret, and, above all, remaining on the journey. Therefore, the aim is to celebrate the architect but also, by starting from the constellation of trajectories that he outlined, to reflect on the possibility of relaunching a vision of the project that is wide-ranging, multifaceted, and realised using diverse tools in various fields. GDC's work thus becomes a mutable map: under one light, it recounts concrete events, apparent stories, and shadowy spaces yet to be illuminated through new research. From another angle, it emerges as an abstract device, capable of inspiring further essays and explorations.