“The face of the stone“: Traditional construction and tectonic innovation

Abstract

Through the tectonic metaphor will investigate the relationship between the construction and expression in modern stone facade, meant as the first element of the representation and relationship between the building organism and the city. The relationship between construction, form and representation in massive stone architecture will be analyzed under a dual aspect: the tectonics of the wall and the relationship between "form" and facade element as a possibility that have to represent, through itself, the building organism, or "fall off" and become constructive metaphor. So, the evolution from the historical city to a contemporary city, spread between modernity and tradition: the buildings show more and more languages and technologies evolved and preserve a traditional and durability character. By the research appears the central theme of the urban facade, linked to the concept of stability, robustness and separation between public and private sectors. The development of the theme of the urban front comes from the urban planning experiences attributable to lesser-known architects, but the most important experience is that of Fernand Pouillon’s buildings characterized by a principle authorising of urban space. In all these architectures emerging high performance quality of the stone, in terms of durability and strength, as well as aesthetic value. The challenge of the architect is to create a constructive alternative process, based on the use of global stone, both structural and compositional. Through a mechanical system it was possible to extract and cut blocks in the quarry: in this way the stone has become an industrialized product so that the same Pouillon used the term "prefabricated stones". The predominant role to the relationship between the stone and facade together to the relationship between form and structure makes timeless architecture.