Thirteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

This paper examines the central role of the “communal courtyard” [vicinato] in the spatial organization of Giancarlo De Carlo’s University of Urbino residential campus (1962–1983). As a young architect, De Carlo first encountered the vicinato in Matera as part of a group of architects and planners who descended on this remote city at the eastern edge of Basilicata. Matera found itself at the epicenter of the post-war polemic as Europeans questioned the continued relevance of the traditional city. The vicinato, a semi-public space, was woven into the urban fabric by a network of paths and stairways. It was widely acknowledged as the key spatial unit that mediated between the public and private realms and gave Matera its particular character and social structure. Drawn from his experience in Matera, and the multi-disciplinary analysis of the city and its region as provided by the initial Study Group, the vicinato appears as a principle of organization in De Carlo’s buildings where it is translated in different ways, responding to different situations. For De Carlo, Urbino became a living laboratory. His work in Urbino spans decades and includes over fifteen realized projects. As such, the typology of the vicinato and its evolving place within his design process can be assessed over time.