COMPOSITION BOOK

IL GIRASOLE
LUIGI MORETTI
ALI AL HADI JAAFAR
MARIA CAMILA RODRIGUEZ RUIZ
MARIA PAULA VILLA CABRERA
LEONARDO VESPRINI

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO

A.Y. 19/20

SECTION A
LUIGI SPINELLI
FEDERICO BUCCI
POLO TERRITORIALE DI MANTOVA
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

content

typology 4

context 10

architectural language 12

composition and organization 18

sequence of space 24

structure 28

technology and materials 30

intro

The compositional analysis develops around the concept of "abstraction of the past".
It has been evident, in fact, how the five buildings in the studio are in direct relation
with Roman architectural history and its most splendid periods.
These buildings, designed by different architects, succeed while showing modern
forms related to their times, succeed, through a careful and masterly reworking of the
typical architectural elements of ancient structures, to create a tangible link with the
past.

The analysis that has been carried out on the different buildings, tries to relate the
main characteristics, found on the study buildings, with the formal and architectural
solutions of pre-existing buildings in the Roman city and referable to the different hi-
storical and artistic periods.
This interesting procedural approach makes it possible to compare the apparent-
ly distant realities of the different architectural apparatus and relate their aesthetic,
structural and functional characteristics, highlighting the intrinsic and resonant link
between past and present realities in their most intimate aspects.
The focus is therefore to study the context, spatial composition, language and se-
quence of spaces that distinguish the various buildings.

Through the study of the elements that make up the building, therefore, we come to
the identification of the relationships that unite the modern with the past and the ab-
stract process used by the architect towards history.
typology
The term “building” is not new within the
Italian architectural panorama; in fact, it
has been used since the Renaissance as a
diminutive of “palazzo” to indicate the pa-
vilions inside the gardens or buildings for
leisure and entertainment or intended for
the hunting arts.
In the 900s, however, it goes to describe
a new building typology: a set of various
large-sized apartments intended for the
wealthy class.
These residential complexes began to rise
in the city of Rome in the early 1920s as
a result of the urban planning operations
taking place in the capital since 1909 with
the City of Rome Plan, which defined the
position of the “small villas” areas within
the city and with Royal Decree no. 1937 of
4
1920, which sanctioned the possible tran- Regulatory plans “Piano della città di
sformation of the villas into “buildings” or Roma” of 1909.
the development of of new constructions
“in buildings” in vacant lots. Study of aggregations for the new
With this, we move from small single-family architectural typology of the building,
by Dario Barbers.
buildings within large parks, to large buil-
dings with tiny green areas. Over the years
Elevation in via Paisiello, designed by
the building has become the architectural
Mario Ridolfi with Mario Fiorentino
symbol of the growing Roman bourgeois
and Frankl between 1948 and 1949.
class.
Palazzina in via Archimede 185, de-
The 1950s are the scene of a new wave signed by Ugo Luccichenti in 1953.
of building expansion and the building re-
Palazzina Rea, designed by Mario
turns, albeit slightly altered compared to Ridolfi and Wolfgang Frankl between
the characteristics of the pre-war period 1934 and 1936.
at the center of the transformations of the
Roman peripheral belt, symbol of a new
class linked to small businesses and the
disordered boom building.
Palazzina in Lungotevere Flaminio,
designed by Mario de Renzi betwe-
en 1935 and 1940. Floorplan and
section.

Elevation in Lungotevere Flaminio.

Palazzina in via Giuseppe Pisanelli

1, designed by Bruno Zevi and Sil-
vio Radiconcini between 1950 and
1952. Floorplans.

Elevation in Via Giuseppe Pisanelli.

The compositional research un-

dertaken by the various architects
translates into a multitude of ar-
chitectural solutions capable of
providing a clear panorama of the
Italian architectural situation in the
balance between the conservative
current and the followers of the
modern movement in the early pe-
riod and from the 1950s onwards
among the avant-garde and who
hopes for a modern but traditional
architecture.
While maintaining the basic characteri-
stics of the building typology born thirty
years earlier, the new buildings become
the subject of formal experiments that try
to satisfy the fragmented social scenario
of the time: the urban house of the new
class will therefore be a swing among the
avant-garde solutions or the search for
a social reconciliation and the search for
a new style capable of bridging the gap
between classes.

Palazzina Rea, designed by Mario

Ridolfi and Wolfgang Frankl between
1934 and 1936. Elevation.

Ground floor and first floor.

Palazzine Antares, designed by Vin-

cenzo Monaco and Amedeo Luc-
cichenti between 1948 and1951.
Elevation.

Ground floor.
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

The “Roman building” becomes

the symbol of the new bourgeois
class: a new residential typology
that offers modern and functional
apartments of large size in “aristo-
cratic” areas of the city of Rome.

These buildings, albeit formally and

architecturally different, share the
basic compositional principles, lar-
ge bright living rooms, large bedro-
oms, the presence of two or more
services and a dedicated area for
“servants”.
Each building also has a concierge
and spaces for storing cars, now
increasingly common.
The search for finishes is also one
of the key points of the new buil-
ding: marble and mosaic coverin-
gs, in fact, become the most used
materials.

Although, by sacrificing all the gre-

en space available to reach the
maximum available building volu-
me, the new buildings try to open
towards the city through whimsi-
cal terraces and hanging gardens,
trying to bridge the gap betwe-
en the nineteenth-century villas,
Building for apartments and shops,
surrounded by greenery, and the
designed by Angelo Di Castro in
growing urbanization immeasu-
1952. Elevation.
rable that Rome lives in those ye-

Floorplan. ars.

Palazzina in viale Bruno Buozzi 58,

designed by Massimo Castellazzi
between 1950 and 1954.

Floorplan.

7
 Luigi Moretti also approaches the design
of the building on two different occasions:
the first in 1949 with the design of the bu-
ilding for the Astrea Cooperative, the se-
cond in 1950 with the “Casa del Girasole”.
These two design examples are to be un-
derstood as a subsequent development
of the same Morettian idea, adapted and
shaped around the different project lot and
the different setting and client.

Palazzina Astrea, designed by Luigi

Moretti in 1949. Elevation.

Floorplan.

Casa del Girasole, designed by Luigi

Moretti in 1950. Elevation.

Ground floor and first floor.

8
Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

9
context
The building is located in the Parioli district, Analyzing the context, one realizes Comparison between the urban si-

one of the most elegant and sought after the fragmentation and lack of buil- tuation of the “casa del Girasole”
ding continuity in the neighborhood. and the roman district of “spina di
areas of the city.
borgo”: (a) actual street layout, (b)
The area was affected, in 1909, by the
“spina di borgo” street layout, (c) bu-
“Plan of the city of Rome” which provides ilding block layout and (d) “spina di
for the urban use of “small villas”, single-fa- borgo building block layout.
mily buildings located in large green areas
and a symbol of the upper middle class
and aristocracy of the beginning of the
century.

With the royal decree of 1920, however,

begun a clear change: the new building
typology of the constructions begins to
open the way within the Roman building
panorama. a b
These new developments, at the center
of criticism for the disorder and fragmen-
tation that these buildings bring within the
Roman building fabric. This urban disorder
is evident by analyzing the absence of ur-
ban links between individual homes and
the context, increasingly emphasizing the
diversity and discontinuity between the in-
dividual fragments (buildings).
Built on the corner of viale Buozzi and via
Schiapparelli and via A. Tigeri, the building
settles into an irregularly shaped lot cha- c d
racterized by a slight difference in height.
The building the project lot almost comple-
tely, leaving only a thin strip uncovered on
the border with the adjacent lot, this be-
cause, according to current legislation, it
was necessary to leave an undeveloped
area of 5.7
​​ meters straddling the borders
interior.

The lack of urban ties and the building

fragmentation does not however mean, in

10
a b

(a) Identification of the building in

today’s urban context. (b) Identifica-
tion of buildings of considerable im-
portance within the urban fabric and
comparable with Renaissance buil-
dings. (c) Typological replacement of
modern buildings with those of the
Renaissance periods.

the case of the building designed by Mo-

retti, the loss of the historical link with the
city of Rome. Indeed, by analyzing the links
between the “House of the Sunflower” and
the capital, we realize how it is the worthy
heir of Renaissance and Baroque Rome.
This building perfectly manages to relate
both to its contemporary buildings and to
Roman history.
c
We have identified buildings of particular
interest that can be defined as “change-
able” over time and replaceable with bu-
ildings from another era comparable to
them by typology or size.
The spaces occupied by “modern” buil-
dings are freed and again occupied by ar-
chitectural examples from the Roman age:
this game thus leads to the definition of an
ancient-new hypothetical fabric.
By analyzing the typological plans of the
comparison buildings and the ground floor
plan of the “Casa del Girasole” it is pos-
sible to identify similar spatial composition
schemes. Even analyzing the urban fabric
one realizes how the historical variation of
some key elements does not lead to the
loss of value of the new building: this in fact
manages to place itself with the same ur-
ban presence in the surrounding context.
architectural
language
With the issuance of the decree of 1920, in
addition to the typological “creation” of the
building, it also lists a series of compositio-
nal rules that architects must respect in the
design of these buildings.
In this way we tried to give a series of rules
that, on the one hand prevented the archi-
tect from building freely while, on the other
hand, they allowed the architects to expe-
riment with different architectural and spa-
tial solutions: if in fact a front is imposed on
a maximum road of 25 meters, however,
through the use of recessions and protru-
ding facades, it is possible to reach 35 me-
ters; while the maximum height is set at 17
meters (about five floors), the creation of a
backward attic with a maximum surface of
three, therefore the surface of the standard
12
Identification of the compositional
differences between the palazzina,
designed by Mario de Renzi, Vincen-
zo Monaco and Amedeo Luccichenti
and Ugo Luccichenti.
floor, is still allowed.
The legislation also requires the architectu-
ral study of each facade.
We therefore see the birth of buildings al-
beit typologically the same, characterized
by different linguistic and volumetric choi-
ces.
The construction of the buildings allows,
above all to the young Roman architects,
to make their first experiences: thus crea-
ting a heterogeneous and complex archi-
tectural panorama capable of summarizing
all the European architectural currents.
If in the first half of the century, the strong
link with the local tradition leads the archi-
tects to two facts of opposite importance:
the care for the material and the “durability”
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

a a

b
c
b

c Sketch of the facade solution on via

b Buozzi.

Study of the facade relationships on

viale Buozzi.
c

fragmentation of the facade on viale

Buozzi, compared to a classic ar-
chetypal facade.

Sketches and project drawings (out

of scale) of the facade on viale Buo-
zzi.

of the finishes, on the one hand; and the

search for a solid but moderate order on
the other. The 1950s led to a clean break
with the search for each architect towards
their own path. Just in these years few but
important professional figures in general
are beginning to emerge flexible forms able
to adapt to the most diverse situations.
The inspiration of the architects and the
building regulations lead to the design of
“light” and “naive” buildings: new formal
solutions are tested and the facades begin
to zigzag with recesses and protruded in
such a way as to make the majestic ele-
vations more pleasant , offering a more
stimulating transversal view (due to the
proximity of the prospect to the road and
the low width of the latter).

13
 Facade in via Buozzi.

Different design solutions studied by

Moretti before reaching the final so-
lution, note how the composition of
the body of the building is distinctly
different from the C shape of the final
design.

Lateral facade and back facade.

Luigi Moretti’s work also fits into this atmo-

sphere.
In fact, by designing the building for the
Astrea cooperative, first, and then the
“Casa del Girasole”, he tries to develop
his own language and to propose buildin-
gs that can be defined as reckless even if
archetypes: in fact, he makes an acrobatic
jump between classicism and avant-gar-
de.

If in fact it inherits the modern spatial com-

position and the use of large glass surfa-
ces, as well as formal solutions derived
from the use of the reinforced concrete
structure, on the other hand it inherits the
attention of the finishes and the study of
the facade of the Renaissance and Baro-
que Roman buildings .
The building then becomes a worthy heir
to the Michelangelo projects, sharing the
same expressive force and plasticity of the
volume.
 Analysis of the compositional sche-
me of the building plan, note how
the structure follows two different
compositional grids.

Details of the main facade and en-

trance hall.

16
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

Concierge entrance. Detail of the main facade and the le-

dge on viale Buozzi.
Courtyard detail.

Details of the lateral facade.

17
composition
and organization

The final design includes a composition

completely facing Viale Buozzi, and an
almost total disappearance of the garden
that was formed in the courtyard of the
previous design solutions, now replaced
by a simple and small central courtyard,
more than anything else useful for giving
natural ventilation and indirect light to ro-
oms facing the building and for planting.
The building houses two apartments on
each “noble” floor, organized around the
small central cloister, the only source of
natural light for the distribution areas of the
apartments and for the technical rooms.
The various staircases overlook the cour-
tyard, the main one facing the front and the
service one on the back.

Trying to buy Moretti’s design choices with

some buildings symbol of the Roman Re-
naissance, one realizes the presence of (left to right) Ducal Palace of Urbi-
points of contact and reinterpretations of no (1450), Templietto of San Pietro

the same architectural elements. in Montorio (1505), Villa Farnesina

In fact, the theme of the courtyard can also
be found in multiple Renaissance buildin-
gs, as well as the particular solution of the
staircase, located not on the main front
but at the end of a vast entrance hall, often
communicating with the courtyard.
(1505), Basilica of San Pietro (1506),
Farnese palace (1514), Palace of Ja-
copo from Brescia (1515), Alberini
palace (1515), Campidoglio (1536),
Villa Capra (1566), San Carlo alle
quattro fontane (1638), Il Girasole
(1948).

18
Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

19
Given the large volume achievable, Moretti
opts for a particular solution, the ground
floor and mezzanine are slightly set back
from the facade of the upper floors; this
solution leads to extreme volumetric pla-
sticity and a clear separation between the
base part and the top volume.
In order to give the best light exposure
to the various rooms arranged along the
side facades, Moretti adopts a simple and
functional approach, through a series of
corner protrusions each room manages to
better capture the natural light.
Moretti’s compositional research led him
to further develop the facade solutions al-
20
ready tested in the building for the Astrea
cooperative: as in the case designed in
1949, in fact, the facade develops beyond
the size of the building and seems almost
an element applied to the basic volume, a
screen, composed of fixed elements, mo-
vable elements and window elements is Volume breakdown.
able to open and close according to the
needs of the condominiums. Full and empty spaces in section
This facade, also recalling the archetypal and in plan.
house, relates to local history, and at the
same time, manages to break the histori- Identification of the facade elements:
cal link and look to the future: the decom- screen of the front and rear façades,
doors of the bedrooms and base-
posed pediment at the top and the side
ment block.
seats, in fact, are a modern reworking of
an element “ classic”.
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

Comparison between the solution of

the atrium used by Moretti and the
solution of the Torlonia palace in the
“Spina di Borgo” district.

Identification of the volume of the

atrium and the cotrile in the overall
volume.

21
 Comparison between the solution of
the atrium of Palazzo Farnese and
the solution used by Moretti.

Comparison between the loggia del-

la Farnesina and the facade of “Casa
del Girasole”.

The front facade also has affinities with

Renaissance solutions: the solution of the
ribbon window leads to the formation of a
kind of loggia directly connected with the
hall, this solution can also be found in the
loggia of the Farnesina.

The rear facade also has the same screen

superimposed on the volume of the buil-
ding, while the side facades have the cha-
racteristic indentation and evoke the name
“sunflower”. In fact, in order to give the
best light exposure to the various rooms
arranged along the side facades, Moretti
adopts a simple and functional approa-
ch, through a series of corner protrusions
each room manages to better capture the
natural light.

22
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

The importance of the attack on the ground

strongly emphasized by the architect and
becomes one of the main stylistic features
of the building. Also in this case we find
ourselves in front of a theme already used
by Moretti for the Astrea building; but while
in the first case the base part is a more or
less high strip with a rusticated finish on
which the building “floats” , in this case
the base is a real building volume, about
two floors high and clearly divided from the
rest of the building, which develops leaning
over the building.

Comparison between the planime-

tric variation, conducted by Moretti
to satisfy the irregularity of the lot
and the planimetry of Palazzo Mas-
simo alle Colonne.

Solution of the funnel corridor and

possible comparison with the gallery
of the garden of Palazzo Spada.

23
sequence
of space
Although at first glance we can think of the Interior zoning.

building as an imposing flat block, by ob-

Sketches of the arrangement of the
serving it more carefully we realize how it is
entrance lobby..
actually cut and fragmented.
The split in the facade, in fact, is a real cut
that runs along the entire front of the bu-
ilding and ends only in conjunction with
the glass block of the vertical distribution
(staircase and landings leading to the
apartments) to reappear again immediately
after it , expanding and forming the central
patio.

Due to this cut, the building plan develops

around a kind of U, slightly asymmetrical
due to the irregularity of the lot.
The apartments on the upper floors, the-
refore, are arranged symmetrically, two
on each floor, along the longitudinal nor-
th-south axis, while those arranged in the
basement block develop around a kind of
C, without a well-defined symmetric sche-
me.

The base, in fact, is a highly plastic and

expressive space, characterized by large
open spaces, external but covered, whi-
ch gradually flow inside the building up
to the internal courtyard.This plastic spa-
ce, although reminiscent of the atria and
courtyards of Renaissance buildings, at
the same time recalls the cave cave, made
up of different materials, plays of light and
shadow, altitude jumps and plastic walls.

24
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

Sketches of the arrangement of the Visual scheme of the jetties in corre-

interior spaces and design schemes. spondence of the bedrooms.

25
 Summary diagram of the spatial
connections between the various
areas of the building, note how the
organization of the vertical routes is
based ontwo stairs.
Design transversal section.
Each apartment consists of four bedrooms
with as many bathrooms and the kitchen,
arranged longitudinally, and a large living
room that looks towards the main facade
and is illuminated by large ribbon windows
on Viale Buozzi.
The particular solution of rotating the walls
of the bedrooms four degrees outwards,
tries to maximize the light exposure and
the best view of the interior spaces, mo-
reover, just like trees in the mountains, the
extension to the outside it is progressive
towards the rear of the building in such a
way as not to obstruct the luminous and
visual flow: this trick is used by Moretti as
26
the desire for contact with the green of the
tree-lined avenue and a departure from
oppression and the sight of neighbors .
In the back, the area facing north and less
illuminated, instead houses the service ro-
oms and the rooms for the “servants”.
The vertical distribution system is entru-
sted to two staircases: the main one, al-
most like a “grand staircase”, reaches out
to the covered patio and invites, through
its flared shape, to be walked on; while the
service stairwell is located on the back and
gives direct access to the service rooms
and the basement.
Details of entrance and the vertical
cut on the facade.
structure
The simple concept of reinforced concrete
frame is in this case deprived of the rigid
structural geometery, it also becomes a
plastic and expressive element and partici-
pates directly in the architectural composi-
tion of the building.
Returning to the studies conducted on
Michelangelo and the theorization con-
ducted on the concept of “ideal structure”
and “real structure”, we realize how Moretti
allows us to see the structural element only
in specific elements, where it represents
28
the right combination between ideal and Construction site photo
real, an example of these elements can
Identification of the arrangement of
be found in the shelves that support the
the pillars, slabs and beams.
enlarged size of the upper floors, in the ta-
pered structure of the pillar of the stairwell
and in the free pillar located in the center
of the entrance hall. These elements in fact
participate in the space game designed by
the architect and at the same time are pure
structural elements.
The use of shelves and protrusions allow
Moretti to move back the base block and
gives the top block extreme plasticity and
heaviness: this candid and monolithic vo-
lume, cut from the crack in the facade,
stands imposing above the rocky base al-
most crushing it through deep shadows.
Where, however, Moretti does not feel the
need to directly expose the load-bearing
structure, it is incorporated and hidden
by covering elements and visual screens,
as occurs in the base, where the marble
coating completely hides the load-bearing
elements or in the top volume where the
columns are highlighted only in conjun-
ction with the side terrace on the top floor
and create a kind of minimalist pergola,
capable of giving continuity to the volume
of the building and at the same time giving
open space accessible from the top attic.
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

Scheme of the mesh of pillars and

highlighting of the asymmetry due to
the irregularity of the project lot.

Executive design of the structural

mesh

Analyzing the plan of the building

and the distribution of the mesh
of the pillars, we realize how Mo-
retti, aware of the irregularity of
the project lot, tried to adapt a
hypothetical symmetrical building
to the project site by shaping it on
it.

It can be seen that the structural

mesh, while adapting to the project
lot, flared on the right side, re-
spects a clearly identifiable regular
base mesh.

29
technology
and materials
The attention to detail, typical of Moretti,
is also found in the choice and use of the
coating materials.
Travertine, mosaic, colored tiles and pla-
ster are used by the architect to give cha-
racter and expressiveness to the various
elements of the architectural composition.
By paying attention to the base element,
in fact, we realize how the use of traver-
tine evokes the presence of a monolithic
element, heavy, arcane and directly leaking
from the ground.
The different textures and geometric desi-
gns of travertine, conceived and used by
Moretti, in fact give a strong natural and
primordial character to the volume: a tec-
tonic aspect derived from the millennial
clash of the generating and mystical forces
that led to the fragmentation and recom-
position of the rocky element .
This highly expressive element is also used
30
by the architect as a palimpsest to insert
extravagant and visually disturbing ele-
ments, such as the marble leg, or a portion
of the worked frame, or a protruding block
that seems to almost detach from the buil-
ding and fall into the street .
The upper volume, however, although
massive and imposing, is dematerialized
due to the light reflection produced by
the ceramic mosaic covering. This in fact,
reflecting the light rays between the buil-
ding’s shine and creates particular games
of light and dark, lights and shadows, fur-
ther accentuated by the surface complexi-
ty of the volume: the presence of the scre-
ens on the facade, the corner protrusions
of the bedrooms and the deep crack on
the façade, in fact, they involve the pre-
sence of surfaces in light and surfaces in
shadow that are profoundly changeable
throughout the day.
Identification of the different finishing
materials.
Detail of the concierge and entrance
on viale Buozzi.
 Il Girasole - Luigi Moretti
Composition Book

Drawing of the elevation on via Buo-

zzi, anche scheme of the different
travertine cladding on the basemant.

Details of the basement

31
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