2 From modern utopia to the'deep city'

Heritage as history, collective memory

and embodied energy
Dauid Malawd

'AIl those historical fires ...'

Global u-arming is the result of a huge fire lit twt, crrrttrries ago ar the daw'n
of the industrial revolution, accumulatirrg sincc then CO1 in the atmos- _i
.__ -,_.1-
-:.'
pl'rere. Although it might lrc an obvious f,rct, rhc image given hy ther ecokr-
gist Anclreas Malm in his book The Prttgress t:tf This Storm: Notttre dnd ..,-,..
Society in a'V/arming V/orld (N,talm 201Fi) opens a perspectivc that is quit,: . ..- I :
opposite to thc traditional proactive cliscourse on thc sustairr:rblc citv. If
rve fclllow the retroactive look of Anclreas À,{alnr, lve realizc that our cntirr.:
: , I'.. : .

urbanized landscape, r,vith its billions oi kilom,:tr.s of iufrastrucrurers ancl

its myriads of huildings, has bccn creatcd tharrks to these'historical fircs'. ,,.,.t...
In this rcgard, any savagc clcmolition and an1'abanclonrncnt of cxirtirrq "l'1,. \1: -
structures that rcduced tc»'uothingness' the'past investmcnt' inheritcd ltron-r - r.l .r ,,1 '..
previous generations, should bc iveighing oil ollr conscieilce. Tirc still nrirr-
.1. -t.r"lt,l
ginal practices of reuse and recycling (Viganö 2012, Brilliant :rncl Kinncy
' I'lt ll,.''.1' .

2016) should be the central point of anv sustainable ur:ban design tlreorl-,
-. K,'rrt lllrl l'r'
'

r.l,hich has to rel:ltc somehow- to that irnmense'energetic hcritagc'. -' ..L1c of (11.1 .1r', -, " i-
Neverthekrss, since the first experinrents of eco-neighbourhoocls at thc turn 'ilt Pr' irr'l'r''"
of the tu.enty first ccntur1,, the clominant picturc of tl're sustainable cit,v is nruch ' :'r fi.:151. Lrut rarir. r' '.
nrore orientcd tor.vards ::r lareen and techrrological icleal futur:c (Pcr:ysinzrki " r r \tL-d \\-ith colrt!'rl-r:' - '-
2012). È.nergy efÍicieno,', wàter arld \\:aste rnànagement, smart grids, or roof ''l.llor1l)r'r't ttl. ti ' '
and faqade greening irre the spearheads of a nr'r,r' qrer']l ('ngill('cring that is
.11\('n)\'lll()l\''1''
easier to implcrncnt :rnd to control on ltew constructiolrs tharl on tlre complex 'l r ot'r'tir.tl att.ll\'.r-
cxisting r.rrban fabric. Irrdeed, built heritage has not been an integral part of ' ,..'inflrrenfial book L .
thcse cndeavours. One uright see in thc ncu, eco-s,vstenletic or 'metabolistic'
.r adr,ancecl àttt'nrpt :, - --
urban models used to design the sust:rinable citv a new'green utopianism' - 1 1l1qo1r r l-krn.rrr l" I

that rcgards the existing built environments as ot',solete structures and not -i: .ltte tnpt to inteqf.llt \': '
suitablc to lrc adapted to the sustairrable goals. [n vieu.of this, ttre sllstainal]le
city narrative h:rs faced a lot of cr:iticisrrs since its earli, dsy.l.rments r,l,hen
"' l. a \tud\ tlràt.r'r'
. , :.rnd thcir l',rrnt.rrr,,' '
compared r,i,'ith the prtvious qrc'.tt narr.rrii-.'of thc'fuuctionalist city' (Lev1, 'ri Stucl-Y tocr-rses t)tl thr - ..: "
2009). The functionalist cloctrine, rvhich \virs conccivt:cl cluritrg thc intcnr'.rr
,il rln lh| theoriz.ttiort ' '
period but rvas mirssivcl,v inrirlcmclircrl afterr\X/orld \Var II, lras bcen criticizcd
Finall,l'. intreducing thr '- ,-
since the I960s for its utopian dimcnsion gerrerating a ncgirtic-rn «rf the prrst
'\ i) - .In()thtr kin..l ,,i .r'
 Frcwt ntodern utopia to the'deep city' 17
r.obs 19(,[, Choav I96.5.'lafirri 1973). Built heritage \\,as ther considcred
- r l.urclen of the p;rst, a chaqrtic rrrrd'unhealthv body' d-rat u,as not any more
. rptahlr- to the inrlustrial features o[ rlodernitl-. Urbar"r desien \À,.as, thus,
- :rrei1 by an ecerloÍn,y
lrased on obsolescencc and u,aste, rvhich lecl to rirdical
'rolition policies. 'fhis chapter will revierv the evolution crf ur:ban desisn
.ories, from tnrtdern ut()l)ia tr.l c()rlt('lrpor.r11, theories of the city as renew-
'.r resource as a mcans to unfirlcl the concept of the'deep city', rvhicl'r, in this
.k, is clcfinccl as a city that conrprises of rnultiple ancl comp.,lex, infcrrelated -__<
-:ri',oral lavo:s (Alvcrti and Ft>useki in this volume).
I ii.ill start this theoretical inquirv b1, exploring the'tahr-rla rasa' prirrciplcs.
- '. kev pr:incipic of functionalist planning refcrs to an ancient rvliting tcch-
:Lre using rvar talrlet as:r rrrcclium. \X/hen irsctl, the tahlet could he blanlied
heating the wax ar"rd then snloothing it, lcaving rll1,v tlilccs of thc prc-
,Lrs u,ritings. Ihe cxpression is nostly r-rsed to clescrihe nrirssivr: demoli-
' ,n rvirhout taking irrto account th:rt the'talrula rasa'lvas Íirst rcleting r,r
.rcntal proces§. Atterr llené L)escartes' famor.rs method, it rvas connect(d
rhe iclea of getting rid of onc's prejudice, in order: to approach a problerrr
:h a scientific mind-sct. Through tlre anal,vsis of thc Pldn Voisin f<»r
,iis clesignecl in t925 b.v l,e Corbusier, rvhich is considered as one of the
' .;t radical proposals of 'tabula rasa'. I w-ill encleavollr to examilic, in the
' 1rrq,i11* sections, both sidcs of that fr"rnctionalist metirphor ar-rd discuss
: role that lvas left to hcritagc.
I u.ill also adclress the theorctical reaction that rose :rgainst the function
.t cloctrine. After a fei,v decadcs oÍ urlran rencr,val ancl expansion based
' that iclea of thc blirnl< slate, from the 1960s onrvard, more and more
--hitects started vien'ing the comprehension of the tenporal clepth of the
:i as thc necessary basis to adcl any neu, huilt layer (llossi 1966, Llnch
--). Rorve and Koetter 1978). These nerv conceptions helped torv:lrds
: resClr€ of old citv centres that h:rd heen neglected by thc functionalist
',:ronale. llre-incltrstrial heritage was not anymore considered a residue
- rl're past, blrt ratheÍ a virluable structure that corild be renovirter] and
. rlested r,vith contemporary uses. As Vlattias Ekman pointed ollt (2013),
' l. rnaior tireoretical shift has to do w.itlr thc irnport:rtion of the coucept ol
llcctive mcnlory from the sociolog,v of Jvlaurice Halbr,r,achs. I will focus
' r thcoretical analvsis on the rvork of the Italiirn architect Aldo Rossi
'11,15g illfluential book Uarcbitettura della città (1966) is considerecl ils thc
",,st aclvancecl amen'rpt to intcgrate the concepts of Halblr,,achs in:rr:chitec.
r-al thcory (Ekman 2013). It is rvorth notins that Kevin Irnch rnade the
-it attempt to ir-rtegr:afc Maurice Fialbu.,achs into The [ntage of the C,ity
eíj0), a studl* that air.r.recl to aclclress rhe visual appcarance of Anrcrican
:1.5 :rnd thcir fornratiorr irr'environmental imirges' ([..r,'rrch 1960). Fl«rlve ver.
-:r. stud,v fLrcr-rses tin the question of perception of space ancl orir:nration
' rlr on thc theorization oí the tcnrporal depth of thc citir:s.
Frnall,r-, introducing the metaphor: of the l:1n(l as 'palimpsest' (Corboz
,r.l) - anothcr l<ind of anr:ient r,vr:iting techniqur refcrr:ing to the.r:ec_vcling
 18 Dat,itl MttlautJ
of plrr,-:hmerlts that conserves traces of their past uses - I r,vill attempt trr rray, like engineers, forgetting
cliscuss horv th:rt deep conccption of the city could be relatcd to the pre- rasa'was, thus, to be done first i
sent prohlrrllatic of sustainability. I rt'ill thereforc outline the recent urban rhis method, he used the famo
researLll oi the ltirlian urban dcsigner Paola Viganö (Viganà 2012, Viganà engineers stopped trying to irrur
irncl Mirstroungi 2013) whose collcept of the city as a capital «rf 'eut:,<idied an abstÍact way that the-v rvere
enerrgy'is fLrrther aclvarrcing the theories of Aldo l{ossi and André Corboz. f,ying' (Le Corbusier 200r. p.
81, doing so, in this chrrptcr I will ultimatel,v intr:oduce thc underpinnir.rg alize the city's smallest unit the
princ:iples of a sustainable 'deep cit,v' ancl I rvill outline the rvay fonn'ard onwatds, he started to design a
for rkrvcloping sustainable cities in the future rvith heritage:1tld hibtorY íit ciel cruciforme', the'Immeuble
thcir core. fiem inspired by avant-garde it
It111). He then tried to asserr
icherne 'Villes-tours','Rue à re
Tabula Íàsa and the cemetery of historic monuments all together to create the plan
Plirn Voisin. [...] covering rvith buildings only 57i, of the ground, hhabitants' presented in 19'1
pÍcservcs the relics of the past and place thcm in an harmottitttts rrom the housing unit, Le Cort'a
surrouncling: trees, plantations. V/eil, yes, things have fo clie one day mtire ideal city acting as a radi
too nn,.l tltese parks in thr: 'Monccau' stylt: are cemclerics attractively hndscapes. As a logical coLs€qr
ruririrttrlined. One cirn lcarn, dreatr ;rnd breathc there: Past is no lorlge r a Se adequate architecture of nhe
lrarmful gesture assassinating life; past is birck in the line.l a-r a surgical cuÍe to the trc-xíie
(l,e (iorbr-rsier 1994, p. 273) imposition of a totalizing bran
*ill the scientific ansrver to the
J'lre raclic;rl modernization of the ccntre o[ Paris proposerl in 192.5 b,v l.e The'Le Corbusier' proprcsal r,
Corbr.rsicr irr his l'irtnous Plan Voisin is often cited as tlre most extreme appli- :e regularly redrew variations
c;rtior of tlre'tabr-rla ras.l' principle. Presented at the Parisian S;tktn des arts ruthorities. However, ir-s prino
déce»ati{s rrnd prrblishecl in the 2Sth issue of L' Esprit Nctrtr-tedu. Plirn Voisirt :unctionalist doctrine of the [nt,
proposecl thc clemolitic,n of the dense ancictlt quartcrs of the right bank of [LL\t), which became the s
thc Seinc ltiver ancl their rcplacement by rl business cenlre wirh cighteen §orld War II. Folloting the cr
sk,vscrapcrs of sixtl'floors as rvell ;rs a resideirtial ancl administrative ceilfrc :ilOnstruction and throuóour
with high-risc blocks. Iustead of rhe urrhcalthl,, ovcrcrowcled :rnd congested :-ies rvere implemented, leadine
ur:ban fal,rie irrherited from pre-industrial times, thc plan of Le Corbusier :.ighbourhoods that \r-ere cor
rvciuld hrtvc re-creatcd Pirris as an 'organized. serettc, for:cefr"rl, irirl', orderetl ,a-tir-e housing units or nes- h.ie
cntity'(l.e Corbusier 1964,p. 134). Irr lris rnincl, old cities rvere becornitrg x.ere raised against such massir
nrorc anrl nrore chrrotic because thc,l'wcre not adirpted to the irldustrial .rmct the functionalist narranrr
arteÉacts tlrat had been invadirlg urban space sincc the beginnirtg of tlre 1J65]. revealed that its sciennt
iuclustrial revolrrtior-t. Notabl-v, in the 1920s, the car traffic n'as gr,ru-inu :ian matrix developed back in
cxponcntiilll). lvhile the strects' rvidth r'vas not adapted to this exponential nt-rralists as a reaction ro rh€
growth. Ilorn'evcr, instead of tr,ving to restrict the use of rrrachincs, the aim :on. In the tradition of the t-a-rn,
\\ras t() rcrtake cities more 'rationally', so thtt they cor"rld he irt harrnon,v r-. Saint-Simon, Charles Fourre
with ncw technological advancenrents. T'hc erasure of thc cxisting Parisian 'rn:gin2ry cities where indu-qrr
rurb:ln fabric was then the scientific aIISwer to thc prciblems in Pat:is, tlrc -L. -\ntoine Picon pointed our
ilccc§§àry'surgery' to save the heart of the cit,v f-r:orn i:ollapsing. itrue to become s,vnonïmclrr-s sr
lrr lris rrrticlcs publishecl in the avant-grlrde review I"Esprit Netuueau ]-!iinq a complete depamrrc trc
:rrrd coliected in his two famous bool<s k,r'ard dn Architechil'e (1923) and :rEn[un, utopian perspecrire. Lre
L.lrbuisr+t (192-5), Lc Corbusier wirs arlvocating that to atldress correctly the *;onomic agendas and led tc, rf
prr:blernatic o{ the industrial revr.rluti<ln, architt:cts had to think in ir riltional t.ar n'ere described earlier-

4r -

--A-
 From moLlern uloltid to the ,dee/t city' 19
:kc engineers, forgetting traditior-rs and preconceptions. .tabulir
: .-, .1s. rhus, ro be done firsr in the minci of the planner. In orderTheto explain
^ -:thocl, he used the famous ar-ralogy of the air:plane:
lt is only when
- ' ..,rs stopped trying to imitate the bird and formulatetl the problem in
.-itracr 1\,ay that the,v were able to invent the airplane as a.inachine for
: I.e Corbusier 2007, p. 165). Le Corbusier proposed ro concepru_
rire citv's smallest unit, the house, as a .machine to rnhat:it,. From 1920
:rJs. he starred ro design a new t.vpe of housing structure, the.(iratte_
.-:uciforme', the 'lnrrrrtihle a redelts', anc{ the iirn,rreuble-rrillas,, all
'-' inspired by avant-g:rrde itleas that were of
circulatirrg ar the timr,: (Niver

.'r.-'Villes-rours','Rue à redents,. .Villes-pilotis,, and finaily put rhern

:,rlrerher ro create the plan for .A cor-rtcmporary city of three million
.lritants' presented in 1922 at the Sa/oz tl,Atttrtmne in paris. St:rrtins
' '--r rhe housing unir,
Le C,orbusier ended up rationally with the plan of al
:e rdeal city acting as a radical alterirative to the cxistins rvestern urban
' :i.apes. r\s a logical consequence, the mental .tabula
rirsa, that revealecl
rJequate architecturc of the nroder:n city lr:rcl to be translatcd irrto reality
- r surgical cure to thc bodies of cxisting cities. Hor,vever traumatic that
:,.sition oÍ a totalizing brarrcl-new strlrctllre rnight be, plan Voisin was
' rhe scientific answer to the urbar-r problems of paris.
The'l e Corbtrsier'proposal fbr paris was nevcr implemented, evcn though
rcqularly rcdreu. variations of it addressing'rheÀ to the administrative
-.hor:ities. I{owever, its principles were central in the elaboration of the
' ririonalist doctrine of the Inrcr:national Cbngress of Moclern r\rchitecture
I \\I), r,vhich bccame the guideline for western urhan planning
after
rld \Var II. Follorving the concept of the ,tabula rasa,, in post_war city
- : rnstruction and throughout the Trente Glorieuses,
urban ienewal pol_
r'! were irnplemented, leading to tl-re massivc clestruction of historic uÀan
' chbourlloods that wcre consiclercd unhealthy., replacirlg rhem
by col_
lre lr,,usirrq units or rrt,rv hir:hrva1r. l-ronr rhe l,)tr(lr ,,rrr,rar.ds. t.rrtit.isrns
::-c raised against such massive urban transformatitrns. In or.lcr to decon_
":ruct the functionalist narrative, histor:ians such :rs Frangoise Choay (Chorry
-ri.í), revealed that its scientific discourse r,vas based
on a concealed uto-
-. rn rr-iarrix developed
back in rhe ninercenth r:enrury b,v philosophers ancl
'-:,rralists as a r:caction ro the
dislocation cffects of'the indr-rstrial revolu_
,n. In the tradition of the famous .Utopia, of J'hoinas l\{ore,
thinkers such
,. §aint-Sirnon, Charles Fourier or Rober:t Orn,cn, developecl non_situated
'raginarl, cities where industr:y ancl people rv<;uld
live in a ner.v harmony.
r. Àntoine Picon pointed out (2013), uropia ceased then to be a literarv
r.nre to becorne synon,yÍnous with social ancl political transfonnati,rr, pr.r:
:',rsing a complete deparrrrrc frorn cxisting eonditions. During the twentieth
-r'ntur)', utopian perspectives bcgan to merge u,irh mainstreaÀ political ancl
i.ononlic agendas and ro the lar:ge-scalt_. functionalist planning policies
_led
.irat r,vere described earlier.
-l
20 Daukl Malautl
After these porverful accusatior'ls against the functiclrurlist cloctrine, the
metaphor of the 'tabula rasa' t&'as associated tl utopian rvay of desigrring
totalizing offshore spaces that would either rernain chimeric or tre imposetl
b-v force ol1 the tcrr:itories r'vith total disrespect for their histori' irnd their
tr:ilclitions. Ncvertheless. a closer exantiniltion of the wor:k of l.e Corbusier
r,vill revcal that it is not history that is ncgated hut rather that thc p.rst is *r'
viewed in a rnorc complex rranner. Firstly, he was rr<lt disregarding tlre entire
histor:y rif architccture. His books ar:c Íutl of referenccs to ancient monunlents
and archaeological maps of antique cities representing the idea of orcler that
he r,vas locrl<ing for. The cl-rapter entitled ''Ihe lesson of Rome' in'[ttu'ard dn
Arcbitecture (Le Qrrbusier 2007) is particular:ly helpful to understar.rd his
relationship rvith the past. Follorving the traditional tr:itrr to Roilte, considered
rrt that tiÍne as a neccssary stcp in the architcctural eclucation, Le (lorbusier
visited the city tvu'o times, in l9l 1 and I92 I' r:cspectivel,v. Hor'vever, itt cotr-
tÍast to the Beaux-Arts architects r,vho were stronglv inspireil bv thc eclectic
Roman landscape ancl its juxtapositiort of tnonuments and rr'rins of cvery
epoch, hc was extremely severe lvith the city. describing it as'ir hazaar where
everything is sold', ancl rn,here'ugliness is legion' ([.e Corbusier 2007, p. 19-5)'
He only valued sonte ancictrt Itonlan [1ollu1]1ents, such as t]re P;ultheon, the
(iolosseum, acltteclucls, the P.vramicl of (iestius, triurnphirl arches, the Rasilica
of Constantine, the llaths of Cirrac,rllil, rrs well as N{ichclangelo's architt'uttrrcs.
which he considerecl as the expression of pure elenrctrt:rr,v solicls.
A drawing rnade in 1915 out o{ dte Anteiqt:rc Yr{'tis ltn,tgct (1561) by d
Pirr:ci Ligori<i (Figure 2.1) erpr:esses clearl,v thc selcctivc liistorical approach _-_
of l.e Corbusier. While oil tht: errgraving the antiqr.re nlonllnlents wele a

cmerging fr:om a chaotic ttrban structure, l-e (lorbusier sketchecl a citl- irr
ivhich these architectural obiects were floating in an unclefitlecl greener-v (['e
(lorhusier 2007, p.20(l). That inraginarv rer:onstruction of the past, r'r'here
prisntatic volumes will be orderecl in tr green landscap,e, coulcl thr-rs be seen
as thc 'lesson of ltome' ttrat architccts should rctnembcr to incorporetc irr
the clesign of ncw rnoderrr citics.
As a logical consequettce of that historical approach, we can then nrlre
that tlre materia[ 'tabula rasa' proposed ill thc Plan Yoisut \&ras llot corlplete rrsmsurroutrd óe oar
and final. His vision rvas oriented torv:rrcls filtttrc. yet tl.re'histr.rric past'still rÍl'rplr' huih erriroon
'1994, pp. 272-273). Às
had a placc in it as'universal he'ritage' (I.e Oorbusier Iramd in óe toítr! ot
the nerv buildings were tinly covering five per cent of the ground. his design & rmamk fnrks ot óe
u.<>ulcl have preserved the train lnonLlments selected for their historÍcal and öe Farlss as'cmrc
artistic valuc, despitc the displaceiltent of some of them. ltlowever raclical qrilcrcd-ln hiscmcl'om.
----Shatdid not hmoq
this proposal ma.v sound toclal', it rvas still respccting the conception of the
'Historic Monuntctrts' that r'vas cleveloped in Francc sirrce the middle of the m he soÍed aray trom d
nincteenth centur,v and rvhich had hecn marie law- in 191.1. lrollorvirrg the d h.d a prresena in the
Pb ilosr4t b ie LJt: l' art of I{ippolvte Thirre (186,i), Irolltlmellts were, at that rrsed as DaÍr o{ ós citT
tirnc, considered as valuable and clocumcnts for ÈCfiiEIffiE;
*9 P 1994 , pp.272-273) the
past' would, thus" have been er-rrphasizcd in the greenery that
+
Tï
ur
couclíÀfun ot öi
hke ro relare rhar a-m
 Front ruoder-n trtopiLt ïc.t ï.be,d.eep citt,, 21

<

' . :,,,, 2. / pirro Ligor:io, Ànte iclvae

li.brs lrriago, 1.!61

,i to surround thc nerv constructions.

-.J 'ugl.v' built Instead of standing in a,false,,,sac{,
environmeÍlt, the ptrrisian rnonumcnts
- .t,ntt.tl irr tht.fi,rrn ()l;rn \\rould have been
' : rom:lntic parks of tlrr: ()p(.n_,,ir.,,.",,,r, i"fl,,Ur*',r,ltrrï.,,,,.n.f
-.:ic parks as'ccmeteries, nineteenth cenfury. Lc CorblrsieÍ even describec{
wherc th"r., .t,,".t nlonufilents woulcl
- itrcd.
In his corrce prion, tlre p"r, ,"r, ,tr,,l;" h:rve been
n".n,f*t f"r*r" *rïrr,nating
''.\\har tlidrr.ttrrnt.riorr .,,,,1*.,r..w.r..l,,lrri.,l,.rr,(l
' hc srored away fr.nr the new
pdrl
"il,;r;";; .rntl h.rtl
- il had a pl:cse[ce in rhe moder,., ,.b"r.,,'rr..1rti,,n.ii;;;;";;;i lï,J:ï
Àr.ri,;,r;.'u"r,."-,
ytt, the past was not
,ii'.1 ,rs l)xr-t of rhc .ity .rr,a
Iir rrrrl lr,,,l. lr, ,. ratht.r.
..r (*
,rs n
a .hclt.r,rlopi:r.,
rr(r(rLr
r.,, crt.lrrJ,,d lrorn rh...rl,rrh,n,,r:it," r
.{s a corrclnsion oÍ rhis-tirst parr
tirlins.;;r
".rv like ro relarc rhat on ,h.].r"Éul, rasA,process, I wouki
arnbigun,,, hcritag" exr._mpliliecl plan
"ppro".h"r., b1,
 22 Dauid Malautl
Voisin to tl're of According to Antoine
Picon 1 , utoplas are on paracloxical ambitior-r of ter-
nrinating history in the very natnc of history as, on thc one hatrd, they present
themselves as the logical outcome of historv ancl thc prevailing historical
conditions, rvhile, on the other hand, they aim at identifying principies that ft erftrrmture of €r§}m
could resist the erosion of time . Utopias genertlte a suspension of history. As G_.--emnecrsRr strc
Antonis Liakos pointed out, 'utopias rvere outside of histor-v and acquirccl lriil oor Sow hom -\ld
significance exactl.v because they wer-e not part of histor.t". and because they tg|0@ at óe 'permen€,
occurred in a remote place, free from the pains and sufferings gencrated by frooÈom öe hi*orr ot
the responsibilit.v of history' (I-iakos 2007, p. 29).'fhe tir-ne of utopias is
p.'rrel orurban froieil§
indeed a natural or mechanical one, which runs tluidl-v ancl eternilllv urithout Thruoghout L'ar&ita
any obstacles, r,vhile historic tilrte is one wlrt-'re the d,vnarnics of conflicts tr.cri elaborared hÈ à
betrveen social groups is shaping the society. Follow'ing this analysis, lve trsm of óe collecrrr
rnight unrlerstand r'vhy some monuments \\rere prest-'rved in tlre fr'rncti<lnalist ffi
url.ran planning. The selective mental 'tabula r:rsa' ircted rrs a legititnization cl{ [ttune 192=.19.i9r and
the new system showing its r:ontinuit,v rvith histor:-v' llut rvhen it is translirted mrsred in óe FeÍsrsta
\J
on the ground, lil<e in tine Plan Voisirt, this preservation becomes problerrr DjffiàFi-rh€iÍ genererir
\i è----+----
InlErtr rmprre- s-DrIC SO
atic, since monlrments are symbols of the human mcm()r)/ that utolia tlies
precisr:ly to forget. If monuments are to llt in the picture, they have to be htErme stone qoarries- É
neutralizcd, emptiecl frorn their deposit of mernorl', ancl then car:efulli' stored c F-rance sere transÍ(|rtr
in the cemeter)', as inoffcr.rsive shapes.

Urban'permancnces' and the locus of collective mcmory

... C.ittà an?1loga as a c()rnl)osition s]-sfcrn referring to the human dirren-
sion of the construction of cities tl'rroughout timc' as an ethical postLrre
considering monumcllts as points of reference and articulation of the
collective rnenlory'
(Rossi l g73,p. )7) #rÉ

re-E I
Città anaktgtl is the namc of three mirjor grirphic rvorks that w'ere exhibirerl
by Aldo Rossi for the 1.§th Nlilano Trienn:.rlc of I 973 and thc Venice Biennale
of 1976.The tlvo first oncs lrr'fr'rspc(tives paintecl b,v Arduino (lantafora
and the thilci is a large rnap prodr.rcecl r,vith Eraldo Clonsolascio, Bruno I
Reichlin ancl Fabio Reinhart. The thr:ce ol them represent :rn inraginerv .il5 tI
city composed l-r,v thc collage of rnonuments. Y/hert solneolle can find in a
these r,vorks is a collecriort of arc,hitectural references from antiqtlc' timc tcr
Í t-
the earl-v her:oic period of modern lnovcment, niixed u'ith sorne designs of
Aldo l{ossi (Chupin 2007). The huilt heritage, rvhich rvas exclucli:d in the
ccnlctery in Le Clorbusicr's utopian design. bccame thc vcry fragnrcnts of
I r
the Città analoga. Thesc collages are not to be unclerstoocl as designs t'rr
a particular citr- hut rather as a thcorctical manifesto for a nerv rva,v of
designing architecture rh:lt rclates to the l'rumatt climcr.rsion of the constluc-
tion of cities thror-rgirciut time. Folkrt'irrg the teaching of Ernesto Nathan
Itogers, who considerecl history as a tradition r,vhere the :rr:chitect can 6ncl
 Frr.tm nto,lern Ltto.pi{l to the ,deep city.
23
--t,rl rcsources for
tr)rescnt <1i:sign, Aldo Rossi, alor_rg with other: architects
:-.r fe.ndenza. rejectcd rhe prin6ipls ol rhc
:.:ili ' :',r rh,ir.rnind ro irnàqin(: hr,rrrd mental .tabula rasa,. Insteacl of
rr,.* [r.,rr,.,r.;;;r;;,;;.,i ir; ;",ï,;r,
-- r',rrr-urs frorn
-.11 the I 9í,{)s o,* arJs. rhey ,l;6.; ; ffi;il,
-:, -t t . .rrchitc*L1re of erisring cities (Mazz,r"i j0ïti i;, .;;;;;;;;.1ï.,,,.,ion_ ïnrtyri, of
'' rr. ltitt'tts rvlro rvcrc frt rrrírtl ..,n llle ,t-r,,1ar...n.1"",-rr',.,ï.,"r,,.,,.,rr"r,
.:r-tl ., ll nr,rrv shor,v hor,l, Aldci Rossi ancl
other architects of rhe Ten<ienza weÍe
:.rï1g t1r the'perntanencesi, physical
- ,ushour rlre history or cultur:al, tl_rat could l.re founcl
of cities. and that should bi: thc brsis
.' .rr,rl or rrrlr,rrr lrroiecrs. "r rr\ ,..h;-
'r'' rrf-n.*,
Ihroughout L,architettura della città, first
publishcd in 196(r, Alclo
.ri elabor:ated his.thcorv of urb;ril .lcrmancnces,
-..ion of the collcctive rnernor)-. that resistecl the
Alclo i{ossi took up the work of thc
'-.,rch histririals of rrrbanism Nfarct.l lroëte (poëte 1g29).Henri pirennt:
:tn're 79)7.I939) and pierre Laveclan (Lrrr.etJrn
-t :rresrcd in the per:sistences that can
tc:í,, f'yjà) *ho rr"..
be observecl in thc cities ancl tr:iecl
:-ll- Jcntif_v their generative ele ments. For
instance, afrer the rlecline of thc
:tai : rrrr F.rn1.ir1', r,rhile sorn(. monumcnt\
:ic
su(ll .,r'rf-r" C,i'",i,,ï';n tt,,,n.,
qlrarrit.s. tlrr. lrnPhilht,alr.t.s ol \irnt.s
J -: ,,1n.'\lr)llc antl Arlt,, ir,1r,..,,,,,f,
i-r;rnce were transf<trmcd by the
Visigoths,,rr., f,.,rr..rr., ii;fr* Z.Zl

*:1c;1,,,:.,;.,'.,:-;:: l; ;l;,.. -!;r' I I ., .r :'',, 'tl..r,.llli:,.;ilrlt.' rr;r: i,

-l

:1

:':ure ).? -facclues l)evtrct, l.,amphitl,róiri:e

cl.,\r:les
rlllu.rr,rti,)n lr.(,nr llossr l.rsl.p IIt,
tcl qu,il esr à présent . 1666.
 24 Ddt,itl M'tlaud
(Rossi 1982, pp. 86-90).'fhey became then nuclei of aggregation for the
redeployment of thosc cities :rt tlrc end of Àttedicval times iu the tw'elith
centurv. Thc irrban 'perlnanences' c:rl1 bc monurnents like these Roman
,-1 aniphithcatres but also infrastrlrctul'es, such as ramparts, or simplv thtl
layout of the strcets and plazas.
This theory of 'permanences' is Alclo llossi's main arguutent against the
functionalist city thrrt :rdvcrcatecl che adequacy of forn'r to function and thtrs
thc ol-rsolescence of r-trhirn structure. For hir-n, the city is tt'r be thought in its mrxnIrcs in óe sociilffiï
historical dcpth as something that persists through its tratlsforrnations: 'the ffi h;g§ ""t ó. i",lt"*
cornplex or simple trirtisforntations tlf functions thar it graduall,v unclet goes m ot uÍban space- óe u
are lonli, I moments in the realitv of its structure' (Rossi 1 982, p- .i5 ). As ltossi th iqrorance of rfuud in r

explains, cities'tend to remain on their axes of clevelopment, maintaining the rs a dem€trt for presersrq
position of their original layout irncl grorving accorditig to the clirection and rp=ning of monumrnts' i Rol
meaning of their older artefacts, which often ap1-,ear remote from present- m:r óe Caóolic
day ones' (Rossi 19,32, p. 59). I'Ie continues by stating that sornetin)es,'these r e drasing oi Antonir L:
artefacts persist virtuall-v unchanged, cudorved with a continuous vitalitl; ?3t. space b trard
()ther tifires they exhaust thcmselves, ancl then onl-v the pernlailencc tif their lriry rÍom one churró to er
form, their phvsic,rl sign, thcir locus remains'(Ilossi 1982, p. .59). c- rorship óe srames oí si
For Al<1o Rossi, the utilizertion of the 'bodies of the olil ,-:ities' has to be l*.d-óeir mrrh-
undcrstood through Lr«rth an ecotromic and a psychological rali<-rnali: (ltossi
1982, p. 9,5). T'he originalitv of his approach rv:rs intlced to view the citl' and
its conrp<rttents irs urtratr artefacts" or urban facts (iattrt urttantt)ror, in <:,tl'rer
rÀ r,161.,.t, ,,rci,, . ult tr'.tl !otlslruLtiulls thet t'tlrnhirrt' physi,'al nrrd irrrm.rtr.'rial '+-_
aspects. Às he clairns in the irrtr:oduction of L'drcbitettu.rd tlella citta the
'architecture' of the city is thern'not onl,v the visiblc im:rge of the citv and the ::- È
sum of its different architecturcs, but arcl'ritccturc às eotrstruction, the con-

P;

the cit,v u,as indced based on an

rlslrlg offered
a reading of human establishmenfs that lirrl<ecl the material
and social strrlctures irs well as the rcal
this central to Rossi's book
developed by the Í]
lnterwar
l.eibniz Henri Ilergson following the footsteps of his melltor soci-
ïx ologist Érnile Durkhcinr, Halbwachs introcluced the followirtg clistinction
tr betr,vccn mclnor-y1 :ts arl active structure maintained in a group by its living
ti traclitior-rs, and ltistory as à constructit,n a posteriori wlrere past has to be
Íj written in nrder to surl,ive . Halbrt,achs statecl that gcnetral 'history cloes uot
begin until trildition has ended, at the moment when the social memor)
fades or breaks down' (Halbu,acl-rs 1997.p.130). In a series oI publications
(Halbwachs 1.925, 1941 . 1997), he lv,rs clenroustrating horv indiviclual
remembering is cr:nclitit.lnecl by soci:rl and cultural interactions. According
to hirn, memories are rlot stored as cntities ir-r the hrain of everv individual

*.-atr-+ --
 Front motlern tÍopia to tbe'deep cit1,' '25

'rtist only through a reconstrucrive proccss rhat relies on stable ilr"id

-;tire Írameworks like thosc of language, social relations or the builr
:,rrment. Alclo Rossi's book is then an artempr to look at the collective
'. ,rrl AS the common threacl to understand the entire complex structure
.-
.' cin'. For him, the citv itself should be seen as'rhe locus of rhe collectivc
',,rr' (ltossi 1982, p. 1j0.)
.tnC€, for Rossi, mo[uÍnents are tlot historical documents but active
-. .:Lrres in the social lifr: of the citn framing its collective
memory. Aldo
,.r brings out thc following fundamental stmctures for the intcrpret-
'r t',f urban space, tht: trio of ritual-monurnent/locr_rs-myth. For him,
rnrportance of ritual in its collective nature and its essential character
,. r element for preserving myth constitutes
a key to understanding ther
rring of monuments' (Rossi 1982, p.24J.To illustrirte this concept, Rossi
, . rhe Catholic iconographv of pilgrimage and processions. For exrmple,
r Jrar.ving of Antonio Lafrcri representing the seven churches of l{ome
':;re 1.3), space is travelled up and down by processions of pilgrims
':: frorn one church to another, visiting the consecrated loci wherc they
' -.., orship the statues of saints ancl thus, by this riru:rl, mainraining their
-.rJ. their myth.

'!,,1,.1 -.i;:'.

:trc 2..', Sel'cn churches o[ 1{ome. Engrlvine ettr:ibuter] to Ciiov:rr-rni ,\rnbrogi<r

Brambilla, in Speculum R(,nlàrlrr.Nl.rqniticentia(j,Antonio i.afreri, 1-57.i.
tlllustr.rrrorr lrom l{ossi leSl.Ï.. l.ilr
 26 L)auid Malautl

Accorcling to the pl-ogressive conceptit>n of memory of Halbwachs, rhe ,.mq{€r. a logical primrplr
frarneworks ilre uot to bc seen as eternal and fixecl st[uctures.'lhe,v are rathcr rnotui 198À p- 401. as a rar
shapetl and re-shaped river time b,v social rrnd cultur:al conceptualizatiorls. m triHings-
l'or l{ossi, thcn, 'ereat icleas flow through the history of the cit1,' and give Fr AIdo Rossi. óts logi
shape to it', and the collective nlenrory slroulcl bc seen as e dynalnic force & liÍor-rof socierr. has m
tliat'participates in the actual transformation of space b,v the r,vork of the ilmffi- FIe conceired hisror
collectivc' (l{ossi 1982, p. 130). However * arrd tlrat is rn,hat distinguishes óq§. of attectire o,ttiecs I
it cle:rrly frorn thc 'tabula rasa' * tlris proccss of transfornration of the cit,v l.ft- p- -4r- This coocetf,k
throughout histor.v bears some 'permanences' as it is 'alwa-vs conditioned shmure'he tri€d m dsr
b1, r,vhatever material r:ealities oppose it' (Rossi 1982, p. 130). One could ,qrlercd it as reendl +'S
argue that the built cnvironmcnt may not be as fluid as memor.v and social [ootmg back to hÈ Screrd4
imagination. This iclea was clearly expressctl hy N4auricc IJirlbrvac]rs in the sd his creati§€ frro€ess r
following passage of La Mémoire collectiue quotcd Lr,v l{ossi: {rt Í{rG of aftcion +}í:ler
r.I*d an anelogical dritl Ii
When a group is introduced into a part of space, it transforms rr to ÖEse *ruÍtr€ys thro@ his n
its irnagc, but at tirc sarne tirne, it f ields ald adapts itseJf to certairr nr nr1*ll-r drawn alo,agside o
material things rvhich rcsist it. It encloses itselt in the framer.vork that r,egn emerges- 7k Te.rrrro ,
is corrstructed. T'lre image of the erterior environmcnt and the stable frr óe renewal of 6e Venirz r

relationships that it rnaintains rvith it pass into the rcalm of the idea Eillfrioo, constirutes óe r
tl-rat it has of itself. -deraf'*ith many retirm
(Hall»vachs 19.50 citccl in l{ossi 1982, p. 1 .}0) rmdcn lighóorres of the rr
r rartr mill sisitfl€ on old q
Aldo Rossi then distinguishes two t1'pcs'of 'pcrmancnces' inclrrcling the Èi€s fiis creatrse prrc s
'pathological permanence' and the 'vita1 . The 'pathological Ézgments of the inherired ci
permanence' is not connectecl to the ancl the cit,v's contenrporaÍy móircct as well as oÍ the cd
needs and functions (sr-rch as the Alhambra oÍ (}:;rrracla i,vhich is sul.rportins
only institutioual historicirl nirrratives). On the contrar:-y. other urball
artefacts, exemplified r,r,ith Palazzo clella l{agione irr Padua can bc'propel-
ling' or'vital permirnences'. They alc being reuscd thr'oughr>ut hist,rr_v r,vittr
diffcrent functions. As part of thc living rh,vthm of thc cit1,, tlrc,v :ue still
active Frameworks of the collective metnory. Tl-ris new. understanding of
url-ran 'perntanencers' as the locus of collective menlory provided powerfr-rl
arguments filr the reuse of ancient city centres thl oughor-rt F.uropc. fhe rrew
urbarr expansion plans incorporated existing strlrctures. One can cite, for
cxample, thc rehabilitations of the cit;- centre of llologna and of the N{arais
district in Paris.
Tti corclude this seconcl paÍt, I would like to return to the Clfrà antllogit
in orcler to show horv this nc\\.corlception of the cit1, in its historic clepth
generated ncw rnethodologies for designing irrchitecture, cleparting fronr
the mental 'tabula rasil'. Thc particularitlr of urban 'permanences', botll
'pathological' or'vital', is that they constitute'a past that rve are still experi-
ercing' (l(ossi 1 982, p. 59). This experience of the past, represented in thc
c<rll;rges of the Città anctloga, Lrccomes the main rnater.ial out of which the
archirects of the Tenclenzrr developecl their architectur:es. They stuclied and
classi{ied the clii:ferent historical 11,pes,'sontr-thing that is perrranent and

? . l@rl

--
 Frr.tnt rnodet.n utopia to tlte .dcep
city, 27
e .r. a logical principle that is prior: ro form ar.rd rhirr consrirures
ir,
r . i 9E2, p. 40), as :r rarional basis to tre reinterpreted
;- -.-iIrJings. in the design oÍ
E - \ldo Rossi, this logical consrrucrion of arciritecture that roots rt in
E .:,,rv of socicty-, has to meet an aurobiographicai
moment i, tt,. ,t.rign
e ,,r. He conceivcd history.not simply ,, f".t, but rather as
a scries of
affective objects ro ht.uscd bv tlre mc:fiiory of a
-_-..(rf
. f . 74). T'his ctinceprion was the l,asis of the theorl,
dt_sign,(Rossi
..,f ih":rnrtrg.r"
.crure' he tried to develop during his career, although
L" n"r",. ,"nll,,
.'red ít_ as recently exposecl by lean,pierre Chupin ((ihupin,
2007).
",ns b:rck to his Sczerzrific Autobictgrapby (R<tssi l9g1),,".'.",,
under.
. his creative process as a work o] rerniniscence,rncl r:eint..p,:"trtim
rres of affcction (Nlal.lld 20i g). His design
starts r,vith what niight be
: an irnalogical drift. His rescar:ch sketchcs ar.e keeping th" tr.l.ks of
:: tlrrrnervs through his visual ntefilor.yr
one shape calling inother. which
-,:'rJlr ,-lrai,vn alongside or
superirnpose<J ovcr thr. 6rst,rn", u,riil ,àe final
-n crnergcs.-lht T'catro del mondo, a floating rhe:rtre clesigned in 1979
' -t, rener,val ol theVenicr.C.rrnival .rn..J rhe tr-rst
lnternationalArehitecture
i.ition, consritutes tlre most tamous w,ork of Alclo
l(ossi fr, *hi.h t"
, -.1' r.l,ith many references spannirrg from tlre F.irenze bnptiut"rv'«, th.
.:, rr Iiqhrhorrses ol tirc w(.st (.oast t,l-tlrr I IS.\
,lisct,ver*.t .t,,ri,,o , trip. or
' r tt'r mill visitrle orr old cngravings of the Gothic Zrrich.lhi, *,_rrk
i.. rhis crea_tive process w.hcre clesiglr """ru-
becomes a play with the immaterial
,::r€nrs of thc inheritecl city that irie part
oi rhe intirnirte rn",rtrry of th.
-:rrrcct as r,vcll as of rhe collective *.ni,rrr.

-:c Iife ryclcs of the rcrritorial palimpscsr, and its capiral

of
rlrodl.d cncrgy
The lancl. so heavily charged wirh traces ancl rvirh
p:lst r:ea<Jir_rgsr seems
e r,v sirnilar to a palimpsest.
r ï1 ser up new deuel,rpmentr, r" opË,aÀ"r"
r.rtion.rlly tt'rl.rin llrrrJr. it is oltt.lr p(.((.ssilr\,t,, rn,,.lifv
thcir \uh\t.:tp(.(,ir)
an irreversilrle rtranner. Ilur the lancl is not a rhrrrw-au,.a]
wrapper or a
r'()osrllllcr product,which can be replacecl. l,vcr1. l;rrr<J
i. uniquc,-whe,rce
the nced to 'recycle', to scr.lpe .I"ar, on." rnrir:e (if
purribl" with the
qrcatest c:rr:e) the ancit.nt text wherc
rnen have ,"rirrt.,r-, across the irrer
place:lble surface of the soil, in order ro nrake
it available ,o ,1.,",
it mects tclda_v's neecls befiire bcing tlorre awa_v lvith in "goi,
its turn.
(Cor:bo z. 1983. p. 34)

'r a seminal essay

publisherd in 19g-), Ancjr:ó Corboz (Grrboz 1 9g3) iltroclucecl
- . c()ncepr.oÍ'palinrpsest in the field ofban design as a kind oi for.hr_rl"n,
ur
I rr is recycled but conserves traces of its past .,r"r. Èy conrpariug
to a palimp_
-..t the land we inhabit and constantl,v transforrrr,
t':o,.lr,rz;.,-,il; a meta-
: iror: th:rt points our the tcmporal dcpth of ttre.
lrurnan I.lesignrng
"ruirrnr,l.rr.
28 Dauid Mttlaud
this environmetrt in order to rleet prescnt needs coultl be compare.l with the
operation of the rec,vcling of the p:rlimpsest. Indccd, for does
a
to met:1 phor of
the 'tabula rasa' clescribed in the first pirrt ol this chàpter. ThroLrgh this nerv
kind of terrritorial lvriting, Corboz u,as referring to thc nelv memorv-orienterl
conceptio,ls of urban desigrr thirt have been developed in Etrrope sint:e the
dawn of the I97(ls in the r,v;rke of the 'l'errilenzir arr:hitccts. Ior (lorboz,
understanding place not as a'given' but as'thc result of a corrclensing' provide d
the opportr-rnity to nake morc irrtelligent illterventions. The attentive srudy of
vestiges ancl transformations \vas not to ite .--onsidered as a sign of ferishisrn
hut as a way to stimtrl:rte tl're present plirnning ((brboz 1983, p. 33). llesides,
presenting the land as a'palimpsest', Corboz introcluced a maior shift to a
neiv global territori:rl approach of urban rlcsign. deconstructing thc idealized
idea of thc ancient dense ancl enclosecl ci§', \,vhich the return to the historic citv
incidentally participrlred to recreate.
What nrakes Corboz' rnetaph«rr relevatlt toda,v is that he rt'as alstr
addressing thc problematics of sustainabilit,v that emergetl at th:rt time. [.ike
the'palin-rpsestuous' parchment, thc land is'uniqr-re' and prccious,'irreplace-
at-,le', Corl.,oz argued. It is a limitecl resourcc that has to be carefulli'rec-vcled
[',y every generation. Indeed, four years latcr thc Brwttland Refiort (1987}
w,rs published by the \Vorld (lornmission on l-nvironmerlt and Development,
defining sustainabli: development as a 'developlreÍlt that meets the needs
of the present without compr:omisilrg the ability of future gencrariotts t<.r
n'reet their orvn needs' (Iiruntlarrd Comrnission 19fi7).'Ihe originalit,v of the
concept wils to placr: present clcvelopment in e clecp temporal perspcttivt'.
linking develol.,ment rvith the past anrl future ancl attrihuting a central role
to heritage that r,vas lcft to the next g,enerations. As it has bccn pointed out
l',,v scholars (e.g. Lmelianofi 2004), the Aaalbctrg Chtrrter 11994) was the
first political attcrnpt to clcfine the sustainable citv in opposition to the Le
(lorbusier's Athens Charter (1943) that rcpr:esc-ntecl ftrnctionalist doctrine.
If the nroclern functionalist cit1. \,vas to be huilt on a 'tabula rasa', cities
follow'ing thc local Agenda 21 will have to ilerrl with the existing strlrctures
of their territory. According to the new- sustainable paradignl. built hcrit:rge
is being considered as a vector of identitv and a memor,v medium able to
ensnre the continuity of urlran societies. Consequentll', the proicct of the sus-
tainable cit,v appear:s as the pr:oject of a palirnpscstrtous citr'. Shen parts of the cit-r- or
"flie theory of territorial life c.vcles developerl recentl,Y bv the Italian urban rntersection of social ,lr
clesigner Paola ?01 2, is tal<ir:rg onc stcp further the tneta- htion and the expelliry
phor of i1S lt 15 notion of cnergv besicles its rnen'rorial inclusion.
dimension. Whereas most research on sttstainabilitv tocuses on the energy
performance of buildings, shc proposes considcring the notion of emboclied
ererg,y. i.e. the energy that is used to create a built artefact and that remains
as heritage in any built environment. More preciseh', it is the total energv
required for an entiÍe product lifc-c1-cle, inclucling raw' materi:rl extraction,
transpol:t, manufacture, assernbh', installati<;n, disassembll', deconstructiort
 From modcrrt utopia to the 'cleep city' 29
- .truontpositit-»l as rvell as human and secondarv resources. As Paola
l.ojp;s out (2012, 2013), the calcrilatien of the emhodied enerlly
' .J jn builciirrg materials has been studied since the 1970s. It has lreen
.rn.e thc I9ti0s that tlre act of preservation cotrld beconre an instru-
" ::ro:gv policies (Jirckson 2005). The originalit,v of tl'rc research led bv
'. j,rTro
lics in the application of rhe conccpt of emboclicd energy on a
- ..1 ;cirle. Thus, for: her,'each c1,cle [of the urban fahric] prodr.rces irs
'' , -'c. through rationalization processesi technolr.rgical shifts, led
b_ri nert,
-ir-ert hirbits and practicest (Viganö 2012. pp. 19-20). She proposes
. ,.: this'iinmerrsc spati:rl acculllulation ancl stratification in our urban
' :\ .1s'enrbodied energy'(Vigrrnir 2012, pp. '19_20).
- rL thc framer,vork of the Interdisciplinar,v Rcsearch Prograrr 'lgnis
'i.r.: Lookirrg irt architecture, thi: city ar.rcl the lanclscape thr:otigh
--'r of cnergl') (2011-2015), touether: r,vith her research group ar
' '.r-siti' Institutc of i\rchitecture of Venicc (IUAV), Paolir Vigarrà
-'..1 ser.eral mirps represerlting'the cnerrgy "trappc,J" in thc bod,v of
bo '- i,,r.)' , u,lrich was calculatecl from rhe map of lancl usc featuring for_rr
Le - i.: rrate[ial crrcrgv cests, rrranufactur:ing energy, ease of recyclinu
EE- - -r-.ii1. The maps propose a global apirroi-rcli on rerrirorial life cycles.
ld - nrir only on bror,vnfields, but also <in grcv ancl green-field man-
W+ .:.r.cs. [n addition to this n-iapping process, Paola Viganà stresses the
E - ,''ri of recoltstrllctiltg'the long history oÍ territorial construction, its
d§ ,.rtir-rns' in order to ev?lluate tlre'immense de posit of
fhuman] l:rbor'
to -:rrcserts (Vigano 2012, p. 20). Relatins the notion of embodied
f,e :-,thc hunran actions that rvere involved in the long process, which
Iq . rn.rgv iu the territr-rry-. fi,rmulates a way to introcluce a cultural
tle - ,n t(,) rhe tr:arlitional quantitative approacl-r of energy. lndeed, our
llr '. ri-onnrellts
are holdirrg tlrc rnemorl,of rhe labour of the society.
hË .. ,.rrhrrn'perrnanences' arc not onl,v the locr-rs of collective meÍnerv,
I.e ' . concelrtion oÍ Aldo l{ossi, but aiso a storage of common energ,},.
É- i :p2;g coulcl then he consiclcred as a'capital' (Viganö 201 2, p. t3).
i§ . ..ir .r cartogr:aphy, thc. end of a lifccycle is not a syflolry'm to a new
:§ ' r:e. but a s,vn()nyrn to a process oí reor:ganization of this capital,
Er ,--.'cts both thc material parts of tlie cit1, and its social and political
b - ,n;..\s Yiganö aflirms:
È_ ':n
Llerts of the city or portiolts of territory go thr:ough new cyclcs the
-.:ir-.riolr of social cl,vnarnics is incvitable, as the influx of ncw popu-
n .lrrd the cxpelling of others creates nrarginalization or irrr,-entiviz«rs
- -titoÍ1.
(Viganà 2012, p. l3)

-han designer, l)ir.crla Viganir srresses the urilitl of dcsign that cirn be
.:al.lc tool in shor,ving the possihle rclations am()ns a hcteroseneous
' nratcriirls once conllected b1- a cle:rr rationa[it_v irnd today deprivecl
i ,n to stay togethcr' (VrganO 2012, p. 20).
 ,10 Dauid Malantí
To sum up, in the thcory of Paola Viganö, the citv is seen as ir'renew-ablc simply recycled as a quarÍ]- (
resourcc'which has to be saved from entropy in order to prescrve the cap- it becomes clear that any autl
ital of embodiecl energ,y. In vier.r, of this, urban desigrrers facc the threc R collective memory and is a n
alternatives: rccluee , rcr-rse, recycle.'§íhen inheritecl structures cannot simpl,v our global environment.
remain, thcy can he giveu a rrcw aÍ:fcctation through a rehabilitation process From a social and ecologi
or they can be rec,vclecl through a selective dcconstruction of their: elem- our territories through the rn,
ents. I)uring thc last decades. arctritects are returning to the old pr:actice of the 'tabula rasa' one is u-ni
reusing rnateriàl from demolishecl buildings (Brilliant 2016). Thc work ol' But what about the mental'r
the Chinese architect \il7ang Sliu is parricularl,v representative oí:r neu, kincl designing that was at the rt
of architecture that'plays'with the rnaterial (alrd not just the imrr-raterial) which were affecting lvesten
fragments of the inheritecl city. Saving olil l',ricks and tiles frorr the violent adays creating huge'holes' i
'tabula ras;r' thar is currently erasing most of thc old Chinese villages as a ging powerful economies sut
result of massive urbanization pÍocesses, \íang Shu reuses thesc 'spolia' in Since the 1.96As, utopia h
an artistic way in orcler tcl rccrcatc abstract landsc,rpcs on the fac,rcles or tinked with the ideal ottsho
roofs of his huilcliirgs. imposed by force throus& a
complexity. However, after a
the last decade, growing aner
Towards the utopia of the common inheritcd goods
Coleman 2005, Paquot 'r.t'.
Some regions, because of too brutal treatmcrnt itncl improper action, also Paul Ricoeur (Ricoeur 19-t,
l"rave holes. like a par:chrïcrt to() ofÍen erased. h the jargon of gcog- a dialectical tension betn-eer
raphy, thesc holes are callecl dcserts. e radically different future- a
((iorboz 1983, p. 34) tèatures of the present. lr
ianism aspect of utopia on-t1
Tl"ris journey tlrrough decisive urban design thcories of the last hunclred Jimension of utopia n-hich
year:s could har.e been developed further by referring to ritlrer analyses of and to 'delineate self-conra
major: rhcories, such as the one developecl bi, Colin Rorve lnd Fred Koetter q-hole course of the human t
on the'Collage (,ity' (llowe 1978), ancl morc recently the work of Sébastien i.zl'tabula rasa' appear: rhe
N4arot on suburbanism irs an art of nremor,v (N'larot 2003). Yet. we can :rro realiry the'proiecrion ':
already start to constrLrct a conceptuill framework prcscntiilg the sustain :mmediately perfect',r Ricr:re'
able city rrs a territorir,rl palimpsest whose'permanences' aÍe ch:rrged both mnpias are notable'for eshi
with collective nlemory and energy. Depar:ting fr:orn thc iun,.:tiorralist c{oc- ientification and orienun,.
trine, w'trictr sa\l'the city as a spatial artefact auitnated b,v the endless time of :ilman desire, *'hich oueht
the machine, in the'deep cit1,' framework thc cit1, is to be considercd a teÍn- !^- -§9i. According to Ricr:eu
poral artefact reflercting the depth of human tinre and socill consrmctir.»t. :ron the past, r*-ithout lmi
'fhe rolc ".: an alternative societl- ara;
the i. the most formidable con
\rroine Picon i201-1 p-c,ru
is now [o be seen, after Aldo ]{ossi's theory of trrban r:{ren that the political and
'permanences', as a lor:'us of collective memofy. T'hc citl cau also be seen -i a different and trrter Í-un
as a capital of emboclied energy, after the theories of Aldo Rossi and Paola r:.1 our era has to fil'l ics n
Viganè. The built herit;rge shoulc{, thus, be seen as a'conrrnon good' c.rrr1 ing This chapter started h't :
historical, metrxrrial and errerg,v valucs. til/hen ir liÍc cycle cotnes to its encl, -=-.rJucing the damaee ,rf t
it is the responsibilit,v of the society to choose how to carefully 'recycle' r,,;n*Jer il the high-tech g'
the territorial palimpsest" It is a matter of denrocracy to decide whether L;:Ta[iYes on sustainat ilirr
the obsolete structures we inherit have to be preserved and maintained or Í:ili: .onsturlpfion ha-'ed 'o

L ET
 Frr-trn rnodern utoÍ)itt to the 'de e1t citv' 3.1

.^l
simply recycled as a quarry of nrirtcr:ial. \íithin this conceptllal lramework
r[]- it bccomes clear that any authoritar:ian physical'tabula rasa' is traumxrizinq
.R collective memory ancl is a w:lste of cncrg,v acceler:1tins the clegradation of
::lr our global environmcnt.
-:>\ lirom a social ancl ecological point of view, considering the evolutinr-r of
a ilt- our territories through the metaphor of the 'palimpsest' rather th:rn through
.oi the 'tabula rasal one is undoubtedl-v a much more sustainablc attitude.
. ()i Ilut r,r,hat about the rnental 'tabula rasa'? What about the'utopian'r,vay of
.ttld designing that r,vas at the root of the destructive urban renewal policies,
' .11 i rvhiclr r'vere affecting western cities after Wor:ld §7ar II and which are uow-
:1lt adays creating huge'holes' in the cit.v 'palimpsest' of countries w-ith emer-
1i a girrg powerful econonrics such irs C-lhina or []razll?
tn Sirrce the 1960s, utopia has becrr associatcd with nt-'gative l:onnotations
. rlr linked i.vith the ideal offshore ordcr, which either rernains chimerir', or is
inrposed by force through a negation of thc existing tcrritorit's,rnd their:
complexity'. Horvevcr, after a long period of disreg:rrd, thcre havc becrr,
"irrce
the last decadc, gr:owing attempts to r:chabilitate thc concept in urban design
(Coleman 200-5, Paclu<)t 2007, l'icon 201.i) drawirrg on the philosophv of
I :(l Patrl Ricoeur (Ricocr.rr 1976)") F'or Ricocur, soi:ial irnaginar,v is animatcd b,v
,l- .r dialcctical tension bctween utopia on soeial t:hange and the possibilitl. of
a radically clifferent future, ancl ideology that tries to stabilize the ciorniuant
.-+ ) features of the present. As Nathirniel Colcman pointed out, the totalitar-
iilnism aspect of utopia only refers to rvhat l{icoeur: c:rlls the 'pathological'
-.J dimension of utopia which has the tendency to'suhmit realit,v to dreams'
; tli .rnd to 'delineate self-contained schemas of perfection severecl from the
:: a'f u'holc course of the human experience of value' (Coleman 200.5). The phvs-
:an rcal 'tabula rasa' appears then as a failing in the translati<ln of the new ideal
-.n rnto realit,v, the'projection of thc futr,rrc in frozen models r,l,hich have to be
-
:l irrrrreclirrtely pcrfect' (Ricoeur 1976, p.26). On the confrarl,, consritr.ttivc
-:h utopias arc rrotable 'for cxhibiting a cleep unclerstancling that rnemor)', place
j.lentification and orientation are valuable qualities inextricably linked to
: ,T hunriln desire, which ougl-rt to infusc projccts of any scale' (Coleman ?00-5,
l. .59). Accorcling to Ricocur, the construction of the present must ber built
:1. Lllron the past. r,vithout losing regarcl for it, and still utopirl as a 'fantirs-v
'ii -,f arr alternative societl. ar"rd its topographicirl figuratiorr "nolvhere" wor:ks
-( rs the most formidahle contestation of what is' (lticoeur 7976, p.2-5). As
..t \nroine Picon (2013) pointed our, by for:gttting utopia wc havc also for-
:. 1l l.rtten that the political and social function of ar:chitecture is about the hope
rIl 'i .r different ancl better futurc. [Jtopia is not attachecl ro modern urbanism
la rncl our era has to find its new' Lrtopias.
This chapter started b,v reporting tl-re fear of it ncw 'green utopi:rnism'
-.producing the darnage of thc modcrn functionalist utopias. Yet, one might
.',,rnder if thc high-tcclr green -nr.irshing, rvhich is dominating the prescnt
'rarratives on sustainability is not rather a greenification of the ideology of
'-l.1ss consulrption brrsed on Lrncontrolled resourcc exploitation, which is
 32 Dat,id Malaud
at the root of thc capitalocene era. lrVithin rht: cnrrenr conrext of r::rpi<J ancl tHraós,M,andN-amer
extensive urbanization, environnrental perlormance of bui[dings has becorrie \íióel-
a key criterion for new real,estate trrroducts in green portfolios (Favre:ru ,rem- Àí.. 2005. Embcli
and IIébert 2012). Hou,ever, it is u,ell knorvn th:rt tlre new srcen inclustries ml APT Bulletialrru
providing high-tech solutions havc disastr<tus ecologic;rI footprints on other $rcot!s-J-.1961- The deatb a
regions of the norld. N'loreover, thc luxur_v of these solurions will never Irr:dan- P-. t926. H L.trhc,
be affordable to the enrirc r,vorld population (F.rnelianofÍ 2012J.If green Lrttd:a. P-. 1936- Gar:igr4ar
utopiirs are to bc imagined, the,v have to cleconstruct thc ideology of grecn
[.!CoÍtusi* [19331 196.4- ,

rsadas the bask of ,w t

T corlsumptiorr thirt is repr:oducing an inequal s)-stem; they have to bc based
I-c Corbusier [192-í] 199-*-
on a deep ecological approach Lrentrecl on the preservati()I1 of our common trr Crhusiee [192-3] 10O--
^l'. 2ffi9-l,z ïitk drl
inherited goods, u,hich should include both our built ancl natural hcriragc. U..cr-'r"
tnrrgrme'- Estria lf rD
Notcs [-r*.c. .{-. 20Oï. LfuoÍien
Hi*vein- 7. ?0-5=-
1 'franslation from ti're arrthor. Lrró-X..1960. Tbe inry
2 llasecl on IVlannhcim early lttentpt to rerhabilitate Lrtopi:1 as the lifeblood <if social tlró- É. l9-2- lÍh,il tie
imagination. !Íied D-. 1018- tl celi
nórirrl -IcsCrirl*,ra
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Vi,qanà Orand Prix dc I'urhanisnte 20 I .1. N{arseillc: Parenthèscs.

5ÍEfti€olog-§ rs aor r
öt pasr" txn atrorn r
Èq'tra.sis tln aróa€rr
msió fusoÍfd-
minuoqrsceratitr

fl[D-archa€ol(Igr ffil
.ils
hor to
[hrc f,scussion on
mforn enrironmeus m I
ryersis oo hi.stocicel m
e@ uhen hetitae- less

m r cn&mrr€ l€aF.'a l]mt

r&meesa net. fuip r,&
tml mdesqn cotrmuirr
3frlr'11,- §hat choic"s or u
mÉ:-g. ÍÍrrÍrrg€Ís alike n
GXmrcm óer esatrlish *
Tlhc imdoo ín óis chrfl
,m, màeeological rhinkinÍ
pmrl prsr.-n tle enahled
-&Eàa€olog5 becauseo{
dtl asà tropeor meagl
m ot stretigraphic escar:
@-ilEp,rh in pqróologf. r
frEcr-r Uoye 2001- Thor
§ilÉ{r :0f6i- The comg,ln