c l a i r e m o r r i s

f a l l 2 0 1 6

walkscapes & castiglion fiorentino

grafting edelweiss & castiglion fiorentino

defining urban sites & castiglion fiorentino

walkscapes & vila d’este

grafting edelweiss & boboli gardens

defining urban sites & verona

gardens and the larger landscape & castiglion fiorentino

use of history in la nostalgia & castiglion fiorentino

defining the organistic project & castiglion fiorentino

gardens and the larger landscape & pienza

use of history in la nostalgia & villa borghese gardens

defining the organistic project & rome

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Whether the individual chooses walking as a

journey or as a destination, he or she must allow some room

for awareness, or else he or she will become lost in a town of continuous

hills, Italian-speaking residents, and a weary confidence of how to get back to where one

started.

The individual has the option to roam the town,

free of mind, and eventually find his or her way, if needed. This

wandering allows the individual to see spaces in new ways, for each turn leads

to a new experience in his or her eyes. On the contrary, that same individual also has the

option to use walking in the form of destination, not journey. In this sense, many things will

go unnoticed—people, shop windows, cars, various views, and more. The

more determined one is to get from point a to point b in Castiglion

Fiorentino, the less details one will observe.

Built upon a series of elevation changes, the hill town settlement of Castiglion

Fiorentino is a place that relies heavily on walking as the main means of travel. With various changes of slope at every corner, as well

as different view sheds, the individual must be fully assertive to his or her location

at all times, or else it is easy to get lost in similar cobblestone streets,

colored doorways, and local monuments.

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Built in the 16th century, Villa d’Este is known for its terraced Renaissance garden and series of extraordinary fountains. Located in Tivoli, the villa was constructed for the Este family, and includes a multitude of terraces of grottos, niches, stairways, fountains, and other various elements. In later years, additions were made to the villa; lower gardens extended the grounds, trees were planted to provide shade, and the use of water grew in a variety of ways.

Walking through the villa, one is able to wander from one point to another with the ability to get lost, yet be comfortable with the idea. The gardens and fountains form a series of axis, all of which are visible from many locations in the villa. Due to the variety of directions an individual can travel in this space, it is arguably paralleled to Castiglion Fiorentino. In both places, the individual is able to wander and get lost. However, while the individual in Castiglion can walk with a purpose and get to a specific destination, Villa d’Este discourages the concept of walking with a purpose and persuades the individual to stroll through the villa in order to get the full experience of the space. By doing so, every design detail is discovered and emphasized by the user. Every turn the individual takes is a new experience, with a new scale and a new set of design detail.

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The town of Castiglion Fiorentino brings various types of landscapes together and forms one landscape of multiple characteristics. Each of these landscapes contains a different type of distance and density in order to establish a cultural continuity from the top of the hill town to the extension of the Val di Chio.

In regards to Gardens and the Larger Landscape, Castiglion Fiorentino represents both vertical and horizontal distance. In the hill town layout, buildings contain roof top terraces and gardens. Vertical separation is present, which gives a larger sense of distance and landscape in terms of perspective. As one moves outside of the town and into the valley, the experiential qualities of the town change. The patterns in the valley’s landscape create one great topography.

Moving from the town’s higher elevation and down into it’s vast, rolling landscape of the valley, one’s experience of distance and density changes greatly. While the hill town is extremely dense, with a series of steep hills, narrow streets, and loud noise, the valley of the town is quite the opposite, with spread out homes, wide streets, and fairly flat land. The hillsides on each side of the town create a valley of no end, thus creating new types of environments and lifestyles. These different types of distances, when formed together, create a coherent world.

CHAPTER THREEgardens and the larger landscape

There is a reoccurrence in Italian history of towns being influenced by the Catholic faith. For instance, the town of Pienza, located on the edge of a hill, which overlooks the Val d’Orcia, in the region of Siena, has a strong Catholic influence, as it is the birthplace of Pope Pius II. In the late 15th century, the Pope had the town of Pienza redesigned by architect Bernardo Rossellino. Pienza represents one of the first applications of humanist urban planning concepts intended as a retreat from Rome. Such concepts then spread out and were adopted by other Italian cities, as well as across Europe.

In regards to Castiglion Fiorentino, the town of Pienza is extremely similar in its sense of scale. However, in terms of density and distance, Pienza utilizes vertical distance more than any other type. The pathways are extremely narrow, with the only way to look is up. The spaces created by the tight layout of the town perceive a very enclosed sense of space, forcing one direction of the individual. The buildings consist of three or more stories, the ground level being a storefront, the second a balcony of a residence, and the third the remainder of a residence. While the tunnels and walkways are narrow, the piazzas these paths lead to are at a highly sensible scale. In this sense, the vertical distance works cohesively with the rest of the town’s design.

Pienza consists of three main palazzos, enclosing a trapezoidal piazza. The first palazzo, Palazzo Piccolomini, is the principal residence on the west side, consisting of three stories each, with a series of pilasters and cross windows. The second palazzo is Palazzo Vescovile, which rests on the third side of the piazza, and was built to house the bishops who would travel to Pienza to attend the pope. Palazzo Comunale—the third palazzo—was created to be a freestanding civic mediator between the religious space before the cathedral and secular market square to its rear. The Duomo stands at the center of the piazza, with a bell tower whose scale is the same width as it is height.

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Each town in Italy may look similar to the next, but what segregates them from each other is the unique identity of each individual town. Castiglion Fiorentino is unique in itself and takes pride in showcasing its beauty through different types of landforms, densities, and even climates. The layout of the town portrays a strong sense of community, with homes and shops in the center, the school nearby, gardens and parks aligning the outskirts, and a main road running through the town and out into the Val di Chio. The Val di Chio is more spread out, with a few roads connecting homes on hillsides, working with the land for agricultural uses. This layout gives the town and its people control over its form and function, and demonstrates how organized they are in terms of how far the town and the people have come.

With business in the Val di Chio as well as in the hill town, the people are able to spread out in different densities and still prove to be successful. The strong sense of community alludes to the town’s strong sense of place, drafting a unique identity that doesn’t seem to change. The people in the town have an idea of what Castiglion Fiorentino should look like and how it should function, so if too much is altered over time, there will no longer be a strong sense of place.CH

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Seated in the heart of Florence, the Boboli Gardens portray some of the first and most formal garden styles in Italian culture. The concept consists of long axis, gravel pathways, various statues and fountains, and an immense amount of detail throughout. The garden itself overlooks all of Florence, with a vast amount of open, public space. The Boboli Gardens vary in density of space, each creating its own microclimates within the spaces. While the gardens once were completely private spaces, over time, the gardens grew to become open to the public, and have since maintained the original structure of static, shared paths, intellectual gardens, and elevation changes.

The gardens are laid out to show a sense of control over nature, therefore creating the perfect structure, portraying high organizational skills. Like Castiglion Fiorentino, the Boboli Gardens create a unique identity for itself. Just as Castiglion Fiorentino follows the idea of strong structural influences being located in the center of town, with the remainder of itself reaching out into the Val di Chio, the Boboli Gardens follow the same concept, with the main villa overlooking the gardens and the city of Florence, with the remainder of its gardens, art pieces, and smaller buildings stretching out beyond the main villa’s limits. This structure exemplifies a confident and strong identity to such place. The more man can control nature, the more perfect a structure will be, and the more unique such an identity will deem.

CHAPTER SIX

It’s one thing to create a town and continue to expand it, but it’s another thing to give that town a strong sense of cultural identity and to maintain this cultural identity through a multitude of ways. Architecture, gardens, parks, piazzas, and so much more all are based on some design precedent, mimicking certain elements from the past and bringing them back to life for present and future use. Each of these elements, then, builds up a specific identity of that place or object as a whole.

While design details shall stay the same as the original, the manner in which new construction is built must be safe. This has brought a good deal of conflict with the people and the designs of the past. Castiglion Fiorentino is able to achieve both design detail and safety in construction, following architectural nostalgia.

Castiglion Fiorentino is one of many Italian towns that takes pride in designing and maintaining a traditional façade, following the same level of detail, with the use of the same types of material that were previously used in original construction. The entire town is built by cobblestone streets, brick and stone buildings, and a consistent architectural style. To construct something new or renovate something existing in Castiglion with a different set of materials and a separate architectural style would bring conflict to the people who dwell in the town. The use of different styles would destroy the cultural identity of the town, leaving it unnoticeable and not important to its residents and visitors.

CHAPTER SEVENuse of history in la nostalgia

CHAPTER EIGHT

Known in the simpler form as the “villa of delights,” the Villa Borghese Gardens have transformed throughout centuries to become a focal point of the city of Rome, a private park for the aristocracy, and ultimately a playground for the people. Built in 1605 as a private vineyard for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, the Villa Borghese Gardens have since been reformed as the third largest public park in Rome, Italy, housing museums, theaters, gardens, picturesque landscapes, and a constant for the people of Rome.

In comparison to Castiglion Fiorentino, Villa Borghese is filled with layers of history. The site has changed periodically throughout time; however, not much has really been replaced since its original construction. The villa’s gardens are extremely picturesque in every point of view. The park is split into sections, each consisting of art, museums, and recreational spaces for the public. The spaces of the park have been retrofitted through time in a way that captures the site’s historical origins, but at the same time, emphasize the surrounding city’s beauty and past. The Villa Borghese gardens were designed to mimic those of ancient Roman gardens, created for the wealthy and privileged. These gardens portrayed a higher class and standard of living.

In time, the gardens never seemed to change, but the gardens transformed from strictly private to open to the public for everyday use. While the site is over 400 years old, little change has taken place, hiding the obvious of the villa’s age. In this sense, the villa is continuously being designed through nostalgia and maintained by the people who use it.

An urban site is defined by a specific representation through careful analysis and linkages beyond certain boundaries of a site. Each aspect of a site is affected by another aspect, of which are always ever changing. During the design phase of a project, it is imperative to take into consideration the dynamics of the site; a site cannot be self-sustaining on its own—a site works hand in hand with parallel and opposing forces.

Each aspect of a site works cohesively with the rest of the site. In Castiglion Fiorentino, for example, the hill town and the Val di Chio work together to create both unity and diversity among the land to deem successful. While the hill town is more localized and at a smaller scale, its entities would not work properly if the rest of the town’s boundaries did not extend out into the valley, where cohesiveness continues to work hand in hand.

Piazza Garibaldi, for example, serves many purposes for all who live in Castiglion. Most of the time, it serves as a parking lot. However, it is also used to hold large events and celebrations. Every Friday there is a large market set up, where the local community buys and sells homegrown and homemade items to each other. The structure of the town may seem divided at first, but when looking at a specific space, it is up to the individual on how to perceive that area. It can be whatever the individual wants it to be. As each sector of town seems tiny as a whole, when working all together, these facets have limitless affects. Due to this, the valley and the hill town create a unity, and dissolve any visible boundaries between, creating unlimited interactions of the urban site and the community.

CHAPTER NINEdefining urban sites

A cityscape does not simply build character and complexity overnight; the urban site overlays a variety of facets in order to create one cohesive unit. The city of Verona is a great example of a personalized city, for it has been growing and rebuilding for over 2,000 years. Through destruction from wars, floods, plagues, and so on comes an opportunity to link the old and the new of the cityscape and create one unionized place.

Dating back to the Roman period, and continuing through the Romanesque, Middle Ages, Renaissance, up into the 19th century, Verona has gone through a lot of destruction and reconstruction, and, yet, shows exceptional coherence, along with a large degree of homogeneity. Its grid system is still the main aspect of design, along with the river acting as another force on the city. An urban town such as this is remarkable for progressively developing over such a long period of time, and has since continued to embrace and enhance its artistic values.

Like Castiglion Fiorentino, Verona uses all of its aspects cohesively, therefore diminishing an obvious boundary of the city, and allowing the city as a whole to work together. Piazza delle Erbe in Verona is much like Piazza Garibaldi, where local markets are held weekly, bringing the town together as one. Piazzas create communities within the entire community, opening up the land for all.

CHAPTER TEN

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The influence that urbanism has on a town deems ideal for the success of that town and for the people who live there. When a town needs an intervention to help, transform, and revitalize it, it’s important to follow traditional views; things don’t need to seem new or modern, and the design can be brought back to previous designs and architectural styles.

Castiglion Fiorentino is a great example of urban retrofitting. Many of the buildings are the original structures, with the original exterior façade, and renovated interiors to coincide with the ever-changing needs of the people living and working in these buildings. Santa Chiara Study Center is a great example of urban retrofitting; built in the 1500s, the school was originally a church and a convent for nuns. Since then, the building has been renovated, and almost 500 years later, is used as an American university.

Castiglion Fiorentino’s bell tower still stands, overlooking the Val di Chio. When looking at the field of grass where the tower rests, it seems to be a vacant spot in town, left untouched. However, walking through the nearby library leads you under that grass area, and inside a mass of roman ruins and original foundation. The town, over time, transformed itself by building new buildings on top of existing foundation. These ruins are unseen by the eye, but are a major facet in the town’s history, architecture, and design.

CHAPTER ELEVENdefining the organistic project

With time comes destruction, revitalization, transformation, and new interpretation of a place at multiple scales. For many Italian cities, renovation of a town is not always apparent, but much of the time, it is present. However, for these cities to be successful in hiding their interventions, they must renovate through a succession of time and allow evolution of the new intertwine with the old. Architectural styles typically stay the same, which is one facet that allows Italy to cover up its revitalizations so easily.

One of the most apparent cities in Italy does an excellent job at hiding the intervention, but at the same time, exemplifies the history of the past, whether it be in ruins or not. Rome has been revitalizing its city for centuries—even millenniums—and has continued to showcase its beauty and capability time and time again. When a building’s finished floor elevation is much lower than the current state, the city retrofits the piazzas around these buildings to be functional, and make the difference in elevation almost unnoticeable.

Castiglion Fiorentino, a town highly influenced by the Romans, with Roman ruins even lying underneath part of the town, is retrofitted much like Rome itself. The two places both start at the core, and continue to spread outward as time progresses. Buildings are built on top of old ones, roads and greenways are elevated above spaces dating back to ancient Roman times, and so forth. Much of modern day Rome is built on top of ancient Rome, and just like Castiglion, this city will continue to do so through retrofitting and intervention to meet the needs of the users. CHAP

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