Famous for his refined and occasionally biting wit, which permeates both his works and his personality, James Stirling also amused himself by playing with festivities, to the point of altering his own date of birth, which was 22nd April 1924, not 1926 as many publications continue to indicate today. The reason for this deception is not known; it was probably just light-hearted jest, though perhaps it was not totally free of advantages. This issue of «Casabella» offers an overview of Stirling's oeuvre, compiled in conjunction with the centenary of his birth, starting from documents that have broadly contributed to earn him acclaim as one of the leading protagonists of contemporary architecture, and from new materials, some of which have never been published before. The materials come from private and public collections: in particular, from the London-based archives of Mark Girouard, the studio Stirling, Wilford & Associates and Drawing Matter, from the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, and the Archivio Progetti of the IUAV University of Venice. The issue is organised in four sections. The first one traces a timeline across the most outstanding moments of Stirling's career, from his training to his travels, from the various locations of his studio to the main exhibitions and publications regarding his work, all the way to the projects implemented and those that remained on the drawing board. This “map” forms a critical profile on his figure as an architect, guiding readers through his unusual personal and professional life. The second section analyses two central aspects that can help us to understand Stirling's remarkable success: the working method which he shared, over the years, with James Gowan, Michael Wilford, as well as the Associates and the many staffers in his firm; and the use of drawing, a tool for thinking, an integral, original factor that constituted a true cultural project. The third chapter brings together twelve works of architecture and interprets the concepts of the “series” and “one offs” which Stirling assigned to his works. The magazine comes to a close with the reproduction of a letter, and the text of a lecture, belonging to two very different moments in Stirling's life, and finally an anthology of writings focusing on his oeuvre. Looking back on Stirling enables us to shed light on the timeliness of his work and the importance of his intellectual legacy. This is a heritage that is hard to grasp, but one that resonates even more in the present cliché-ridden vacuum, when architecture seems to be engaged in narcissistic self-reflection whilst ignoring Stirlingʼs legacy.

Marco Iuliano, Francesca Serrazanetti

URL lien : https://casabellaweb.eu/2024/12/31/964-dicembre-2024-december/

Langue : Anglais ; Italien

N° revue : 2024