Vittorio Gregotti

In 1996, I was a student of Architecture at IUAV of  Venezia and I had the chance to follow the Course of "Composizione Architettonica", by Architect Vittorio Gregotti. This course was the first specific "design and project" for us, young students. I remember the crowd for his lessons, and how all of us listened at his speech: more than lessons they were real-life-experience, by a man who lived as protagonist the "golden age" of Italian Architecture during the XX century. We had some remarkable lectures that only later, during our Design Profession we totally received. Yes he was a myth. Many of us were almost intimidated by his fame.

I remeber the first exercise he gave to us: go out of the University building (we were in Santa Marta, Venezia ex-cotton production site converted to University), choose a building, a church, a bridge, a "campiello" and draw it by your hand, with pencil on a paper.

We were in Venezia, where every sight, every stone is almost a piece of Art, so it was not easy select. . .

Someone could think "it is not drawing course, this is Composition of Architecture, what does he say?" But it was the right thing to do, to begin. All depends on what lines you choose to draw, which shadows you put on your paper, what you sense is really important, what the building communicate to you form all its parts. And it all depends on the light, the sun, the hour of the day, the eye you have in that moment.

So we could learn the "connection" between plan drawings and what the real building says to the walking man on the street, what it says to you, young student of architecture and try to understand what the architect of that building wanted to say. And from that first hand drawing of the little Church of  San Nicolò dei Mendicoli in Venezia, I went on the course with Architect Vittorio Gregotti lessons, and I designed my first building project. 

All the doubts and all the certainties we had during those first "moments of project" we touched during this course, and it was what I remember now. Face your ideas, put on paper with any shape you feel at the moment, develop them, connect them with physical elements around because the building is part of the contest. And don't stop until the Project is finished. It is a progress. The idea is 3% of the building: later we have to realize it. One step forward every day.

Even if sometimes I disagreed with him and his staff, regarding design matters, that course was crucial for for my education.

I learned more than what I could understand at that moment.

And this is the difference between great lessons and the others.

Thanks Vittorio Gregotti, Italian Architect, Urbanist, Theorist of Architeture, University Professor, Teacher.