«On n’y voit rien. Descriptions» Comprendre à travers l’architecture

In the second half of the 1950s, Vittoriano Viganò realized a house for himself and his family by upgrading the unfinished attic of a building under construction in the city centre of Milan. This house, one of the first designed by Viganò, in spite of its small dimensions and the familiarity of the topic, still represents a paradigm for interior architecture, not only Italian. It is his declaration of artistic intent, the narration of a coherent and clear way of meaning in architecture and especially interiors: «[…]my house: that seems to me so dirty and hypothetic, so seventeenth century and contrasted, so rough and excited by red and black, so offered and at the same time withdrawn, so immersed in the things and the time […]». How can we arrive at a deep knowledge of such a paradigmatic work? Are our usual tools sufficient? The direct knowledge of archival sources? Of drawings, preparatory, overall, of detail and finally of presentation realized by the author? Of pictures, published in magazines and books, realized by other people but chosen, suggested, controlled and framed by the designer himself? Of the texts, the design reports guiding all publications? The survey? Listening directly to the memories of the inhabitants? For this masterly house, apparently so known, and studied, and discussed, we chose an approach based on a “closer look”, ** in the idea we can’t see anything until we can’t look, and describe, in an accurate way. Consulting the original documents allowed us to define a genesis, an ideational process and its development. The knowledge of the artefact as it appears still today instead is passed through the same instrument used by the designer, that is, drawing. It is grounded in a direct and deepened survey, taking care not only of the geometrical aspects, but also of the material, tactile, chromatic ones, of a kinaesthetic perception of a complex and articulated space. The outcome was a set of 1:20 drawings, including not only plans, cut at different heights and completed by a ceiling plan, but also multiple elevations and sections, coloured and finished to give an idea of the texture and consistency of materials, at a sufficient level of detail to describe the construction of newly built elements and also furniture. A reverse process, using the same weapon of the designer himself, allowed to go back, reading back choices, understanding second thoughts, and finally interpreting a work through the knowledge of its material form and of its dynamics as a form, as a living person able to talk with us. This work belongs to a tradition of studies verifying the consistency of Architecture, in works existing, but remote, or never realized, or lost, with the use of drawings, models and prototypes as instruments of knowledge coherent with the nature of the analysed work. It has also been documented by several publications and research projects (Civilization of Living, 2003; Mobili dell’artidesign, 2005; La Stanza, 2010; Architettura degli allestimenti, 2018). *It is the original title of the book of Daniel Arasse, On n’y voit rien. Descriptions, Donoël, 2000 ** It is the English title of the book of Daniel Arasse, Take a closer look, Princeton University Press, 2013