Richard Murphy and Carlo Scarpa: A Regional-Modernist Dialogue

Stephanie Else 090004651

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Contents

Abstract

Introduction

1.1 Context

1.2 Subtext

1.3 Focus

1.4 Murphy: as Architect

1.5 Scarpa: as Architect

A Regionalist Approach

2.1 Regionalism versus Vernacular

2.2 The Language of Buildings

2.3 The City: Regional Stratification

Architecture in Principle

3.1 Layers in History

3.2 Venice

3.3 Scarpa’s Lessons

Architecture in Detail

4.1 Site: Topography

4.2 Threshold

4.3 Materiality

Conclusion

References

Bibliography

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Abstract

Currently, we inhabit a world in which globalisation is becoming a progressively

dominant phenomenon. It is becoming increasingly accepted that a uniform,

‘global’, architecture is inappropriate in responding to the varied rich, diverse

regional variations and cultures. Often, it is the architecture of a region which defines

its place within the world.

As such, current thinking suggests that globalisation threatens to eclipse the idea of

the locale entirely. Within the built environment there is a responsibility to resists

these global pressures.

Characterised by the parameters of context, a regionalist architecture signifies the

exclusivity of a place.

This paper, through a comparative analysis of two exemplary regional-modernists,

Richard Murphy and Carlo Scarpa, will investigate the reasoning and arguments of

their work and its relationship to contemporary architectural regionalism;

underpinning the necessity for regionalism as an approach within architecture.

Articulated within their works is a language which, in its sensitivity to place, is

timeless. Ultimately, it is the vivid dialogue which exists between the two architects

which is the focus of this paper.

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Introduction

Regionalism is never a singular theory or practice but is most often a means by

which tensions – such as those between globalisation and localism, modernity and

tradition – are resolved.

(Canizaro 2007)

1.1 Context

The world which exists today is a world of increasing contemporary globalisation1

.

With the relatively recent exponential expansion of industry and commerce, in

architecture, the concept of ‘mass production’ and the standardisation of products

specifically, there is an ever decreasing identity of ‘place’. However, there is

efficiency at its core. This effect has certainly become the crux of existing societies.

The world today demands such a high level of fast-paced affordable production that

efficiency is necessary. Globalisation, typically, produces uniformity in its language;

ultimately though, this does often result in the loss of cultural ‘identity’.

1 It has been well documented that ‘globalisation’ in architecture is a phenomenon which

began in the 1950s and 60s. However, Anthony King (Herrle 2008) maintains the argument that ‘globalisation’ is actually not a relatively new concept. He argues that, historically, humanity has always been influenced by globalism. He highlights, specifically, in the 16

th

and 17th

centuries, the impact of Renaissance planning and design on European ‘colonial cities’.

1.2 Subtext: Regionalism, an Architecture of Place

Regionalism is a fundamental concept which aims to maintain, and sometimes

restore, cultural idiosyncrasies. Importantly, it resists the pressures of globalisation.

Often a balance is sought to adapt certain global ideas, such as the integration of

technology, with a distinct relation to the existing characteristics of a locale: the

latter compelling the former. There is an implicit requirement of the legitimacy of

architecture within its local context. As such, regionalism aims to enhance the

locality: culturally, historically and socially. Thus it maintains identity. Ultimately, an

‘architecture of place’ can be made manifest within such a globalised world. This is

only achievable though, if the architect is willing to accept that this concept is

fundamental in preventing a world in which there exists a single globalised culture.

1.3 Focus

The architects, Carlo Scarpa and Richard Murphy, are exemplary in their regional -

modernist approach to architecture. Their approach is maintained primarily through

the concept of ‘layering’ – an idea which is fundamental in the creation of an

architecture of place. This concept is vast in its complexities and will be explored

with particular emphasis on the work of Richard Murphy.

Murphy’s thorough academic studies into the work of Scarpa have had an immense

influence on his own architectural principles, which can, at times, be explicitly

observed within his work. Significantly though, each architect has his own

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architectural language whose development can be traced back through to the

essential element of ‘place’. Indeed, Murphy’s Scottish regionalism, and Scarpa’s

Venetian regionalism ultimately define the differences in the language of their

architecture.

Thus far, Murphy’s affinity with Carlo Scarpa has been well-referenced. However, an

in-depth direct comparative analysis of the ideologies and principles of the two, has

not, to current knowledge, been undertaken.

The intent then, is to explore the dialogue between the two architects. With emphasis

on tracing a narrative through Murphy’s buildings alongside Scarpa’s ideals, the

dialogue will become apparent: rich in its moments of synchronicity and equally so

where divergence occurs.

1.4 Murphy: as Architect

Saying that architecture should be of its own time may be stating the obvious…but

today…for a city to be a living organism it must accept the architecture of its own

time; to make history for future generations and to enrich rather than disrupt its

context.

Richard Murphy

Richard Murphy has a very clear understanding of the world in which we dwell. Most

significantly, he understands the impact of the effects of globalisation within the

built environment.

The specific materiality which might have established a building within its context is

losing its relevance. Currently, globalised urban environments are materialising. A

city’s identity is fast becoming obscured by the calamitous nature of what many

deem to be ‘modern architecture’. Architecture is losing its authenticity by falsifying

itself within its context as, often, architects feel compelled to ‘make a statement’ by

creating something quite alien within its surroundings. Daniel Libeskind’s

‘deconstructavist’ approach provides compelling evidence of this. [Fig.1]

Ironically, Murphy excels by doing precisely the opposite: his forte is not making a

statement. His is an architecture which responds directly to place. [Fig.2]

His architecture might be clarified as a series of contrasts. Having worked on

several intervention projects, where the architect is forced to work with ‘what is

already there’, he has developed a rich, meaningful architectural language. Clarifying

the new alongside the old, successfully, is not an easy task. Like Scarpa though,

Murphy conveys this quite effortlessly.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

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His architectural language is holistic in the respect that a single idea can be traced

from its conceptualisation right through to the finest of details. This method,

specifically, is one on which Carlo Scarpa has had the greatest of influence.

1.5 Scarpa: as Architect

Carlo Scarpa [1906 – 1978], at base, can be described as an architect – craftsman.

Stimulated by his environment; historic Venezia. In 2010, Ann-Catrin Shultz

published a book entitled Carlo Scarpa: Layers. In it, she comprehensively explores

Scarpa’s affinity with the concept of stratification within architecture. This is an

exceptionally vast topic which extends beyond the scope of this paper. However,

this concept will be explored in respect to the dialogue which exists between Scarpa

and Murphy.

Scarpa’s architecture, like Murphy’s is made manifest entirely by the environment in

which it is situated. The historicism of Venice has compelled his entire ethos.

Furthermore, concerned with the tectonics of architecture, the legibility and

assemblage of elements, Scarpa sustains an architectural language which is, in

effect, timeless.

Typically then, there is a contemporary relevance within Scarpa’s ideologies.

A Regionalist Approach

2.1 Regionalism versus Vernacular

Canizaro (2007) compares ‘regionalism’ and the ‘vernacular’. He states that where

the vernacular is a necessary response to the specificity of local conditions – social,

climatic, topographic – regionalism is ‘voluntary’: a series of architectural theories

employed. Kenneth Frampton reinforces this concept;

Regionalism has dominated architecture in almost all countries at some time…By

way of general definition we can say that it upholds the individual and local

architectonic features against more universal and abstract ones.

As Frampton understands it, there is an inherent strength within regionalist

ideologies which are capable of sustaining the credibility of the locale within the

global.

Vernacular architecture conversely, is the result of a dynamic cultural process.

Crucially, it is the culturally syncretic response to various regional filters which

ultimately dictate the outcome. (Heath 2009) These ‘filters’ describe the collective

regional forces acting on a particular place, such as; temporal and topographical

conditions, cultural memory and tradition, materiality. Ultimately it is the

stratification of these elements which permit a ‘situated regionalism’. Within the

work of Scarpa and Murphy, the concept of architecture as a series of layers,

inclusive of the aforementioned regional filters, is paramount.

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Significantly, the architectural vernacular provides cohesion and a subsequent

contextual narrative which is regionally comprehensive.

This developing, regionalist, architectural language is as vast in its complexities as

the spoken word. It is however, important to place emphasis on the global

comprehension of this language. Crucially, this understanding is made possible

through the existence of architecture pertaining to place and locale: the linguistic

variety within architecture made manifest by social circumstance. The Italian

architect Vittorio Gregotti reinforces this concept, upholding the view that ‘it is

architecture itself that needs, for its very production, the material represented by

social relations’. (Frampton 1996) In order to facilitate an understanding of the

global, it is paramount to first appreciate the uniqueness of identity pertaining to the

local. Regionalism is the fundamental characterisation of a society’s place within the

world. Recognisable within Murphy and Scarpa’s ideologies, regionalism forms the

base strata.

Contemporary regionalism, it seems, is a necessary ideology which enables the

preservation of the smaller, yet most significant, existing cultural and social varieties

within the vast spread of globalisation. The significance lies in the clarification of the

micro, the local, within the macro, the global. Conclusively, the local is what

constitutes the global ‘whole’.

2.2 The Language of Buildings

An architecture of its own time and place: a testimonial which somehow pervades

the architectural psyche. In much of the architecture produced today however, there

is little evidence of a response to this. What must surely then be ascertained is why

this is. For, embedded within the Murphy/Scarpa dialogue is a fundamental

response to ‘place’.

Analogy is important here: the appropriation of dialogue within architecture is

crucial. There is a language which exists between a building and its context, the

legitimacy of which is determined by the appropriateness of the architecture.

Engaged within this language are the communities, the people, by which

architecture is intended.

Further to this, Unwin (2009) draws a distinct comparison between the idea of

‘place’ and ‘language’:

‘Place is to architecture, it may be said, as meaning is to language’

Ultimately, it can be surmised that place is the generator of the architectural

language. Just as language is a composition of words, the vocabulary of architecture

can be read as the fundamentals: roof, wall and floor. Where Scarpa and Murphy are

concerned, each architect has their own distinct language due to regional

specificities. Inherent between the two however, is a dialogue. Within Murphy’s

architecture are the lessons of Scarpa.

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2.3 The City: Regional Stratification

The experience and memory of humankind are laid down in layers in the physical

environment, concretely and graphically. Every new part exploits ancient forms,

materials and ways of making. Building is, at base, a sign of hope, a sign of

society’s belief in future, a gesture forward in time.

Marja-Ritta Norri

Both Murphy and Scarpa base their entire architectural philosophies on the

existence of the layers inherent within ‘place’; within society. Although regional

specificities dictate the differences between their resulting architectural languages,

their shared belief in an architecture which is ‘forward thinking’ is clarified by

Murphy’s assertion that a city’ must embrace the architecture of its time, in order to

make history for future generations.’ (Weston et al 2001)

There is a complexity within cities. Through time, rapid social, cultural and

economic developments cause cities to expand exponentially. As such the

numerous strata constituting these dense urban environments is evident, particularly

so within cities enriched by their history. As regional-modernists, Scarpa and

Murphy each from a city whose complexities are profound, Venice and Edinburgh

respectively, there exists an affinity between architect and environment. Through the

refinement of a city’s inherent complexities there is the establishment of a syncretic,

contextually rooted architecture.

Architecture in Principle

3.1 Layers in History

History, crucially, is not solely about the past. It is the signifier of growth: of

evolution. Evidently the past is the sculptor of the present, and of the future.

At its core, the formation of a city over a prolonged period of time is the essential

element in shaping the architectural vernacular. As discussed, there is consistency

within the regional filters which define the fundamentals of a vernacular architecture.

While this is true, time also permits evolution within societies. Ultimately, it is social

progression which dictates change within the vernacular form. The input of the

individual, especially, is the heart of an architecture of experience. Within the

regional-modernist mechanisms of Scarpa and Murphy, this concept is absolute.

For both architects, the city is in essence, their architectural palette. Regional filters

can be rendered as the primary; their subjective input, the secondary. As architects,

both ultimately, are sculptors of their environment.

3.2 Venice

Within the historicism of Venice are numerous strata. Through a holistic

understanding of the qualitative elements, Scarpa had the ability to develop an

architecture whose contemporary language can be read as an evolution of the city’s

history and regional specificities.

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Historically, due to its complete inaccessibility, Venice was unaffected by the

machine age. As such, the absence of industrialisation is a resonant factor within the

city. Globally, cities are governed by the existence of the motor vehicle. Venice

however, is effectively a pedestrian city: a design parameter in which Scarpa

revelled. This inaccessibility, of course, is due to the geographical positioning of the

city. Situated with a large body of water, separated entirely from mainland Italy,

Venice is primarily characterised by its canalled system. Constructed at water level,

the city is often seen to be ‘living constantly on its nerves’ (Murphy 1993) as the

aqua alta, ‘high water’, is a regular occurrence. Certainly, the city’s horizontality is

tantalising to observe; the street plane is at once solid ground and waterway.

Simultaneously, the water defines and percolates the city.

Scarpa was at once an architect of his time, and an architect ahead of his time. The

articulation of his architectural language is an enrichment of the Venetian identity. An

identity wrought by the materiality and geography, and significantly, the special light

which permeates the city.

Above all, Scarpa recognised these ‘place defining’ elements as being intrinsic to

the nature of the subjective architectural experience. According to Mazzariol et al

(1987) Scarpa was not interested in the random…Place meant the space where

some rite was made manifest. Certainly, his is an architecture of experience within

which the ideologies of regionalism are strengthened.

Similar ideologies can be traced as a narrative through the works of Murphy.

However, the emerging dialogue between the two architects becomes especially rich

where the parameters of place are made evident within their linguistic divergences.

Typically, the horizontality of Venice is a direct contrast to the vertiginous nature of

Edinburgh. Both limited however, by natural parameters; the alluring waters of the

Venetian Lagoon and the challenging mountainous landscape of Scotland.

Typified by their respective constraints, Scarpa and Murphy separately maintain their

own architectural narratives. There is strength, though, evident in their combined

dialogue particularly within the juxtaposition of certain design outcomes.

3.3 Scarpa’s Lessons

Richard Murphy has often acknowledged his great affinity with Scarpa and has made

clear the influences which have manifested themselves within his own architecture:

in principle and in practice. Scarpa’s influences extend beyond the ‘end product’;

just as Murphy’s ideals are inclusive of the design process and ultimately, the

refinement of an idea within the detail. Indeed it is Scarpa’s methodology,

specifically the evolution of an idea, whose narrative can be read from beginning to

end, which is perhaps most evident within the works of Murphy.

Like Scarpa, Murphy’s absolution in the importance of place permits the subtle

fusion of ideals. In evidence, it is the adaptation of Scarpa’s ideas which makes

Murphy’s architecture his own. It is not a case of an application of ideas, but rather

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an understanding of Scarpa’s reasoning which Murphy has allowed to influence the

language of his own architecture.

Murphy’s Scottish regionalism retains similar qualities to that of Scarpa’s Venetian

regionalism, with innovation pervading the architectural vernacular. Murphy is

responsive to both time and place. He recognises that while lessons from the past

can be relevant in the present, they are not absolute. Mazzariol (1987) describes

Scarpa’s parallel approach: ‘he used a contemporary language appropriate for 1968,

but the intention was to recompose a previous reality and send it on, to recommend

and entrust it to a future time’. Murphy’s innovation and ability to understand the

appropriateness of the built environment with relation to its current social context,

further enriches his language within the mainstream Scottish architectural tradition:

‘a language even more firmly anchored to that sense of place’. (Weston et al 2001)

Kenneth Frampton’s essay Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an

Architecture of Resistance, (Foster1990), describes how ‘it is necessary to

distinguish between Critical Regionalism and simple-minded attempts to revive the

hypothetical forms of a lost vernacular’. The term Critical Regionalism, in his view,

is reliant upon the deconstruction of the world culture. It is defined by place-form -

topography, context, climate, light, tactility and tectonic form. (Mallgrave and

Goodman 2011) All of which constitute the reasoning of both Murphy and Scarpa.

Essentially, though, it is the site which is the basis for the creation of an architecture

of place.

Architecture in Detail

In order to provide clarification of the modern – regionalist approach by Scarpa and

Murphy, this chapter provides a thorough exploration of their ideologies within

selected works. Modern regionalism, typically, can best be observed within the

contemporary development of an existing building. As such, to further convey the

rich dialogue between the architects, the selected works all fall within the spectrum

of ‘intervention’2

.

4.1 Site: Topography

If a building sits within its site, particularly where there are changes in the

topography, it immediately has a convincing contextual basis on which to further

develop the design. If the hypothetical site were to be entirely levelled out the idea

of place becomes practically obsolete. Kenneth Frampton (Foster1990) further

discusses this concept with reference to the Swiss architect, Mario Botta:

The bulldozing of an irregular topography into a flat site is clearly a technocratic

gesture which aspires to a condition of absolute placelessness…the terracing of

the same site to receive the stepped form of a building is an engagement in the act

of ‘cultivating’ the site. It evokes the method alluded to by Mario Botta as ‘building

the site’.

2 ‘Intervention’: in architecture, this is termed as the placement of a contemporary

insertion alongside or within an existing building.

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Richard Murphy’s Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre [DCA] completed in 1999, is

perhaps the most appropriate example of contention with topography. The L-shaped,

multi-function arts building contends with an eight metre fall between the entrance

level to the north and the rear of the building. There are five stories arranged within,

with only two levels evident upon entry from the north side. [Fig.3] Successful in its

subtleties, Richard Carr’s article entitled ‘Vertical Hold’ (1999) is apt: Murphy

utilises the stepped, exterior spatial conditions with a central ‘spill out’ space,

accessible from the café area within. This space is further stepped and wrapped

around the building to the lower level surrounding the university galleries. An

elegant public throughway from north to south is therefore permitted. Inside, Murphy

exploits the change in level with a dramatic staircase dominating the central public

entrance level; this further acts as an extension to the street outside, seamlessly

drawing the public into the depths of the building. [Fig.4] Carr (1999) suggests that

it is experience from working in ‘vertiginous Edinburgh’ which has permitted

Murphy’s subtle solution to the complex site. Further to this, Frampton ascertains

that:

The specific culture of a region becomes inscribed into the form and realisation of

the work…which arises out of ‘in-laying’ the building into the site. It has… the

capacity to embody, in built form, the prehistory of the place… and its subsequent

cultivation and transformation across time. Through this layering into the site the

idiosyncrasies of place find their expression without falling into sentimentality

(Foster 1990)

Certainly, Murphy’s delicate response to site establishes and expresses the

building’s appropriateness within its context.

Carlo Scarpa similarly adopts the approach of layering into the site. Working in

Venice however, where the city is very much a horizontal entity compared with the

verticality of the Scottish cities of Dundee and Edinburgh, Scarpa’s response differs.

Instead his is an approach to floor planes; maintaining the horizontality of the site.

Within his project for the renovation of the Querini Stampalia Foundation (1963), the

adjustment of various elements within the floor plane are a necessary geographical

response; designed to allow water from the adjacent canal to penetrate the building

in the event of potential flooding – the aqua alta. In the entrance area, the upper floor

plane maintains a raised border over which a lower floor stratum is visible:

essentially, a ‘moat’. ‘When there is a flood, the floor in this room consists of a

concrete plane, a layer of water, and a raised concrete slab covered with marble

mosaic.’ [Fig. 5, 6] (Shultz 2010) At once, Scarpa merges topographical strata with

material strata. His anticipation of changing conditions is evidence of the building’s

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

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unique characterisation as a direct response its geographical situation. Richard

Murphy (1993) himself describes the intention of Scarpa’s symbolism, of Venice’s

‘dominance’ of the waters.

In response to existing topographical conditions, whether through the extension of

floor planes or by way of Murphy’s vertical extrusions, this regional detailing

provides definition for the structure of space surrounding and pervading the

building.

Ultimately, the specificity of site is the primary dictator of the explicit and implicit

properties of route.

4.2 Threshold

Experiencing products of architecture involves movement. One passes from

outside to inside through the serial stages of a route… a place where one stops -

these may be called static places. But the pathway from one static place to another

is a place too – a dynamic place.

(Unwin 2009)

Architecture is entirely experiential. Buildings characterise the atmospheric

properties of a place. Significantly, they direct the flow of people. If one considers

the ‘street’ for example, it is entirely defined by the built environment. The expansion

and contraction of spaces is didactic; where tight alleyways lead to narrow lanes;

busy vehicular routes link to pedestrian boulevards. [Fig.7] Within this spatial

sequence transition is key. It is a necessary layer which permits cohesion. Where

architectural intervention is concerned, the creation of a transitional space is

fundamental in the evolution of the architectural language. A space between the new

and the old is simultaneously part of both, and part of neither. Crucially though, it

aids the integration between the conflicting elements. [Fig.8]

As human beings, the act of transition has an immense effect on the subjective

experience. This occurs both externally and internally. In the design of a building,

both are equally fundamental.

Architecturally, it is important to understand the prospective experiential qualities of

a space. There is always the contention, for example, with the unfamiliarity of a

place. It is in the care of the architect then, to ensure as much as is permitted, an

Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Fig. 8 Fig. 7

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‘openness’ within public buildings. Initially, this issue can be lessened with the

effective extension of what is, categorically, a familiar part of the public realm: the

street.

Importantly, a transitional space may often occur before entering a building –

typically, an entrance courtyard. However, this space may not necessarily be entirely

enclosed: simply an area which one steps off the street into the ‘realm’ of the

building. Certainly, Murphy often employs this tactic. His DCA, for instance, is

partially pulled back from the busyness of a main vehicular route into the city centre.

This simple move creates what is effectively a secondary pedestrian area, belonging

to the building: a ‘precinct’, which, as Murphy ascertains, gives ‘breathing space to

the street edge’. [Fig.9] (Weston et al 2001)

The idea of an entrance transitional space is not confined to the groundscape;

roofscape can also provide a similar experience: the use of canopy is a fundamental

transitional element. Employed, typically, as a response to climatic conditions, the

element also provides an extension of a building over the street. Edinburgh’s

Fruitmarket gallery is situated directly off a main street. The canopy is subtle, yet the

impression of precinct is still apparent. The scale of the DCA meanwhile, allows the

building to use both – as well as having a significant precinct, it also employs a

canopy over the main entrance. Each of these elements significantly increases the

dynamism of the ‘space between’.

Further to this, parallels can be drawn alongside Scarpa’s entrance space at the

Querini Stampalia.

Similarly to the Fruitmarket Gallery, the Querini Stampalia sits quietly in its context,

maintaining the likeness of the surrounding facades. The canalled system however,

is ever present; where Murphy’s galleries are concerned with the street, Scarpa is

concerned with the water. Indeed, the entrance to the building is quite special, and

certainly well defined: the threshold between street and building is made manifest

by an elegantly designed bridge. The Scarpa-esque detailing is an event in itself: it

signifies the crossing – literally and metaphorically – between old Venezia and the

Fig. 9

Fig.10 Fig.11

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unique Scarpa intervention. Frampton (1996) describes the bridge as a ‘fixed hinge’;

apt in its tectonic properties. Perhaps even more significantly, is the evident

appreciation of the horizontality of street meeting the abrupt verticality of the palace

façade. Subsequently, the considerable height difference between street and

building threshold dictates the asymmetrical camber of the bridge. (Murphy 1993)

As with any intervention project, there is a fine line between the creation of a

contemporary architectural language and the existing. Each is held in significant

juxtaposition with the other. Scarpa, typically, succeeds in clarifying the new

alongside the old. The fundamental bridge element respects the existing, but does

not replicate. As such, there is an entirely new and unique transitional experience –

enhanced by its apposition.

Thus far, the concept of threshold has been discussed with primary reference to the

properties of physical barriers. Further to this, materiality and light can also be

highly indicative of threshold.

4.3 Materiality

Concrete and time-bound, heterogeneous and particular, our feeling for place –

‘space humanised’ as the Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck defined it – is grounded in

our bodily experience of the world. It is therefore inescapably material.

(Weston 2008)

The properties and application of material within the works of Murphy and Scarpa are

of the utmost importance. Typically, the inherent materiality within their respective

regions further enriches their architectural palette. Within their separate narratives,

the tactile qualities of material are most significant; its visual and physical properties

fundamental in the evocation of the initial emotional response. Within his

publication De Architectura, Vitruvius asserts the three fundamental elements within

architecture; firmitas, utilitas and venustas3

. The significance of materiality within the

latter is profound.

In utilising the materials appropriated to a region, the architect is able to further

sustain a new architectural language alongside the existing. By way of innovation in

the application of material, the architect is able to develop his dialogue and as such

provide enrichment within its context. The advancement in technology, a benefit of

globalisation, permits this innovation. Contrary to this, Frampton (1996) upholds

the view that technology, as the maximisation of industrial production, excludes

3 ‘Firmitas, utilitas, venustas’ [Latin]: translation by Sir Henry Wotton; firmness,

commodity, delight Fig. 12 Fig. 13

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architecture as craft and as an act of place creation from the process. Within the

works of Murphy and Scarpa, this statement can be disproved. Inherent within their

work is the subtle integration of modern technologies as a means by which

innovation and revitalisation of tradition can be achieved.

Scarpa, particularly, had an affinity with the unconventional sculpting of material. He

immensely enjoyed the play of the perception of material. In the Querini Stampalia,

the stonework can be perceived at once as simple cladding and then as a kind of

wood. (Shultz 2010) The travertine, cut as a panel, is ingrained with the visual

properties appropriated to timber panelling. [Fig.15] For Scarpa, however, the real

masterstroke manifests itself within the articulation of material as a space defining

element.

As a systematic series of planes, there is at once a simplicity and complexity within

the architectural language. The complexities lie within the methodical arrangement

and application of material within the planarity of the building. Materiality is

ultimately the transposition of separation and cohesion within the building’s

vocabulary: roof, wall and floor plane. Each defined as separate entities, yet

described as part of the whole. [Fig.14]

In his work there pervades a disjunctive narrative in which what is, is always

accompanied by what has been and what might have been.(Frampton 1996)This

assertion by Frampton, determines the intrinsic, holistic ethos embedded within

Scarpa’s dialectical works.

Richard Weston (2008) describes the impact of challenging the natural climatic and

temporal filters with specific reference to the ‘white architecture of the International

Style4

’. Within this ‘style’ there existed a high maintenance demand in order to

sustain the intended pristine architectural image, unaffected by the course of time.

Conversely, both Murphy and Scarpa uphold a positive preoccupation with ‘time’ as

a tool with which they permit a natural evolution in a building’s dialogue. Key social

thinkers, John Ruskin and William Morris also shared this attitude. Morris,

particularly, argued that there should be clarity in the definition of what is new, and

what is old. (Weston 2008) Certainly, the stratification of elements facilitates this

clarification.

Murphy’s DCA is exemplary in adopting the principle of ‘layering the façade’. The

intervention with an existing brick warehouse is evident with the retention of its shell.

However, being largely a contemporary insertion, Murphy provides legibility

between the old and new through the literal separation of material. The historic brick

4 Weston refers to Le Corbusier’s ‘time defying aspirations’ of his Purist Villas.

Fig. 14 Fig. 15

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shell, pulled away from the contemporary pre-patinated copper cladding has the

resultant effect of one material slipping seamlessly past the other. Murphy’s

integrative approach allows the inclusion of white render as a mediator; softened by

the inherent tactility of the copper and brick. [Fig.16] Within this separation, there is

an honesty. Murphy clarifies the structural properties of the material, specifically,

the brick wall as an evident non loadbearing element.

Glass and steel are employed with the same intention and with equal success in

Murphy’s Fruitmarket Gallery. The existing stonework having been largely retained,

sustains the secondary layer of steel structure within which there is the integration of

a hoist and sliding glass screen. [Fig.17] Expression of structure, evident at a larger

scale within the works of Murphy, can similarly be observed in Scarpa’s detailing.

The bridge at the Querini Stampalia contains a dialogue almost entirely its own.

Initially, the purpose for what appears to be a ‘twin’ handrail is perplexing. However,

in recollection of Scarpa’s meticulous craftsmanship, the reasoning becomes

evident. Structural necessity dictates the form. The steel uprights configure the

fundamental handrail, while the adjoining teak and brass equivalent provides the

integral tactility required of such a device. 5

Where the two are connected the

junction is paramount. Pairs of steel flat bars conclude the composition, evidence of

Scarpa’s ‘adoration of the joint6

’. (Murphy 1993)

Inherent within the intervention projects as discussed, is the ability to provide a clear

distinction between the numerous strata, of which the ultimate sculptor is ‘light’.

Wholly ‘place specific’, the tonality of light in Venice differs entirely to that in

Scotland. However, the principles in utilising the element remain constant.

Typically, it signifies reassurance within the public domain. As such, it is often

employed as a guiding element through the depths of a building: a principle evident

in Murphy’s galleries. [Fig. 20, 21]

Light, in its ability to transform spatial perception, is the ultimate element which the

architect must master.

5 This same principle is evident also within the work of the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto;

his iconic leather-bound door handles specifically. (Weston 2008) 6 As Frampton (1996) so entitles his chapter on Scarpa.

Fig. 16 Fig. 17

Fig.18 Fig. 19

16

Designing a space is designing light. Without light there is no architecture.

Louis Kahn

Fig. 20 Fig. 21

17

Conclusion

Within the dialogue which exists between Richard Murphy and Carlo Scarpa, there is

an inherent linguistic cohesion between architect and place. Arguably, Scarpa was

one of the first regional-modernists. His architectural language is, typically, the

evolution of his great affinity with the city of Venice. Through his accentuation of the

idiosyncrasies within Venetian culture he was able to produce an architecture whose

relevance pervades time.

Scarpa’s ideologies, as such, embed themselves within contemporary architecture.

The principles within Murphy’s regionalist approach are evidence of this. Indeed, it

is the constant underlying factor of ‘place’ and subsequent regional specificities

which enable the existence of the vivid dialogue.

Regionalism within architecture, significantly, sustains the locale. It reasserts the

importance of cultural identity within our increasingly globalised world. Ultimately, it

sustains the diversity which formulates our global identity and world culture.

Ours is a world in which cultural divergences signify our exclusivity as a whole.

18

References

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1968 – Present. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing

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20

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