Architetto-cittadino Ernesto Nathan Rogers

Ernesto Nathan Rogers (1909-1969) wrote widely from his student days until the last years of his life. He was a leading architectural thinker of the post-war period, known both in Italy and internationally. Through his directorship of Domus (1946-1947), and of Casabella-continuita (1953-1964), through his partnership in the BBPR Architectural Studio, and through his teaching at the Milan Politecnico, he stimulated the practice of his day. Through his students his influence continues into the present. This study examines Rogers\u27 writing, following a roughly chronological sequence of themes. As his thought was characterized more by a deepening of recurrent concerns than by major shifts, the chronology represents the dominance of a theme during a particular period. Rogers had barely entered the professional world before the upheavals of World War II. Accordingly, the period from his school days until the beginning of his directorship at Domus is characterized by abstract considerations laying a philosophical base for understanding architecture and the architect. At Domus, under the subtitle la casa dell\u27uomo Rogers addressed post-war conditions, arguing for consideration of needs of the human spirit along with those of the body. At Casabella-continuita the debates of an active architectural world occasioned a variety of writings. The series takes issues to deeper and more specific consideration. Rogers\u27 attempt at a summary work was the posthumously published Gli elementi del fenomeno architettonico. His declared purpose in writing it was the reaffirmation of history. The thesis of this work is that the dominant and most enduring aspect of Ernesto Rogers\u27 thought was the reconsideration of history and tradition within a commitment to modern architecture. He established a notion of architecture as essentially grounded in the cultural life of the people. He insisted on the pursuit of method over style, and saw architecture as essentially evolutionary. This was played out in considerations of modernity and tradition, of the training of the architect, and of the city as the manifestation of historical continuity