In recent years, historians of twentieth century architecture have devoted increasing attention to the processes of interaction and exchange that are integral to architectural production. This shift is not only a matter of expanding the cast of actors in the architectural arena, but also a more fundamental reconceptualization of the field that proposes a fluid and diachronic nature for the architectural object, which is understood to be almost continuously constructed by its various subjects. Paolo Scrivano's recent book, Building Transatlantic Italy: Architectural Dialogues with Postwar America, is a significant contribution to this body of scholarship. Focusing on what he calls "architectural dialogues," Scrivano aims to trace how America shaped the practice and discourse of architecture in postwar Italy directly, through the transmission of funds and materials, technology and knowledge, and indirectly, by providing a model of a modern, democratic society to which Italian architects looked with both reverence and skepticism throughout the postwar era.
展开▼
