Collettivo di Architettura
This research project explores the professional and political practice of the Milanese communist collective Collettivo di Architettura from its founding in 1949 to its dissolution in 1989, examining its strategies, organization, and context. The trajectory of Collettivo in these almost forty years of activity provides an example of a distinctive way of applying political engagement to architecture, as an on-site commitment that involved planning institutions, party sections, and municipal administrations. Through interviews with former members, collaborators, and local interlocutors, as well as archival sources of Collettivo’s political and architectural work, this research explores the impact of political commitment on professional decisions, operating structures, and outcomes, including the resulting ambivalences within the power system and political landscape of Milan.
This research project is part of the SNSF-funded research project “Challenging or Reproducing the Status Quo? The Leftist Architect in Milanese Architecture, 196X-198X” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Andri Gerber (ZHAW Zurich) in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete (ETH Zurich).
Hover Image: Group photo in front of the Grandi Bertacchi construction site with a few of the members of Collettivo. From left to right in the background: Anna Seniga, wife of Achille Sacconi (on her right), Fredi Drugman with Novella Sansoni in front of him. From Manuele Salvetti, “Il Collettivo di Architettura 1949–1973” (Master’s Thesis, Politecnico di Milano, 2010), 151.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Andri Gerber (ZHAW Zurich), Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete and Prof. Dr. Janina Gosseye (TU Delft)
This research project is funded by the The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
