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Authors: Kisena Bylichkevskaya, Marika Wato CyberEmpathy ISSUE 5 / 2013 (7) Visual Strategies
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CYBEREmpathy ISSUE 7/2013. Visual Stategies
Kseniya Bilychkevskaya, Marika Ika Wato, Mario Botta! Exclusive interview for CyberEmpathy
www.CyberEmpathy.com
Abstract: November 4, 2013 the Center for Urban History hosted a public lecture by
architect Mario Botta entitled, "My Architecture. The Orionist Monastery
Parish Center in Lviv". The CyberEmpathic Team was there to interview the
poet of architecture.
CyberEmpathy: Have you ever drawn the inspiration from the
architecture of medieval castles? I mean in particular the
projects of the late twentieth century, the examples of the
residential architecture such as: Single-family house in
Ligornetto, Ticino, Switzerland , 1975-1976 or Casa Bianchi Riva
San Vitale - Ticino CH 1971-1973. In my opinion, they are rooted
in their formal structure to the monolithic, simple architecture
of medieval castles straight from the east regions of England.
Mario Botta: I love much the Middle Ages, I believe that the form of
medieval society synthesis is extraordinary: synthesis of the local but also
Kseniya Bilychkevskaya, Marika Ika Wato
Mario Botta! Exclusive Interview for CyberEmpathy Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
CYBEREmpathy ISSUE 7/2013. Visual Stategies
Kseniya Bilychkevskaya, Marika Ika Wato, Mario Botta! Exclusive interview for CyberEmpathy
www.CyberEmpathy.com
the global. The Middle Ages can be recognized worldwide. I like
the Romanesque style the most among different ways of expression: the
feeling of heaviness, weight, strength, power. In this respect, I suppose that
architecture bears the idea of gravity, weight. Any
architecture organizes the power to pass onto the ground. The ground is a p
art bof architectural structures. The architecture is not a structure that can
be moved somewhere, it belongs to a particular place. In other words, the
architecture is an activity that builds the place. So the location is an
essential part of the architectural structure. There is no architecture
without the context, without the territory it becomes just a pile of stones on
the ground. In my opinion, the key element of architecture in general is that
it is involved in the place where it was built, not as a sculpture which could
be placed anywhere.
In my projects (Single familyhouseinLigornetto, Ticino, Switzerland, 1975 1
976 or CasaBianchi RivaSanVitale - TicinoCH 1971 – 1973) I haven’t
directly addressed the image of castle or fortress, but my intention was to
implement the idea of the family life protection.
Left: Longthorpe Tower, England, 1425; Right: Casa Bianchi Riva San
Vitale
CYBEREmpathy ISSUE 7/2013. Visual Stategies
Kseniya Bilychkevskaya, Marika Ika Wato, Mario Botta! Exclusive interview for CyberEmpathy
www.CyberEmpathy.com
Left: Bunraty Castle, England, 1425; right: Mario Botta, Single-family house
in Ligornetto, Ticino, Switzerland, 1975-1976
CE: What role does the sketching play in your creative process?
Starting the drawing do you have the ready idea of form, or
rather it is shaped during the creation of the first drawings.
M.B.: I often note out that architecture expression belongs to the pencil,
not the head. Occasionally, I work on the projects, in this case I tell myself:
this time I will do a project without any distinct geometric shape. I work
and work, then the geometry comes to me. It is stronger than me. Strong
geometry provides the quality to space, which is originally created by the
light. If we turn off the light, the space will disappear. I'm trying to work
with the light from the zenith, so I use geometry to find the balance. This
balance provides the quality to space. If one can tell at the first glance what
this is - this is the most of the architectural talent.
CE: The architectural theorists often classify your works as a
postmodern. Do you consider yourself a postmodernist now?
M.B.: I am not a postmodernist, I'm post-antique man. After all, when I
work, it’s completely unnecessary to think of myself as a postmodernist,
post-antique rationalist. The critics need these things, not the person who
performs, so I prefer to take a pencil, to ask questions to the city and to try
to create the sense. To me, my architecture is also a sum of signs and
images, because architecture is a formal solution to the story. Geometry is
sacred, it has a golden sections, the magic number.
CYBEREmpathy ISSUE 7/2013. Visual Stategies
Kseniya Bilychkevskaya, Marika Ika Wato, Mario Botta! Exclusive interview for CyberEmpathy
www.CyberEmpathy.com
As I design much in old European cities, my style is the answer to the
problem of modern times, as a combination of the ancient and the future.
Keeping in mind that the world is ruled by globalization, the search for
personal identity in the architecture is very important; people must feel
their identity to a particular place, a particular landscape. Post-antique
means I see the world in its entirety, but look at it through a historical filter.
Some people think, when you're a great creator, you think about the future,
but this is not true, you think about a great past.
CE: The tree theme often appears in your projects. Does it play a
symbolic role? Or is it only the formal addition?
M.B.: The use of wood is rather formal. However, in the next 20 years I will
be thinking about whether it really was an accident (he laughs).
CE: As a student of the interior design, I would like to ask you,
what do you think about the relation between the interior and
exterior architecture? How should this relation be properly
shaped? Can the interior designer create in an organic way a
continuum of the environment in the interior without interfering
with the body of the building as such?
M.B.: The basic project developing stage for me is to determine the global
benchmarks. They are primarily measured by me in order to people safely
navigate in space. Such as the wind and the sun. They help the human not
to feel confused, as if in a maze. Because the maze is the opposite to the
concept of the building; architecture allows a person to move freely.
Therefore, the main connection between the inside and the outside is light
and how it fills the space. Light generates a dark interior space, gives it the
coordinates, focuses on a particular subject that the architect wants to
emphasize. The next step is the desire for order. Your inner space must
carry peace through an orderly internal balance.
CE: How would you describe the message of your architectural
projects now? I have the impression that they express some
general idea, the universal sense. Is this idea with you from the
beginning of the creative process, or is it a side effect of
exploration of the formal solutions?
M.B.: Architecture is a matter of the possible, not the dreams. I started
working early, without reaching solid theoretical basis, but only in the
CYBEREmpathy ISSUE 7/2013. Visual Stategies
Kseniya Bilychkevskaya, Marika Ika Wato, Mario Botta! Exclusive interview for CyberEmpathy
www.CyberEmpathy.com
process of building you begin to feel the idea. Those, who study the history
of art after have learned the art of building can better understand not only
the philosophical aspects, but also those associated with the work. I had the
same story: I began to build intuitively and eventually was able to truly
understand the essence deeper
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