The Body as a Medium of Design Possibilities in Dino Formaggio’s Philosophy of Architecture

Abstract

Dino Formaggio’s philosophical thought was formed into the Milan school of philosophy, which arose in the 1930s around an outstanding figure who reflected the intellectual unrest within Italian philosophy — Antonio Banfi. Influenced by the critical rationalism developed by his teacher, Formaggio developed his philosophical thought in the field of aesthetics following his teacher, who actively applied his method to the analysis of various spheres of culture. Of particular interest to Formaggio was the active component of creating a work of art. He interpreted artistic technique not only as a set of knowledge and skills aimed at the realization of a work of art, but also as an understanding of the natural laws that make up the inner world of architecture. Formaggio’s desire, reflected mainly in his early works, to restore the value of technical and production practice, characteristic of art from its very inception, led him to understand artistic creativity through a concept that is not central even to Banfi’s thought — the concept of “body”, dating back to Husserl and Merleau-Ponty. Our analysis will be based on an interview published in 1986 in one of the most famous architectural magazines — “Domus”. In the dialogue between the philosopher and the architect (E. Ranzani), the idea of the body as a medium of design possibility is revealed.