Spolia and the Open Work

This article discusses the possibilities of signification in architectural interventions involving historical remnants, focusing on the notions of spolia and of opera aperta. The notion of spolia has been the province of art history since the Renaissance. In bringing it to the field of architectura...

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Main Author: Armando Rabaça
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: TU Delft OPEN Publishing 2023-03-01
Series:Footprint
Online Access:https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/footprint/article/view/6076
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author Armando Rabaça
author_facet Armando Rabaça
author_sort Armando Rabaça
collection DOAJ
description This article discusses the possibilities of signification in architectural interventions involving historical remnants, focusing on the notions of spolia and of opera aperta. The notion of spolia has been the province of art history since the Renaissance. In bringing it to the field of architectural design, the focus will shift from the historical realm to the conceptual possibilities opened up by spolia in architectural practice. The aim is to analyse the association between the creative reuse of and intervention in historical remnants and the multiplication of possible significations through various examples. Methodologically, the article expands the linguistic drive of the contemporary debate on spolia to the structural linguistics upon which Umberto Eco built the poststructuralist concept of open work. More precisely, the essay resorts to the notions of ‘sign’ and ‘sign structure’ as a vehicle to explore the possibilities for the semantic and syntactical openness of spolia. Toning in with Eco’s arguments on the open work, the openness associated with spolia will be seen as dependent on the loosening of the formal and typological structures of established architectural codes.
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spelling doaj-art-6d62f38e9dc74c8c8d4e6932acf48cf22025-08-20T03:18:05ZengTU Delft OPEN PublishingFootprint1875-15041875-14902023-03-0116210.7480/footprint.16.2.6076Spolia and the Open Work Armando Rabaça0University of Coimbra This article discusses the possibilities of signification in architectural interventions involving historical remnants, focusing on the notions of spolia and of opera aperta. The notion of spolia has been the province of art history since the Renaissance. In bringing it to the field of architectural design, the focus will shift from the historical realm to the conceptual possibilities opened up by spolia in architectural practice. The aim is to analyse the association between the creative reuse of and intervention in historical remnants and the multiplication of possible significations through various examples. Methodologically, the article expands the linguistic drive of the contemporary debate on spolia to the structural linguistics upon which Umberto Eco built the poststructuralist concept of open work. More precisely, the essay resorts to the notions of ‘sign’ and ‘sign structure’ as a vehicle to explore the possibilities for the semantic and syntactical openness of spolia. Toning in with Eco’s arguments on the open work, the openness associated with spolia will be seen as dependent on the loosening of the formal and typological structures of established architectural codes. https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/footprint/article/view/6076
spellingShingle Armando Rabaça
Spolia and the Open Work
Footprint
title Spolia and the Open Work
title_full Spolia and the Open Work
title_fullStr Spolia and the Open Work
title_full_unstemmed Spolia and the Open Work
title_short Spolia and the Open Work
title_sort spolia and the open work
url https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/footprint/article/view/6076
work_keys_str_mv AT armandorabaca spoliaandtheopenwork