Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture Within and Against Capitalism

by Pier Vittorio Aureli

The Project of Autonomy radically readdresses the concept of autonomy in politics and architecture by tracing a concise and polemical argument about its history in Italy in the 1960s and early 1970s. Architect and educator Pier Vittorio Aureli analyzes the position of the Operaism movement and its intersections with two of the most radical architectural-urban theories of the Aldo Rossi's redefinition of the architecture of the city and Archizoom's No-stop City. The book draws on significant new source material, including recent interviews by the author and untranslated documents.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Theory, Politics, History

120 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2008

About the author

Pier Vittorio Aureli studied at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia and later at the Berlage Institute in Rottedam. Aureli currently teaches at the AA School of Architecture in London and is visiting professor at Yale University. He is the author of many essays and several books, including The Project of Autonomy (2008) and The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture (2011).

Reviews

[Michael]

This brief essay analyzes the political tendencies that underlie the architectural theory of Aldo Rossi and Archizoom. Though on the surface they may seem to have nothing in common, Aureli uncovers a history hidden to English readers, in the process providing a more effective unpacking of both than I've ever read. My reading of Rossi especially benefited from this book, helping me realize just how politically motivated his "Architettura della Citta" was when written.

[Richard Rouhe]

great, but now what i was looking for relative to current research on architecture and capitalism