The Culture of Living

These twelve essays by leading architectural critics, sociologists, and designers are devoted to the unusual story of the transformation of residential living space in a country rich with architectural meaning. Home design and construction in Italy shifted after World War II from a base of craftsman builders to medium-size industrial production-a fundamental social change that was directed both by an active base of architectural theory and the culture of domestic life. Italy's design technologies extended the theory and practice of domestic architecture from its artisan characteristics to technologic visions-without breaking the social bond that architecture provides in Italy. Italy, unlike other countries, successfully redefined its "culture of living."

The largest part of the anthology addresses issues of design, production, and building, including Beppe Finezzi's "Living Between Art and Architecture" and Frida Doveil's "New Materials and New User Values For the Home". Other essays include "The Landscape of Daily Life" (Francesca Picchi), "A Homeless Country (Andrea Branzi), "Italian Design" (Paola Antonelli). Provocative pieces like "Living in Italy, A Question of Taste" by Franco La Cecla center on the perception of rituals of living in Italy as they are affected by the accelerating design tastes of the last fifty years.