DETAILS & DRAWINGS | CARLO SCARPA

“The richness of his design thinking process is embedded in these pages, which, alongside his buildings, provide an enlightening view into a humble, passionate, and considered mind.”

The work of Venice-born Architect Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978) invites us to linger, to spend time coming to know the slow unfolding of space.

In architectural circles, Scarpa is considered one of the masters of the 20th century, boasting an almost cult following. But unlike Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto or Louis Khan, among others, he remains relatively unknown in the wider public.

This is somewhat of a mystery, given the enchanting experience of his designs. His buildings are honest and original, marked by their layers of complexity, embracive spatial sequences, and intricate detail. Many of his buildings exhibit a concern for environmental considerations, embedding themselves within the landscape or curating climatic functions, such as the flooding of Venice, as part of the choreography of the building. In particular, Architects today often reference Scarpa as they look to complete intricate and sympathetic reworks or appendages to existing buildings. 

Scarpa's careful, attentive processes of thinking, designing, and applying material are captured quite beautifully through his many large drawing and sketches.

Never really producing a final drawing, something which must have been trying for the builders, Scarpa drew over and over, adding colour, intensifying line weights, turning the page around and looking at a detail from another angle. The richness of his design thinking process is embedded in these pages, which, alongside the buildings, provide an enlightening view into a humble, passionate, and considered mind.