Carlo Scarpa: Theory, Design, Planning - Tapa dura

"Typical of the author's method is the astonishing clarity with which the Castelvecchio project, Verona, is presented; an undertaking on which Scarpa worked on and off for nearly twenty years. The reader is first introduced to the general project and the outline of the castle, together with Scarpa's initial plan for its restoration and conversion to a museum, and is then led through the detailed development and progressive alterations and restorations which accompanied the initial stages of the project. There follows in logical and appropriate temporal sequence the development of the courtyard garden, the interior of the museum proper, the detailing of the access stairs and doors, the final placement of the major sculptural pieces including the key, almost mythic, equestrian Cangrande figure, which is the centerpiece of the entire complex."- Kenneth Frampton

Carlo Scarpa (1902-1978) belongs to the generation of Italian architects working in a period when political conditions placed severe restrictions on architectural expression. Yet Scarpa's achievements surpassed anything else being done in Italy between the wars and exemplified the best work done in the "Rationalist" tradition. This book considers the full spectrum of Scarpa's work, concentrating especially on his museum projects. It closely follows Scarpa's complex, multidimensional personality, covering the vicissitudes of his career, his ideas and their relationship to those of the modern masters, his cultural milieu, and his unique architectural contribution, which is imbued with a profound feeling for craft.Over 360 black and white and full color drawings and photographs of Scarpa's built works are integrated with plans and process drawings in a way that provides an experiential as well as formal understanding of the projects.Maria Antonietta Crippa teaches drawing and the restoration at the Milan Politecnico, and the History of Architecture at the Milan Institute of Design.