Made in Italy and the Transatlantic Transfer: Architecture, Design and Planning, 1955-1972

The international symposium Made in Italy and the Transatlantic Transfer aims to examine and discuss the presence and the dissemination of Italian architectural culture in North and South America from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. This is a critical time span for the observation of the architectural exchanges across the Atlantic Ocean, since the period coincided with a dramatic worldwide change of cultural geographies and with the transformation and expansion of many European societies and economies.

A publication and an exhibition, George E. Kidder Smith’s Italy Builds (1955) and Italy: The New Domestic Landscape (MoMA 1972; curated by the Argentinian architect Emilio Ambasz), are adopted as the opposite ends of this chronological spectrum. The event intends to debate how the relationship between Italy and the Americas evolved during the period under consideration and how actors located on both sides of the Atlantic interacted at multiple levels. Among the cases that can be explored are the active presence of Italian practitioners in foreign land, their involvement in educational and institutional programs, and the role played by Italian companies.

In the same way, the symposium is interested in analyzing the unfolding of different representations of Italian architectural culture in North and South America as well as the forms through which national narratives and transnational processes of cultural and technical exchange intersected. Submissions centered on the reception of the concept of “Made in Italy” and of images of Italy in North and South American media, events and “megaevents” are encouraged. The event will be held in English.

Speakers and Chairs: Juan Ignacio Azpiazu, Umberto Bonomo, Anna Braghini, Gaia Caramellino, Francesca Castanò, Ilaria Cattabriga, Lorenzo Ciccarelli, Annette Condello, Macarena Cortés, Denise Costanzo, Giovanna D’Amia, Federico Deambrosis, Harold Dede-Acosta, Filippo De Dominicis, Benedetta Di Donato, Anna Giurlani, Hannia Gomez, Silvia Micheli, Hugo Mondragon, Serena Orlandi, Daniela Ortiz dos Santos, Angelica Paiva Ponzio, Paolo Scrivano, Davide Spina, Nicole De Togni and Horacio Torrent

Symposium curated and organized by the Transferlab and supported by the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies

Conference Program as a PDF file