THE ONTOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURE

The “Ontology of Architecture” event, promoted by the International OntoArte School Association at the art gallery of Torre Matigge of Trevi and sponsored by the Region of Umbria, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Order of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects and Conservationists of the Province of Perugia, and the Lizori Civic Committee, ended on 15 July 2007 and was an enormous success. The event was held during two full-immersion weekends, in which a series of educational experiences allowed participants to examine the dynamic architecture of Prof. Antonio Meneghetti, who has been in the international scientific limelight for many years. The event included conferences, live planning sessions assisted by technicians open to dialogue, historic/architectural documentaries of projects ranging from individual design objects to architecture and urban planning, critical reports on the Bauhaus and the issues that the great names in architecture have always investigated, and slides about Antonio Meneghetti’s international production, culminating in the author’s closing conference examining the basic rules on which architecture is based. During the conference, Meneghetti noted, “I would like to form a worldwide group of architects based on the concept of OntoArte,1 i.e. capable of bringing the technique of draughtsmanship and formalization into the heart of truth, life and everything that has to do with health: in other words, a group capable of bringing rationality within man’s ontic In-itself.” He went on to explain that “the ontic In-itself is the genome. It is like the intelligent universe that plans human beings, the being as a person, society and cosmos. One cannot build a civilization for mankind if one is not first aware of the criterion, the element and the basic plan of what man is.” In fact, humans are not born from chaos but from causality and will, and if they form part of this ‘insight design’ of how the eternal nature of things has planned them and loves, protects, maintains and develops them, then – as scholars, technical experts and thus architects – they can become collaborators of civilization, beauty, order, ethics and everything that is encompassed by the human existence. In essence, if one does not know nature’s plan, by the same token one cannot design architectural beauty. Indeed, the term “architecture” refers to the principle that projects form. As a result, it is even more important that architects be made aware of the ontological aspect of their work. “Therefore, anything that is done must always have an ontological connection, in other words a connection with the being that man is according to nature’s plan. A house, a garden, a staircase, a studio or a terrace must be enhanced senses, developed perceptions. In other words, the house must be our second body or even an expansion of the small body of the human being, from which we must be able to achieve the progressive amplitude of an ever-larger space in which to experience our own territorial psychology.” A highly stimulating intellectual atmosphere allowed participants to re-experience the spirit of the creative workshop of the Renaissance encouraged by the Bauhaus and Renzo Piano alike. This powerful meaning, so simple that it seemed impossible to understand because it was forgotten by the great perennial culture, that of Aristotle and Leonardo, became topical once more: manna for those who were willing to accept it. The pedagogy of a Maestro who, with his works, fully demonstrates the underpinnings of the ontopsychological culture and finally recognizes an operating criterion for design, one that has vanished from the media because of rampant consumerism, can still be found in all the geniuses who – on a transhistorical level – bear witness to the value of the human being. It is a shame that these values, which would restore to young people the operative scope of a profession, have vanished from the media due to widespread political indifference. By the same token, it is important that this kind of cultural and scientific testimony be available to attentive minds capable of grasping the vital challenge of responsibly playing a leading role in their eras. “This ontological architecture or, in other words, working according to the ontic project of each individual, must be provided above all when people join together as a society and create monuments, parliaments, churches, gyms, football pitches, theatres and so on.” This event led to a proposal for the critical interpretation of a current work, a monument that is representative of Italy’s architectural heritage: the Ara Pacis in Rome. No one likes the current renovation, particularly Italians, and Antonio Meneghetti’s solution would be a glass pyramid, a symbol that has always testified to the eternal value of human knowledge. Public attendance at the event continued to grow, culminating with 150 paying participants during the last weekend. Despite the fact that the event mainly targeted an Italian audience of students, graduates and professionals working in this field, it was rewarding to note that it was also attended by architects, interior designers, gallery owners and important businesspeople from Brazil, Russia, Latvia, England and other countries. One cannot help but wonder if this foreign turnout was due to the cultural novelty of the event or the publicity it gained as a result of the interest shown by the UN in Geneva in early July of this year regarding the Annual Ministerial Review. The AMR presented the results of two urban settlements created with scientific, artistic and cultural objectives in mind, respectively in Latvia and Brazil, and designed by this great mind ahead of his time. The main interest focused on the innovation that this business angel can create, i.e. economic cooperation between private and public organizations in order to restore or create new urban settlements, above all due to the enormous difficulty involved in establishing an economy that can endure during the time it is carried out, that avoids creating a cathedral in the desert and is capable of guaranteeing complete insertion and the revitalization of the local population involved. Fascinating, innovative and full of operating solutions with a broad range of applications in the social arena, this event marks an important step in Italy’s cultural life.

Ontopsychology
Ontopsicologia Editrice
Antonio Meneghetti