18 - Aldo Rossi

Aldo Rossi (Milan 1931 – 1997 Milan), “Studio per Fondo Toce” (Design for the Technology Park in Fondotoce on Lake Maggiore), 1993, watercolor pen-and-ink drawing on vélin, monogrammed lower right, dated “Gen(naio) 93” and titled, and bearing the studio stamp of Aldo Rossi’s office dated January 20, 1993, 29.5 x 41.8 cm; the drawing was folded once horizontally and twice vertically down the center, with fixative that has dried in irregular, blistered patches; mounted on backing board and set under glass and a mat in a white anodized aluminum frame; overall dimensions: 60 x 80 cm. Limit 2,250 This early, perspectival facade study for the “Tecnoparco del Lago Maggiore” (Lago Maggiore Technology Park) in Fondotoce (Verbania) already shows elements that were later actually realized (construction period 1993–1997): The striking, repetitive grid structure of the side wings was realized in the form of stepped ziggurat structures, visually accentuated by bright yellow steel profiles. The central, white clock tower also serves as the vertical, monumental center of the complex in reality. In the world of architecture, the building is considered a prime example of a modern pavilion system that combines functional industrial and laboratory structures with the aesthetics and dignity of a classical urban landscape. A drawing by Rossi dated the same day is held in the collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris under inventory number “AM 2011-2-321.”