Trevor Patt archeyes.com
Carlo Scarpa, Brion-Vega Tomb , 1968-1978. San Vito d’Altivole, Treviso, Italy
In the work of Carlo Scarpa at the Brion Vega Cemetery, the unit is reduced to the smaller scale of timber boards laid primarily horizontally. The scale of the boards works with the dimensions of steps in the wall establishing a proportional syncopation with various components within the project. On the exterior surfaces of the concrete the seams of the board formwork have influenced the patina on the concrete’s surface: the small ridges of cement at each board seam create miniature ledges where storm water collects and stains the concrete surface with unique subtleties. The transference of wood’s grain and knots from the boards to the concrete’s surface are another trace of the material that helped shape it.
Formwork is a ghost, a vestige of a former self that leaves a trace — felt, without being present. Concrete, uniquely, needs temporary material assistance to create its own long-lasting reality. While the relationship between concrete and its formwork is but a fleeting moment, formwork’s permanence is felt in concrete’s shape, seams, textures and patinas, the tangible tracings of material in absentia . Entangled, ephemeral yet permanent, therein lies the paradox of formwork. *
FRANCESCO MARTIRE is an architect, landscape architect and co-founder of large [medium] design office , a multi- disciplinary practice based in Toronto. He is an associate professor, teaching stream at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto. https://largemdo.com
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on site review 48 :: building materials
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