Robert Venturi e Denise Scott Brown: A Domestic Manifesto

A small villa inspired by Art Nouveau and Arts&Crafts, built in 1907 on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia; an eclectic decor in dialogue with contemporary works of art and books scattered everywhere; a wallpaper frieze that celebrates the names of artists and runs emphatically along the walls of the dining room. If the home of a couple of architects can be interpreted as their own design manifesto, the most intimate and perhaps the most sincere, the residence of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown well represents their particular methodological approach, and not only to composition. First and foremost, it celebrates a design that is new, courageous, ironic, and free from prejudice, yet always aware of the pre-existing historical heritage: a recurring theme in many of the couple's works, but still little investigated by the literature dedicated to their oeuvre. Surrounded by a residential neighborhood immersed in greenery, the house fits into an American domestic tradition that hybridizes European influences with local styles, and with which Venturi and Scott Brown are not afraid to engage. The interior is an explosion of furniture, decorative details, Pop Art masterpieces, and everyday objects collected from all over the world, representing an ode to the personality and many interests of its inhabitants. This multiplicity of objects and styles enters into direct relation with the original terracotta and majolica floor, the stained glass windows, and the heavy wooden staircase of Arts&Crafts derivation. A chromatic, material, morphological, and diachronic polyphony that recalls the accumulation of ideas and the reinterpretation of models and references – themes dear to the two designers. The house speaks of devotion to history and freedom of expression, of sought-after harmonies and spontaneous contrasts, of an impossible order, and for this reason, vital.