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Piero Bottoni
Piero Bottoni in Frankfurt, 1930 – Photo Credits: Archivio Piero Bottoni, Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Architettura e Studi Urbani

Piero Bottoni

Lived from 1903 to 1973, Piero Bottoni was an Italian Architect and Urbanist protagonist of the Italian Movement Razionalismo.

He graduated in architecture in 1926. From 1929 to 1949, he was the Italian delegate to the International Congress of Modern Architecture (Ciam). He collaborated to write the Athens Charter in 1933, becoming one of the fathers of Urbanism in Italy. His teaching activities started thanks to Giovanni Muzio, who called him to collaborate at the Faculty of Architecture at Politecnico di Milano. For Political reasons, he was expelled from the Institution and restarted teaching only after the IIWW. From 1967, he was a full professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano. He was also the Chief Executive of the Milan Triennale, promoting, in 1945, the construction of the famous QT8, a new experimental neighborhood in Milan. During his career, he travelled extensively, especially with his students from Politecnico di Milano.

Selected Travels: Germany, Greece, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Poland, Japan

Selected Works: Ina Residential Building, Milan (1953-1958), Municipal Building in Sesto S. Giovanni, Milan (1960), Exhibition Pavilion at QT8, Milan (1951).

Selected Bibliography:
Tonon, G. (1995), Piero Bottoni. Una nuova antichissima bellezza. Scritti editi e inediti 1927-1973. Milano: Laterza
Consonni, G., Tonon, G. (2010) Piero Bottoni. Milano: Electa architettura.
Consonni G. et al. (1990) Piero Bottoni. Opera Completa. Milano: Fabbri.
Consonni, G., Meneghetti, L., Tonon, G. Bio-bibliografia. Online source Archivio Piero Bottoni, Politecnico di Milano – Dipartimento di Architettura e Studi Urbani.

Gio Ponti
Gio Ponti in 1978 – Photo Credits: Public Domain

Gio Ponti

Giò Ponti, who lived from 1891 to 1979, was an Italian architect and designer. After graduating in Architecture at the Regio Istituto Tecnico Superiore (then Politecnico di Milano) in 1921, he began his career by establishing an architectural firm with Mino Fiocchi and Emilio Lancia. In 1928, he founded the influential Domus Journal; in 1941, he founded Stile, another influential magazine published until 1947. He taught at Politecnico di Milano from 1936 to 1961. During his career, he extensively travelled and designed abroad, becoming one of the most iconic figures of the XX Century.

Selected Travels: Holland, Sweden, USA, South America, URRS

Selected Works:  Pirelli Office Buildings, Milano (1956-1960), "Nave" building Politecnico di Milano first Extension, Milan (1953-1960), S. Carlo Hospital Chapel Santa Maria Annunciata, Milan (1964-1966)

Selected Bibliography:
Licitra Ponti, L. (1990), Gio Ponti: L’opera, Milan: Leonardo
Irace, F. (2009), Gio Ponti, Milan: Motta Architettura
Irace, F., Manuela, L. (2009) "Itinerari. Ritratti dal professionismo milanese. Gio Ponti", in Itinerari di architettura milanese. L'architettura moderna come descrizione della città, a cura della Fondazione dell'Ordine degli architetti, pianificatori, paesaggisti e conservatori della provincia di Milano.

Grand Tour #1

Grand Tour #1

The first Grand Tour brought us to Italy, traveling to the cities of Milan, Bologna, Cesena, Pesaro, Modena and Parma. It was not only a unique opportunity to visit and experience extraordinary examples of architecture, but also the first in-person consortium meeting.

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Alcino Soutinho
Alcino Soutinho © All rights reserved

Alcino Soutinho

Porto’s Grand Tourist born in 1930; practicing architect based in Porto since the 1950’s; studied and taught Architecture in “Porto School”; died in 2013.

Architectural work distinguished local and internationally, namely with the Europa Nostra Award and the AICA Design Award.

Avid traveller, received in the 1960’s a grant from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to study museums through Italy.

Selected works in Porto and North Portugal: Amadeu de Souza Cardoso Library-Museum, 1980; Matosinhos Municipality, Matosinhos, 1987; Fonsecas & Burnay Bank, Porto, 1990-98.   

See more in Fundação Instituto Marques da Silva (UpGranT Associated Partner): https://fims.up.pt/index.php?cat=19&subcat=66

Grand Tour #2

Grand Tour #2

Leading us along the Baltic coast from Riga up until Tallinn, Grand Tour #2 allows us to explore the rich architectural history of this Northern European region. During this trip, there is a particular focus on the socialist modernism – ambiguous architectural heritage from the Soviet occupation period, as well as some remarkable examples of contemporary architecture.

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Magazine Copies
Drawing on a tracing paper. Image courtesy Ināra Kārkliņa and Māris Kārkliņš.

Magazine Copies

During the Soviet period, architects in Latvia had a rather limited access to information on architecture abroad. They could make an official request to the state library through the so-called architectural design institutes where they were employed as architects. Upon such a request, they could take out architecture magazines to which the library was subscribed and bring them to their institutes for studying for a limited period of time. A common practice was copying the most interesting projects or details on a tracing paper in order to keep them as a reference. Considered the most obvious low-tech solution for obtaining a copy, this must have been a productive learning practice as well.

Ignazio Gardella
Photo Credits:

Ignazio Gardella

Ignazio Gardella, who lived from 1905 to 1982, was an Italian architect, engineer, and protagonist of the Italian Modern Movement, Razionalismo. He graduated in 1928 in engineering from Politecnico di Milano, where he also decided to pursue his studies in architecture meeting Franco Albini, Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Ernesto Nathan Rogers and Giovanni Romano. However, he graduated only after the IIWW at IUAV - Istituto Universitario d'Architettura di Venezia where he also taught Architectural Composition from 1949 to 1975 under the invite of Giuseppe Samonà. From 1952 to 1956, with Samonà, Rogers, and Albini, he directed the CIAM Summer School hosting architects from twenty foreign countries. His architectural career started in 1933 when he was the director of his father's architectural design firm. During his career, he won prestigious national and international prizes. He travelled extensively, especially after the IIWW, visiting numerous countries in Europe and abroad.

Selected Travels: Germany, Northern Europe, USA

Selected Works: Tognella House- House in the Park, Milan (1947- 1954), PAC – Contemporary Art Pavilion, Milan (1966)

Selected Bibliography:
Argan, G.C. (1959). Ignazio Gardella. Milano: Edizioni di Comunità
Monestiroli, A. (1997). L'architettura secondo Gardella. Milano: Laterza
Monestiroli, A. (2009). Ignazio Gardella. Milano: Mondadori Electa.

Giovanni Muzio
Giovanni Muzio in 1960 – Photo Credits: Courtesy of Archivio Muzio

Giovanni Muzio

Lived from 1893 till 1982 in Milan, Italy, Giovanni Muzio was an architect and one of the most iconic figures of the Italian Architectural Movement Novecento, which, along with the Rationalist movement, characterised Italian architecture in the 1920s and 1930s. He studied engineering at Collegio Ghisleri in Pavia before starting his architectural studies in 1912 at Politecnico di Milano. He was appointed Full Professor in Architectural Composition at the Faculty of Architecture in Politecnico di Torino (1935-1951) and in Architettura edilizia at the Faculty of Engineering in Politecnico di Milano (1951-1963). He also taught Urban Design at the Faculty of Architecture in Politecnico di Milano (1935-1963). His architectural career started in 1919 and lasted for almost seventy years. He actively worked as an urban designer in Italy and abroad designing and building some of the most iconic Milanese architecture of the XX century.

Selected travels: France, Germany, Portugal, Syria, Jordan

Selected works: Housing Complex Cà Brutta Milan (1922); Palace of the Art, Triennale, Milan (1932-1933); Newspapers’ Palace, Palazzo dell’Informazione, Milan (1938-1940)

Selected bibliography: Gambirasio, G. (1982), Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti, Milano: Franco Angeli
Canella, G. (1980) “Struttura e tradizione architettonica. Incontro con Giovanni Muzio”, in Hinterland n. 13-14, p. 36
Gambirasio, G., Minardi, B. (1980), “Professore nel ‘900 lei era…”, Intervista con Giovanni Muzio, in Modo, n. 33, now in Gambirasio, G. (1982) Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 38

Franca Helg
Franca Helg Portrait - Photo Credits: Copyright 2004-2010 - ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna

Franca Helg

Franca Helg, who lived from 1920 to 1989, was one of the most famous architects and designers of the Italian XX Century. She graduated in 1945 from Politecnico di Milano, where, after a short experience at IUAV in Venice, she also taught architectural composition, first as a Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso tutor and then as a full professor in 1984. She started her professional career immediately after graduating, working in BBPR Studio. In 1951, she started working as an associate architect at the Albini Architectural Firm, which later became Albini-Helg. As a scholar and architect, she often travelled in South America and Spain, but also in Africa and Saudi Arabia.

Selected Travels: South America, USA, Spain, Saudi Arabia

Selected Works: Forniture System of the Milanese underground - Line M -, Milan (1963)

Selected Bibliography:
Piva, A., Prina, V. (edited by) (2006), Franca Helg. "La gran dama dell'architettura italiana", Milano: Franco Angeli
Galbani, A. M. (2001), Donne Politecniche. Atti del Convegno e Catalogo della Mostra. Milano, 22 maggio 2000, Milano: Libri Sheiwiller

Álvaro Siza
Álvaro Siza. Photo: Egídio Santos / U.Porto © All rights reserved

Álvaro Siza

Porto’s Grand Tourist born in 1933; practicing architect based in Porto since the 1950’s; studied and taught Architecture in “Porto School”.

Architectural work widely distinguished, namely with the 1992 Pritzker Prize for Architecture, the Praemium Imperiale by the Japan Art Association, the Wolf Award, the RIBA Golden Medal, the UIA Golden Medal, the Golden Lion of Venice Biennale. Also distinguished with the Gold Medal from Alvar Aalto Foundation and the Mies van der Rohe Award, etc. 

Avid traveler since student, from Scandinavia/Russia to Brazil, with important incursions in Asia. Shared travel experiences with Fernando Távora and Alcino Soutinho, among others.

Selected works in Porto and North Portugal: Marés Swimming Pool, Matosinhos, 1961-66; Santa Maria Church and Parish Center, Marco de Canaveses, 1990-96; Serralves Museum, Porto, 1991-99.  

See more in Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art and in Art Library - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UpGranT Associated Partners). http://arquivos.serralves.pt/descriptions/72490; https://gulbenkian.pt/biblioteca-arte/en/alvaro-siza-archive/

Grand Tour # 1 in FAUP
© UpGranT Porto Team

Grand Tour # 1 in FAUP

Between May 27 and June 20, 2024, all who stepped inside FAUP’s library were invited to glimpse Grand Tour # 1 to Milano and Bologna (Cesena) through a virtual exhibition.

FAUP’s library is specialized in Architecture and dedicated to serve not only the scientific community of the Faculty and University but also the general public.
The video presentation of Grand Tour # 1, together with its dedicated graphic material, was presented in the library’s main access, facing the lobby.

Curatorship, organization and installation: UpGranT - Porto Team (Helder Casal Ribeiro and Sílvia Ramos)

Guido Canella
Guido Canella Portrait - Photo Credits: Courtesy of Archivio Guido Canella

Guido Canella

Guido Canella, a towering figure in the Architectural Debate in Italy after the IIWW, lived from 1931 to 2009. He graduated from Politecnico di Milano in 1959, where he studied with Ernesto Nathan Rogers and Giuseppe Samonà. His teaching activities have spanned over fifty years, and he has had a distinguished professional career building some of the most iconic Milanese architectures of the second half of the XX Century. In 1961, he joined Francesco Tentori, Michele Achilli, Sergio Asti, and Gae Aulenti on a trip to the USSR organised by Gio Ponti for the Milanese Architectural Board. This travel widely impacted his work and research.

Selected Travels: URRS, South America

Selected Works: Segrate Municipal Building, Milan (1966)

Selected Bibliography: Bordogna, E., Canella, G., Manganaro, E. (2014) Guido Canella 1931-2009, Milano: Franco Angeli

Ernesto Nathan Rogers
Ernesto Nathan Rogers Presenting at IX Triennale in 1951– Photo Credits: Public Domain

Ernesto Nathan Rogers

Ernesto Nathan Rogers, who lived from 1909 to 1969, was an Italian architect and scholar whose theories significantly impacted the history of modern architecture. In 1932, he graduated in architecture at Politecnico di Milano, founding—in the same year—the architectural firm BBPR with his colleagues Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti, and Gian Luigi Banfi. At Politecnico di Milano, he taught architectural composition but only became a full professor in 1964. Traveling was always at the core of his architectural production and teaching activities; he intensively promoted travel as a learning method among his students. He was invited to teach and lecture in South America, the USA, and countries of Northern Europe such as Norway and Finland.

Selected Travels: Northern Europe, USA, South America 

Selected Works: Velasca Tower, Milan (1955-1957), Sforzesco Castle Civic Collections, restoration and museum, Milan (1948-1957)

Selected Bibliography:
Baglione, C. (2012), Ernesto Nathan Rogers. 1909-1969, Milano: Franco Angeli
Tentori, F. (2005), "Un grande architetto ebreo", in Rassegna di Architettura e Urbanistica, n. 115/116, Gennaio-Agosto.
Tentori, F. (1970), Celebrazione di Ernesto Nathan Rogers. Discorso di Francesco Tentori. Trieste: Circolo della Cultura e delle Arti di Trieste.

Alfredo Viana de Lima
Viana de Lima © All rights reserved

Alfredo Viana de Lima

Porto’s Grand Tourist born in 1913; practicing architect since the 1930’s based in Porto; studied and taught Architecture in “Porto School”; died in 1991.

Travelled worldwide, participating in UNESCO Missions, CIAM Meetings and Gulbenkian Mission, from Asia to America and Africa.

Selected works in Porto and North Portugal: Aristídes Ribeiro House, Porto, 1949-1951; Marinhas House, Esposende, 1953-55; Economics Faculty, Porto, 1961-74.

See more in FAUP’s Documentation Center. https://sigarra.up.pt/faup/pt/web_base.gera_pagina?p_pagina=18267

Gae Aulenti
Gae Aulenti Portrait in 1991 - Copyright Creative Commons 4.0 Di Gorup de Besanez

Gae Aulenti

Gae Aulenti, an Italian architect and designer, lived from 1927 to 2012. She graduated in architecture from Politecnico di Milano in 1953, where she studied under Ernesto Nathan Rogers. In 1955, Rogers hired her as a graphic designer for the journal Casabella-Continuità. Aulenti also taught Architectural Composition as a tutor of Giuseppe Samonà at IUAV, Venice, and later with Ernesto Nathan Rogers at Politecnico di Milano. Throughout her career, she worked extensively as an architect and designer in Italy and abroad, frequently visiting South America, Europe, China, and the USA.

Selected Travels: South America, China, Europe

Selected Works: Milan, Piazzale Cadorna urban arrangement, Milan (1997-2000)

Selected Bibliography:
Artioli, N., Calamandrei, S. (2023). Gae Aulenti. China 1974. Milano, Humboldt Books.
AA.VV. (2021). Gae Aulenti. Vedere molto. Immaginare molto. Roma: Edizioni di Comunità

Walking in Távora and Siza’s shoes
Alvar Aalto itinerary, 1995, Fernando Távora and Álvaro Siza © UpGranT Porto Team

Walking in Távora and Siza’s shoes

Between June 12 and 14, 2024, taking the opportunity of Grand Tour # 2, the Porto Team reproduced part of the Alvar Aalto Route that Fernando Távora and Álvaro Siza took together in 1995 through Finland and Russia.

This itinerary, in Fernando Tavora's handwriting and kept in Álvaro Siza's Archive, is part of the current exhibition "C.A.S.A. Collection, Álvaro Siza Archive" and was celebrated during a guided tour on June 25th, Álvaro Siza's birthday.

From this itinerary, the Porto Team focused on Helsinki and its surroundings, visiting all the Alvar Aalto works studied in loco by Siza and Távora, thinking about possible affinities and contaminations.

Organization: UpGranT - Porto Team (Helder Casal Ribeiro and Sílvia Ramos)

Fernando Távora
Fernando Távora. Photo: Egídio Santos / U.Porto © All rights reserved

Fernando Távora

Porto’s Grand Tourist born in 1923; practicing architect based in Porto since the 1940’s; studied and taught Architecture in “Porto School”; died in 2005. 


Architectural work distinguished local and internationally, namely with the Europa Nostra Award, the BIAU Award and the Calouste Gulbenkian Prize. 


Avid traveller, received in the 1960’s a grant from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, travelling through USA, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt and Greece. Participated in Hoddesdon CIAM Meeting (1951) and Otterlo Team 10 Meeting (1959). 


Since 2005, the national “Fernando Távora Award Grant” highlights and sponsors the best Research Travel. 


Selected works in Porto and North Portugal: Feira Market, Santa Maria da Feira, 1953-59; Costa Convent, Guimarães, 1976-85; House of the 24, Porto, 1995-2002.

See more in Fundação Instituto Marques da Silva (UpGranT Associated Partner). https://fims.up.pt/index.php?cat=19&subcat=43

Vittoriano Viganò
Vittoriano Viganò 1964 – Photo Credits: Public Domain

Vittoriano Viganò

Lived from 1919 to 1996, graduated in 1944 from the faculty of Architecture of Politecnico di Milano and specialised in reinforced-concrete constructions, Vittoriano Viganò was the Italian voice of the architectural stream neo-brutalism. His teaching activities started at Politecnico di Milano where he taught Interior Architecture, Interior Design and Architectural Composition under the direction of Gio Ponti. His professional career started with an internship at the BBPR architectural firm. In 1947, he opened his design firm. Working as Italian news correspondent for the Journals L'architecture d'Ajourd'houi and Aujourd'hui. Art et Architecture he was multiple times in Paris.

Selected Travels: France

Selected Works: Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Architecture extension, Milan (1970 – 1983), Urban Development of Parco Sempione-Arco della Pace, Milan (1979-1987)

Selected Bibliography:
AA.VV. (1993). Vittoriano Viganò. A come architettura, Milano: Mondadori Electa
Rizzi, R., Averna, M. (2009) "Itinerari. Ritratti dal professionismo milanese. Vittoriano Viganò", in Itinerari di architettura milanese. L'architettura moderna come descrizione della città, a cura della Fondazione dell'Ordine degli architetti, pianificatori, paesaggisti e conservatori della provincia di Milano.

Franco Marescotti
Franco Marescotti 19??– Photo Credits: Picture from Ciucci, G., Casciato, M. (1980). Franco Marescotti e la casa civile. 1934-1956, Roma: Officina Edizioni

Franco Marescotti

Franco Marescotti, born in 1908, started his architectural career by working with Armando Brasini and later with Irenio Diotallevi. Together with Diotallevi, he ran the Diotallevi e Marescotti firm for more than twenty years. As a prominent figure in the Italian rationalist movement, he collaborated with Pagano on the editorial team of Casabella magazine, drawing attention to new building and construction systems such as standardize and prefabricated elements. 

His architectural work delved primarily into housing, interpreting it as the fundamental unit for the development of urban communities. He described it as a "house for one and infinite men." To deal with the problem of social housing, he examined various international case studies, including Ernst May's renowned project for the New Frankfurt and a series of experiments carried out in European cities as well as in the United States, such as Los Angeles, New Kensington, Pittsburgh, and Arizona. 

Selected Works: Grandi and Bertacchi Social Centre, Milan (1951-1953), Lampugnano Social Centre (1953-1955)

Selected Bibliography:
Gambirasio, G. (1982), Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti, Milano: Franco Angeli
Canella, G. (1980) “Struttura e tradizione architettonica. Incontro con Giovanni Muzio”, in Hinterland n. 13-14, p. 36
Gambirasio, G., Minardi, B. (1980), “Professore nel ‘900 lei era…”, Intervista con Giovanni Muzio, in Modo, n. 33, now in Gambirasio, G. (1982) Giovanni Muzio. Opere e Scritti Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 38

Selection criteria – ten architects from Estonia
Vello Asi [man with a camera] in London, 1968. Photo by Tadas Baginskas. Courtesy of Tadas Baginskas.

Selection criteria – ten architects from Estonia

In our selection of Estonian architects-grand tourists we want to give an insight to the four historical periods which have shaped life and culture in the country during the past 120 years: Russian czarist rule, inter-war independence, Soviet power and liberation since 1991.

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