In the USSL (Nationail Health) building with old people s' home at Montelupo
Fiorentino, the starting point seems to be a cylinder. Dezzi Bardeschi
opens this cylinder like a crude clay vase, to form a dizzy space. The cylinder acts as a
pivot to two built wings. Ribs, bow-windows and gently convex surfaces alternate on the
brief sleeves, spoked by the sharp edge of the site on its outer rim. By a diagonal
approach (the acid test of daring designs) Dezzi Bardeschi has created controlled, strong
volumes. Some amusing jokes (such as the glazing over the cylinder) comment on the task
and save it from it any trace of hauteur. Thus he worked hard to choose two tones of light
and dark bricks facings; and again on the pattern of surface fabrics, with their expert
and intricate geometries. As work progressed, Dezzi Bardeschi developed a personal taste
for the craft, contributing a strong critical capacity to this building. As a public
utility, it assumes what I would define as a mature eclecticism, achieved by endorsing
lines con genial to the nature of materials and to the architect’s own transmutative
temperament. Roberto Gabetti Domus 792
|
|
