Publications
Quale Gotico per Milano? I materiali della giuria per il concorso della facciata del Duomo (1886-1888)
edited by Angela Windholz,
Carla Mazzarelli, Mirko Moizi
16.5 x 23.5 cm, 172 pp.
113 ill. col.
hardcover
italian
Silvana Editoriale
ISBN 9788836653591
€ 29 / frs 29.‒
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In 1886 the international competition was announced for the reconstruction of the façade of Milan Cathedral, one of the most important competitions in that period. This volume traces its long and controversial history, and much more: photographs, engravings, reliefs and publications now kept in the Library of the Mendrisio Academy of Architecture and formerly owned by the Ticinese architect Augusto Guidini, one of the members of the competition jury, guide readers to the jurors’ table, revealing the organizational procedures of an international architectural competition in the late nineteenth century, as well as of the criteria adopted to assess the projects presented. For the first time the book brings together as a whole the rarest and most surprising element in the innovative method developed by the jurors: a photographic archive of all the historical projects for the cathedral façade all the way to the projects submitted to the competition. The result is a narrative in images that testifies to the reception of Gothic and the variations of taste in the various periods. The history of the cathedral façade thus becomes a mutable history in which time also unfolds, with its continuity and its ruptures, accumulating on the monument that is a symbol of the city of Milan.
Texts by: Carla Mazzarelli, Mirko Moizi, Daniela Mondini, Angela Windholz
Da ospedale a biblioteca : la storia del legato Turconi
Angela Windholz
Mendrisio Academy Press, 2021
62 p.
italiano
In vendita al banco prestiti al prezzo di 15.- CHF
At the beginning of 2021, the Library of the Academy of architecture moved to its new, prestigious location in Palazzo Turconi. This happy circumstance provides an opportunity to review the history of the building and the library and to take a comprehensive look at the artistic and cultural heritage of the place. The building now known as Palazzo Turconi was originally conceived as a hospice for the poor, thanks to the written testamentary dispositions in Paris in 1803 by Count Alfonso Maria Turconi, but it was not built until the middle of the 19th century, based on a project by the architect Luigi Fontana, originally from Muggio. Inaugurated in 1860, the neoclassical building served as the Cantonal Hospital for the Mendrisiotto area for a century.
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in guaranteeing medical care for the population, the Hospital was the object of important acts of charity on the part of wealthy families of the region, for whom the management of the time commissioned a series of memorials by the best local artists; the building thus also became a privileged place for commemorating the social and civil commitment of deserving citizens.
In 1996, the building became the seat of the Academy of architecture of the Università della Svizzera italiana, and only since then has been given the name of Count Alfonso Maria Turconi. The exhibition set up in the new library spaces illustrates, with original documents and unpublished drawings, both the life of Alfonso Turconi and the hospital project and building site carried out under the direction of Luigi Fontana. It also re-evaluates all the monuments and works of art preserved in Palazzo Turconi. These works fell into oblivion for several years because the building was used over time for different functions: first as a hospital and then as a teaching space for the Academy's design studios. Today, having been chosen as the seat of the Academy of architecture Library, Palazzo Turconi is once again a public place, a place dedicated to scientific research and looking to the future, as the Ospedale della Beata Vergine once was.
Augusto Guidini di Barbengo. Architetto, giornalista, politico
edited by
Angela Windholz
24 x 34 cm, 160 pp.
37 ill. col., 84 ill. b/w
paperback
italian
Edizioni Casagrande
ISBN 9788877137272
€ 42 / frs 45.–
Augusto Guidini (1853-1928) is numbered among the pioneers of Swiss art history and conservation, as well as one of the most learned architects of his age, together with Gottfried Semper, Karl Moser and Hans Bernoulli. Yet this recognition has not hitherto been accompanied by an adequate historiographical assessment. The Library of the Academy of Architecture, which preserves the libraries of many famous architects bequeathed to it, also holds Augusto Guidini’s professional library, and has now promoted this first monographic study of the achievements of the Ticinese architect. Enriched with a complete and detailed atlas of his works, It presents contributions reconstructing the human and professional attainments of this versatile artist, fine draftsman and outstanding intellectual of his time.
Texts by Riccardo Bergossi, Stefania Bianchi, Valeria Farinati, Arnaldo Guidini, Chiara Lumia, Ornella Selvafolta, Angela Windholz.
Reviews and articles
- Ré, Giancarlo, L'impegno architettonico di Augusto Guidini : una panoramica sulle realizzazioni del progettista del Palazzo degli Studi di Lugano, Corriere del Ticino (20 luglio 2016)
- I tesori dell’Accademia : i fondi librari di architetti celebri - la biblioteca di Augusto Guidini, L’Informatore (29 luglio 2016)
- Hubmann, Stefania, Tra impegno civico e creatività : una monografia curata da Angela Windholz indaga la figura dell’architetto Augusto Guidini, promotore della prima Legge cantonale di tutela dei beni culturali, intervista con Angela Windholz, Azione (12 settembre 2016)
- Hubmann, Stefania, Una casa custode del passato : Casa Guidini : costruita nel 1851 dal politico Giovanni Battista Ramelli fu acquistata dall’architetto Guidini e conservata fino ad oggi intatta dal nipote Arnaldo Guidini, Azione (31 ottobre 2016)
- Ostinelli, Simona, Sulle tracce di Augusto Guidini, Il nostro paese, 330(2016), pp. 42-43
Acque, infrastrutture e memoria - Una selezione di documenti fotografici tratti dall'archivio dell'ingegner Augusto Rima di Locarno (1916-2003)
a cura di Angela Windholz
in Trasformazioni : Bi9 - Biennale dell'immagine : 12.10.2014 - 11.01.2015
Chiasso : Progetto Stampa, 2014
p. 73-79
At the conclusion of Augusto Rima's archive inventoring, the Library of the Academy contributes to the 9th Biennale dell’Immagine (organized by Galleria Cons Arc and the m.a.x. Museo in Chiasso, with the title TRASFORMAZIONI). It does so by exhibiting a selection of historic documents.
The photographs shown in the exhibition reveal the complex environmental conditions and engineering challenges connected to Ticino's watercourses management, as well as the ecological imbalances brought about by the booming economy and demography of this region.
Metro Milano. Il cantiere della metropolitana milanese 1958-1962. Una documentazione fotografica con un racconto di Gianni Biondillo
edited by
Angela Windholz
23.5 x 16.5 cm, 112 pp.
107 ill. b/w
paperback
italian
Silvana Editoriale
ISBN 9788836627080
€ 15 / frs 20.–
Out of stock
«I’m gazing at photos of construction work. It is a fund acquired by the Academy of Mendrisio, representing the construction of Linea 1 of the Milan subway. Photographs with no artistic purpose, a pure record of the facts. No literature, no flights of fancy or female distractions, pure factual concreteness. Photos by engineers. Yet so beautiful, so full of stories.»
Gianni Biondillo
Il Fondo "Acqua" dell'ing. Augusto Rima : un patrimonio acquisito dalla Biblioteca dell'Accademia di architettura di Mendrisio
di Angela Windholz e Francesca Ambrosio Resciniti
in Arte e storia, n.54(2012), p. 126-130
The Academy of architecture Library has acquired a large collection on hydraulics that was formerly part of the library of engineer Augusto Rima from Mosogno (1916-2003). It stands out as a very rich research source for topics regarding water resources management, lakes and rivers engineering, the history of hydraulic techniques and the development of water methodologies. This article presents the collection and describes its peculiarities.
