Exploring a provocative thinker: LUCIUS BURCKHARDT

Despite the significant legacy and the original reflection, Lucius Burckhardt (1925-2003) is still little known by researchers, especially in planning and urbanism research fields. Alongside his innovative contribution, his science of walking, promenadologia or strollology, is an instrument to shed light on the great transformation that western cities were undergoing in the second half of the 20th century, due to the impressive increase of car mobility and the diffusion of a conventional landscape perception which was flattening the differences among city and countryside towards what Burckhardt defined a “general impression”.

“We are the first generation that needs to construct a new esthetic, a promenadological aesthetic because today the path for approaching an object is no longer taken for granted, but it must be represented —reproduced in the object itself. The message conveyed by a building, a garden or a well-finished landscape can no longer be translated by a simple flash of creative genius. The motto of the omnipotent architect “Where there is no place, I create the place”, is not enough: there are already too many of these aesthetic cacti [...]” (Burckhardt, 2019: 200).

After the walk “A promenadological exercise: re-appropriating the street beyond the car”, a tribute to Burckhardt’s reflection organized in Turin in October 2019, the Laboratorio del Cammino (LdC) reflects again on his legacy in planning and urbanism by organizing a seminar in cooperation with the School of Planning and Design of DiST/POLITO, which will take place on Thursday March 19th at the Valentino Castle in Turin. Speakers will be Martin Schmitz, professor at Kassel University of the Arts and a former student of Burckhardt, Daniela Allocca, research fellow at L’Orientale University of Naples, and Maurizio Cilli, architect and artist. Karl Kraehmer, PhD candidate at DiST/POLITO will coordinate the discussion. The seminar will be chaired by Luca Lazzarini, research fellow at DiST/POLITO and coordinator of the LdC.
At the end of the seminar, the LdC Team will briefly present the Call for Applications of the 2020 Summer School “Recycland: camminare nei territori in contrazione”.

• In case of extension of the health emergency related to the COVID-19 virus, a free webinar will be arranged. We will provide all the information on the websites and social media of LdC and DiST/POLITO.

• Program (2 MB)