Analogous City

The application is an integral component of a museum installation dedicated to The Analogous City, a seminal artwork crafted by Aldo Rossi, Eraldo Consolascio, Bruno Reichlin, and Fabio Reinhart for the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 1976. Leveraging augmented reality technology, this application enhances the viewer's experience by interacting with a reproduction of The Analogous City, which is accessible at http://archizoom.epfl.ch. It overlays multiple layers of complete references onto the collage, offering an enriched, multidimensional view of the artwork.

This innovative application is essential for engaging with the digital component of the exhibition titled "Aldo Rossi - The Window of the Poet, Prints 1973-1997," which is showcased at the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht, Archizoom EPFL in Lausanne, and GAMeC in Bergamo. By acquiring the reproduction of the Analogous City in the form of a map, published by Archizoom, users can replicate the museum's interactive experience at any time and place. The printed map includes insightful texts by Aldo Rossi, Fabio Reinhart, and Dario Rodighiero, further deepening the understanding of the artwork.

The Analogous City, or La Città Analoga, was envisioned as a true urban project. It integrates a variety of historical and architectural elements, including Giovanni Battista Caporali's Drawing of Vitruvius’ city (1536), Galileo Galilei's drawing of the Pleiades Constellation (1610), Tanzio da Varallo's painting David and Goliath (ca 1625), Francesco Borromini's plan of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1638-1641), the Dufour topographic map (1864), Le Corbusier's general plan of the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut (1954), and numerous architectural projects by Aldo Rossi and his collaborators.

Reflecting on The Analogous City, Aldo Rossi remarked, "Between past and present, reality and imagination, the analogous city is perhaps simply the city to be designed day by day, tackling problems and overcoming them, with a reasonable certainty that things will ultimately be better." This statement, published in Lotus International n. 13 in 1976, encapsulates the essence and ongoing relevance of this visionary project.