Giovanni Klaus König nella cultura progettuale del Novecento

In the context of Italian design culture in the second half of the 20th century, Giovanni Klaus Koenig (1924-1989) stands out as an original figure: a historian, theorist, and critic of architecture and design, a semiotician, passionate professor, cinema enthusiast and technician, as well as a designer of buildings and means of transportation. Driven by an inexhaustible curiosity, he navigated through the various disciplines related to design at all scales, continuously intertwining their methodologies and outcomes, and experimenting with innovative approaches to critical investigation, notably his pioneering studies on the linguistic analysis of architecture. This book collects the contributions presented at the international conference organized by the Department of Architecture at the University of Florence to celebrate the centenary of Giovanni Klaus Koenig's birth, in an attempt to convey his multifaceted genius, thoroughly exploring his most famous projects and writings, and contextualizing his figure within the broader national and international landscape of his time. Koenig has been (and often still is) confined to the limited intellectual circle of Florence. Although the Tuscan capital was the city where he chose to live, teach, and work throughout his life, he played a prominent role in significant industrial contexts of the country (such as Milan, Turin, and Fiat, for instance), in important magazines – from the Milan-based Casabella (of which he was co-editor) and Ottagono, to the Bologna-based Parametro – and in numerous events or programs involving internationally renowned architects and designers. The volume thus outlines the journey of an absolute protagonist of the Italian cultural debate of the second half of the 20th century.