KAITA Ryoko
Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) Architectural Institute of Japan 81 (727) 2061 - 2070 1340-4210 2016/09
[Refereed] While the masterplan for the enlargement of Florence in the mid-19th century drawn by the architect Giuseppe Poggi was being executed, a new residential area appeared along the Viale dei Colli on the left bank of the Arno river.
This paper seeks to clarify Poggi's intentions for the design of this residence area and the method of architectural regulation by analyzing the prescription for the land-owners. The following four points highlight Poggi's intentions:
1. The design of the residence area along the Viale dei Colli was directed by Poggi, absorbing the ideas of a politician and a construction company. The prescription for the land-owners was done in order to make it easy to observe the area after the construction of the buildings.
2. For the construction of each residence, the architectural regulations were indicated in the contract made between the Comune and the construction company. Those regulations state that the construction company was obliged to build “a villa with garden” in each lot and to plant trees in a way that would not obstruct the view from the street and that the Comune had the authority to enforce the whole plan.
3. The position of each villa in each site was indicated in a plan designed by Poggi.
4. The height of the buildings and the distance of the setback from the streets were indicated numerically for each individual villa.
In this way we can see Poggi's intentions for the design of this residential area. He thought that it was important to secure the views from the Viale dei Colli, which would provide clean air apart from the urban area. The fact that it was possible to control the residential area along the Viale dei Colli based on regulations that used such ambiguous expressions as “not to obstruct the view from the street” or “build in a good architectural order” proves that a strong consensus regarding the residential architecture style existed in mid-19th century Florence. It can be said that the views Poggi imagined for this area consisted of these villas and the green-scape.