The Fifties Graphic Expression in the Architectural Project. A Parallel Between Europe and America

In Europe, the avant-gardes of the early twentieth century have certainly paved the way for the use of expressive techniques within the architectural project. The character of innovation in the latter, taken from alternative forms and materials, has been well represented in the drawings. It can be said that the right combination of idea and representation allowed the affirmation of the project for which it was strongly characterized. In continuity with this condition, even if interrupted by the Second World War, we find the European and American experiences. In particular, the latter have made a substantial contribution thanks to a group of designers of considerable importance. Our research into the modes of visual communication, after analyzing the designs of the Case Study Houses, continued with the study of the drawings of the architects of the Sarasota School in Florida. At the same time, the design drawings—produced in Italy—were analyzed in the period of the last post-war reconstruction, and those realized in the fifties, in some European countries. The analysis concerned the adoption of geometric models, the graphic forms of representation, and the ways of communicating the project idea that, in the specific case, is substantiated by the application of new construction techniques and the use of light and new-production materials.