The travels of Aldo van Eyck: publications and projects (1947-1961)

Abstract

The main objects of this research project are the trips the Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck undertook throughout 1947 and 1961. During this period, van Eyck traveled to Africa - Tunisa, Algeria and Mali - and to America - United States, New Mexico. These destinations were instigated by his interest in "elementary" and non-Western cultures. Aldo van Eyck depicted the life of communities and their spatial organization through visual and written material, such as pictures, drawings and texts. These materials were later published in journals of the time, especially the journal Forum. This is therefore a research that aims to observe the role of these trips in the very development of the concepts he formulated, as well as in his visual language. Thus, we intend to approximate the formal production of Aldo van Eyck as architect (specially during his work as an architect at the Public Department of Amsterdam) to his written production during the period in which he was editor of journal Forum. The research will concentrate on the figure of Aldo. (AU)