2024-05-03T18:18:02-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149943681/forgotten-spaceships-of-po-valley Orhan Ayyüce 2016-05-04T13:30:00-04:00 >2022-03-16T09:10:02-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/nh/nhvmnqlw4i39h1jh.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Rem Koolhaas, in an infamous essay from 1995, goes straight to the point: &lsquo;the style of choice (of suburbia) is postmodern, and will always remain so&rsquo;.</p></em><br /><br /><p>'In the post-war period most of the middle class of northern Italy looked straightforwardly towards the future and refused to be &lsquo;contaminated&rsquo; by tradition. The best experimental designs by Franco Albini, Ignazio Gardella, Carlo Scarpa and Gianni Avon were inspired by the strong need for individual representation of these stubbornly progressive self-made men. This state of things was bound not to last. Starting from the early seventies, as migration flows from the city to its suburbs increased steadily, the need for a mass production of single-family houses emerged. Architects were ready to give up quality and exclusiveness in favour of quantity and repetition: the so-called&nbsp;<em>villetta</em>&nbsp;was born, accompanied by an update of its owners&rsquo; lifestyle."&nbsp;</p>