June 4 - July 5, 2008 
Archivio di Stato
Piazza Castello 209, Turin
Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Admission is free


In addition to a tour of a government building from the Baroque period, the exhibit will feature the two different designs presented by Juvarra (1730 and 1731), the documentation of the subcontracts (the technical specifications, the confirmation from the subcontractors, the accounts), two large three-dimensional models, the photographs documenting the recent restorations and the documents pertinent to the political-historical context (the great political reforms, the ambitious internal and foreign policy projects, the instructions of the archivists) explaining the purposes the edifice is to serve, also in light of its proximity to the building housing the Royal Government Offices and, beyond this last, the Royal Palace itself.
Following a brief review of some historical events that involved the building, like the invasion of the Jacobin patriots in 1799 and the fire in the nearby Royal Theater in 1936, attention will be focused on the delicate issues connected with the recent restoration project and the adaptations made to satisfy the requirements of modern technology.
The exhibit aims to present a reflection on the methodological problems an architect must tackle in order to reconcile the instructions received from his client, the objective limitations (pre-existing structures, available technology, quality of the available work force, budget limits) and the dictates of his professional creativity. The relations between the client, the architect, the contractors and the workmen is dynamic and open to solutions that increasingly reconcile requirements that, at least in the initial stages, appear to be in partial contradiction. The exhibit is curated by Marco Carassi.


INFO:
Tel. 011 54 03 82