(Dossier Colin Rowe) Notes for an Intellectual Biography of Colin Rowe (1938-78)

Abstract

This article draws on Colin Rowe's experience as a paratrooper during the war as a metaphor for his ability to cope with diverse and complex circumstances. It highlights different periods of his life, from his peripatetic trajectory (1938-78) to his time at various institutions and the culmination of his 40-year career. Rowe navigated professional changes thanks to three stabilizing codes: a neoclassical classicism influenced by Wittkower, a modernism with utopian ideals influenced by Le Corbusier, and a third imaginary space that allowed for new cultural interpretations. These codes were reflected in his urban projects in Texas, Cornell, and Cambridge. Throughout his career, Rowe adopted and adapted these codes, reflecting his initial rejection of the Georgian city, his commitment to modern utopia, and his eventual rediscovery of the neoclassical city. Rowe's work, including his meta-city Roma Interrotta, illustrates his ability to integrate the modern and the classical in an urban context, using a metahistorical approach that anticipates the transformation of cities into spaces of recombinant information and memory. The exhibition of Roma Interrotta at the Trajan Market in 1978 and its recreation at the MAXXI Museum in 2014 underscore his vision of the city as a museum and a space of memory. This perspective translates into an architecture that not only responds to contemporary needs but also dialogues with history, showcasing Rowe's ability to create urban spaces rich in meaning and potential, a timeless hybrid that connects the personal and the collective.