THE QUESTION OF THE “MODERN” IN ARCHITECTURE. A HISTORIC OPEN DEBATE

Taking its cue from the theme of “Absorbing Modernity” assigned to the countries participating in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, the aim of this essay is to trace out a path of reflection on Modernism and on what makes its lesson still vivid today. What are the most meaningful moments of a longsighted critical processing of the values transmitted by modernity? A historical-critical examination has brought out a common thread linking the work of outstanding personalities, for instance El Lissitzky in the early twentieth century or Cedric Price in the 1960s, in terms of key themes of modernity like an emphasis on social values and the sense of democracy in design, up to the current situation in which we find ourselves faced with an attention to the social that overflows to the point of resetting the official character of architecture in favor of its progressive fusion with events, whether real or virtual.