For “a positive and feasible architecture”. The contribution of Mario Chiattone to the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century

The aim of this study is to highlight the contribution made by the Ticino-native architect, Mario Chiattone (1891–1957) to the development of modern language. His architectural designs, made in his studio in Milan between 1914 and 1915, highlight his artistic sensibility and demonstrate how he was particularly receptive to the needs of a rapidly evolving society. The working method employed by the architect, his extreme attention to architectural construction and the practicality of the solutions developed for his “Modern Metropolis” emerged clearly through the analysis carried out directly on the works using 3D imaging and reconstruction techniques. At the same time, the results of the archival-bibliographic research carried out simultaneously made it possible to contextualize Chiattone’s work in the light of historical and artistic developments in early-20th century Milan, including the numerous facets of his architectural output and the multiple sources of inspiration that characterized its development. A portrait emerged with unprecedented clarity of an extremely cultured, impassioned architect, of a tireless designer, open to experimentation and at the same time, respectful of tradition, far removed from propagandistic Futurist rhetoric, an advocate for a new, “positive and feasible” architecture.