Architecture: From Time of Mind to Time of Nature / L’architettura: dal tempo dell’uomo al tempo della natura

In this article, I deal with two conceptions of time. The first is the time of human mind, i.e. the time of human thinking, acting, imagining and producing. The second conception of time is the time of nature; here there is no accumulation, but continuous flow, transformation, substitution of everything with everything. According to the German philosopher Georg Simmel, architecture is the most sublime victory of the spirit over nature; the breakdown of this sublime victory occurs when the building begins to go to ruin. However, my thesis is that, once realized, the architectural project – the supreme human manipulation of nature – becomes nature, is delivered to the time of nature. For architecture, it is not necessary to wait for the stage of ruin to become nature; at the same time as the project becomes a built reality, it is ruined, becomes a ruin. In other words, from its very beginning the building is completely inscribed, without rest, in nature and in its temporality. Architecture is the most sublime victory of nature over human spirit.