Translation and its Imperfections: Questions of Cultural Transfer, Translatability and Misunderstanding in Modern Architectural History | Masterclass by Paolo Scrivano

Translation and its Imperfections:

Questions of Cultural Transfer, Translatability and Misunderstanding in Modern Architectural History

Master Class by Prof. Paolo Scrivano

13^th november 2025 | 11 AM | Auditorium ESAP

Translation is a dynamic process involving interaction between languages that goes beyond mechanical fidelity to the original work or narrative. In fact, it is a transmutation that encompasses an interpretative dimension and a process of reinvention. In this masterclass, Paolo Scrivano will consider the concept of translation from various perspectives, examining the interplay between languages as well as between disciplinary practices, and what is lost and gained in such a process.

This reflection forms part of the TOOLBOX cycle, which is promoted by the Commonplace Research Line (CEAA-ESAP). It is aimed at researchers and students in the fields of architecture, visual arts, performing arts, design and cinema. The objective is to explore the methodological tools used in the research culture of these various fields of knowledge.

PAOLO SCRIVANO is Associate Professor of the History of Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano and co-coordinator of the Mapping Architectural Criticism scientific network. He holds a PhD in the History of Architecture from the Politecnico di Torino and has taught at the University of Toronto, Boston University and Xi’an Jiaotong University-Liverpool. He is the author of several publications on 20th century architecture, including the volumes Storia di un’idea di architettura moderna. Henry-Russell Hitchcock e l’International Style (2001), Olivetti Builds: Modern Architecture in Ivrea (2001, as co-author), and Building Transatlantic Italy: Architectural Dialogues with Postwar America (2013). He has also received several grants from institutions such as the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Australian Research Council. Prof. Scrivano is currently a visiting scholar at the CEAA-ESAP.

This event is supported by national funds through FCT –Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., project UID/04041/2025 — Arnaldo Araújo Research Center