Scaena Domestica

Through the digital reconstruction of selected works by the Old Masters, the Laboratory conducts operational analyses to explore the potential impact of figurative art not only on representation but also on the conception of architectural projects. The aim is to analyse, reconstruct, synthesise, and predict physical phenomena, particularly the effects and practical implications stemming from design choices. This investigation focuses on defining elements that constitute reality beyond the two-dimensional image, including architectural language and spatial relationships, compositional tropes between domestic objects and related viewpoints, and resonance between materials and specific atmospheric conditions. We approach this through decoding the painter’s narrative filter, employing an operational critique of art history using a scientific approach. Spanning from reverse perspective to rendering, the architectural deconstruction of the work of art becomes a tool for reading architectural space and built form in their historical and constructive dimension. From the domestic interior seen through the eye of the artist, this analytical procedure visually depicts a social history of housing by redefining typological elements and topological characters in dwelling culture. By use of digital model making, Physically Based Rendering softwares, and manipulation techniques alongside traditional “analog” photography of physical models, a dialectic between artistic expression and tangible reality authorial verisimilitude is thus achieved. The outcome of this process is the construction of “verisimilar” representations, plausible depictions of architectural ideas.