Laurie Gangarossa

Frank Lloyd Wright, Charlotte Perriand, Denise Scott Brown, Peter Zumthor, Rem Koolhaas and Valerio Olgiati make up a diverse group of six architect-autobiographers.
Six trees that hide forests.
In the shadows of these forests, third figures.
All these specimens reveal communities that transcend them, sharing a century (1925-2025) of prolific autobiographical writing within the architectural discipline.
Architect-autobiographers... But what is this strange category? In what contexts and conditions does an architect become an autobiographer? What representations accompany this singular form of being a writer?
Neither a trade, nor a profession, nor a status, nor a title. This compound name suggests, if not a fragile balance, at least a temporary coexistence.
For the exercise can be exceptional or recurrent, early or late. Similarly, it gives rise to conventional and inventive forms, to complete works and fragmentary writings.

This thesis therefore sets out to describe and analyse the ‘rooms of one's own’ of these architect-autobiographers. It does so from a contemporary perspective, where experience tends to be transmitted more than ever through shared personal narratives rather than established knowledge.