Fabrizio Carola: The Sensible Adventurer of Architecture

Italian architect Fabrizio Carola (1931–2019) is remembered as an unclassifiable figure who defied architectural taxonomies. Born into a wealthy Neapolitan family, he studied in Brussels (graduating in 1956) and later earned a degree from the University of Naples. Carola worked extensively in Africa, using sustainable, low-tech materials like raw earth and brick, and won the Aga Khan Award in 1995. His projects include the Kaedi Regional Hospital in Mauritania (1981), designed with curved geometries and cluster layouts to optimize space and allow family members to stay with patients. In Italy, he faced legal issues for experimental tufa domes but was acquitted. Carola emphasized logic and rationality, advocating for architecture rooted in local conditions and materials. He taught architecture, promoting the use of a wooden compass learned from Hassan Fathy to help builders create arches and vaults. His Italian projects include a village in San Potito Sannitico, Caserta, built with students and locals. Carola viewed work as an obsession of Western society and envisioned communities where people contribute 400 hours yearly to collective tasks in exchange for necessities, leaving 5,000 hours for pleasure and creativity.