A manuscript that is erased to be written over, yet retains the traces of what was previously written: that is a palimpsest. This is how Alberto Campo Baeza presents in this book “layers of ideas, images, and feelings”—as De Quincey wrote—in which his reflections, his architectural passions, his sources of inspiration, and his favorite poets, architects, philosophers, and writers are superimposed. He revisits, once again, not what is fashionable or ephemeral in architecture, but what is constant, eternal, and universal: light, time, gravity, space, beauty…
In this collection of his latest writings—most of which are unpublished and derived from lectures given at various schools around the world—Campo Baeza addresses his young students and colleagues with his characteristic generosity and enthusiasm, offering essential advice (perhaps rare today precisely because it is simple and direct) on designing, researching, and teaching.
For when one reflects on what truly matters, with intellectual honesty and from the long memory of a successful teaching and professional career, can thought be anything other than a palimpsest?
