ABSTRACT
Generations of architects have visited Rome to study San Carlino through the lens of their own time and praxis. The complex and contorted plaster surfaces of this small church challenge us to consider the genesis of its forms in an age before computersanddigital fabrication. This essay takes the form of a dialogue between Karl Daubmann and Lauren Jacobi. Focusing on research about San Carlino that Daubmann undertook while he was a fellow at the American Academy in Rome (2015-16), the essay charts Daubmann’s engagement with various issues pertaining to San Carlino and the famed mason-turned-architect from Ticino. More specifically, Daubmann systematically used digital modeling and photography to document and analyze San Carlino. In this work, Daubmann came to the apprehensionthat in order to create such provocatively potent and complex spaces within the church, Borromini would have needed little more than a string and a basic understanding of mathematics to generate San Carlino’s arresting forms. Jacobi questions Daubmann about the implications of this realization. Borromini’s early career as a mason trained in the art of stone cutting is of particular interest to both Daubmann and Jacobi, whose conversation brings attention to processes and construction techniques.
