Drawings of the Roman School in the thirties. Competition designs by the Paniconi and Pediconi studio

During the fascist period characterised by innovation and tradition Mario Paniconi and Giulio Pediconi started their architectural career by participating in the "season of competitions". Armed with a desire to emerge, their participation led them to search for expressive and figurative forms, a search which was not always linear but full of stops and starts: charcoal, tempera and pens were used in orthogonal projection representations, competition views and infrequent axonometric projections. But it was the studio's executive and detailed drawings which perhaps produced the most interesting results. This article examines important design projects of the thirties including competitions for master town plans and public works (the Palace of Justice, the Finance Building, the Corporate Economy Building, several Fascist headquarters and marine colonies).