Earlier this year ISI architecture Professor Franco Pisani gave the lecture “A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure” at the Wentworth School of Architecture. A number of ISI alumni (now professors themselves) attended the event and shared their thoughts with us. Here is what some of them had to say…

Ten years later, now a teacher myself, I had the privilege to see Franco lecture to my students at Wentworth Institute of Technology, in Boston. Watching them hang on his every word, smirking at his interesting take on the world, reminded me of my experiences with him as a young student in Italy. As usual, Franco did not disappoint, opening the audience’s mind to new and old ways of thinking about architecture and urbanism. It was evident that former students were there to witness Franco’s magic by the handful of chuckles that came from the audience after he delivered a joke – only ones familiar with his humor fully understood. I was enchanted by the whole experience, the memories it brought back, and the connection I felt to Franco’s way of seeing the world as a student and now as a colleague, with the realization that everything comes full circle.

Nicole Friend, Fall 2005

Many of Franco Pisani’s former students gathered at Wentworth Institute of Technology recently to attend another of Franco’s inspiring presentations. His discussions are often difficult to describe in words as the experience of being there truly reveals the power of Franco’s unique perspective as an intellect, an educator, an architect and an artist. For his students, they could anticipate a journey with an unknown destination. There is always an unseen and unexpected meaning behind his talks that matures over time as the various pieces coalesce into a larger vision. This particular discussion was a fascinating montage of history, art, architecture, music, literature, and urbanism as they may metaphorically relate to the act of surgery. Each of these studies could easily be understood in relation to the topic at large, but by revealing an interesting overlap between these subjects is where Franco’s unprecedented interpretation was exposed. It was another of his lectures that leaves you eagerly thinking and discovering its deeper beauty well beyond the context of the presentation.

Chris Capozzi, Fall 2009