93719 - BUILDING RESTORATION

Learning outcomes

Once completed the course, the student knows the theories and the techniques of conservation and restoration of artefacts and elements of the historical, cultural and artistic-monumental heritage and he/she knows how to apply them to specific contexts, formulating programs and intervention projects. In particular, the student is able to: - read the historical-cultural stratifications that characterize the European city by identifying important artefacts, testimonies and resources.

Course contents

Building Restoration together with Environmental responsive building technologies and Aestetic for the city and landscape constitute the integrated Preserving Heritage and shaping new urban features lab: the three modules work in a unified and synergic way, sharing in a common path the objectives, the teaching method and the final assessment.

The protection of cultural and architectural heritage has now moved from the culture of Constraint to that of Heritage. This shift is clearly expressed in the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe on the value of cultural heritage for society - better known as the "Faro Convention" (2005) - which strongly emphasizes the right of every person to take an interest and participate in cultural life, as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). Article 1 refers to the fact that participation positively influences «the construction of a peaceful and democratic society […] the processes of sustainable development and the promotion of cultural diversity» as well as fostering «a greater synergy of competences among all the public, institutional and private actors». It is clear that the care of the heritage has effects that, going far beyond the simple transmission to the future of the architecture (certainly essential), must aim to ensure the welfare of individual citizens who use it as well as the entire community, which recognizes itself in the Heritage, in dynamics of comparison and enrichment with other communities. From this recognition comes the concept of Heritage Community: participation is undoubtedly a fundamental factor for an effective protection of heritage and for the construction of new urban characters of the historical city, ensuring the widest possible participation in terms of knowledge, accessibility and use.

It should be kept in mind that, in Italian cities, on which the workshop focuses, the public spaces of historic centers fall ex lege under the protection of Legislative Decree 42/2004 (art. 10, c. 4, l. g, "public squares, streets, roads and other urban open spaces of artistic or historical interest"), therefore, within the laboratory Preserving Heritage and shaping new urban features, the Building Restoration module, in synergy with the others, aims to bring attention to what are the values to be placed at the base of the processes of enhancement (art. 6 of the same Legislative Decree) of such contexts and to draw a picture through virtuous examples on what are the methods and tools to be preferred to integrate in those spaces architecture/micro-architecture/temporary installations to achieve the purposes given. The intervention in the historical city must find in the knowledge of it, in the diachronic reading of its past and current transformations, in the definition of what is possible to add or remove, in a perspective of continuity, and what is to be avoided, a design response capable of interpreting consistently these dynamics; in these processes a determining weight must have, of course, the immaterial and transient components. The technical and technological solutions - truly innumerable and varied - now available to the designer must be used with the aim of highlighting and revealing aspects that are difficult to detect, expanding the understanding of the heritage and its accessibility and therefore tying more closely the heritage to its community of reference, as well as to all those who want to enjoy this wealth.

Readings/Bibliography

Specific Bibliography will be provided step by step during the lessons.

Teaching methods

The course is organised through lectures and laboratory activities with design/application exercises. Students will work in thematic groups. Educational on-site visits will be organised to analyse live case studies only if the conditions of the current pandemic will allow it.

Assessment methods

The final examination is to be taken in groups, but the individual contribution must be evident and the assessment will take into consideration the results achieved individually in the different activities of each module of the Lab. The final examination will combine the evaluation of the project exercises developed within the individual teaching modules and an oral discussion on the contents of the activities carried out during the course.

The assessment of the examination will depend on the quality of the exercises and the discussion of their presentation, with references to the course bibliography. In addition to the ability to graphically summarize and clarity of presentation, particular importance will be attached to the ability to use appropriate and correct disciplinary terminology.

The examination, in individual form, consists of the illustration and discussion of the project works produced during the course; it also includes the theoretical verification of the aspects relating to the assigned topic and of the topics covered in the lessons and in the lab.

Teaching tools

The laboratory usually foresees the presence of students in classroom for the gradual elaboration of the project, but guarantees the online attendance by students who prefer this method.

All phases will be followed and backed by the professor and didactic collaborators.

The Department library is a useful support for specific documentation and investigation. The equipment supplied by the Department of Architecture and all the technological support for the teaching activity provided by the University (screens, projectors, technologies for remote connection, IT supports, etc.) are used.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Pretelli

See the website of Leila Signorelli