Adaptive Reuse of Abandoned Monumental Buildings as a Strategy for Urban Liveability

This proposal is intended to be a contribution toward achieving more liveable cities through the revitalization of inner areas based on the restoration and rehabilitation of historic facilities in order to meet current needs. The research starts by posing several questions. What is the potential of abandoned monumental buildings for renewing and regenerating inner-city areas of our cities? What future do we imagine for old buildings that historically have played a significant role in the civic structure of a community and that still contribute to forming the memory and identity of a society? Can we suppose that the recovery of abandoned buildings could be a virtuous practice not only in terms of sustainability for their enormous potential but also for the role that public landmark centralities can play in social revitalization and urban regeneration? The complexity of this issue is addressed by analyzing related cases, relevant for their design solutions and effects, and proposes answers to the opening questions by investigating a relevant case study, the adaptive reuse of the Ospedale of San Giovanni di Dio in Cagliari, Italy. Starting from its original urban vocation, a place of healthcare for the whole city, the research envisions to re-functionalize Cagliari’s historic hospital maintaining its soul, and at the same time introducing new uses. Through preservation and adaptive reuse, we aim to create a civic landmark and a cultural and social meeting, a city gateway capable of strengthening the civic character and at the same time of enabling dynamic relationships in the lives of citizens

Rehabilitation of abandoned monumental hospitals: tools for urban liveability

This proposal is intended to be a contribution toward achieving more liveable cities through the revitalization of inner areas based on the restoration and rehabilitation of historic facilities in order to meet current needs. The research starts by posing the following questions. Can we claim, in a general perspective of improvement of the quality of life in towns and cities, that the recovery of abandoned historic buildings could be a key-factor in conservation and innovation policies of the historical heart of towns? What relationship, if any, is there between the adaptive-reuse design of ancient hospitals and the effects of such action, not only in terms of heritage conservation but also in terms of economic and social regeneration of the surrounding context? The complexity of this issue is addressed by analyzing related cases, relevant for their design solutions and effects, and proposes answers to the opening questions by correlating the main characters of relevant case studies in Europe

Ecologie della decostruzione. Progetto della ‘contrazione controllata’ dei centri minori spopolati

The relationship between small rural centers and the territory has recently gained renewed inter- est. In particular, villages in inland areas affected by increasing depopulation and abandonment are at the center of studies and investigations. They are experimenting within the complex and articulated framework of the dilemmas that originate from these phenomena, policies of “controlled contraction”. These policies con- sider the unexpected and diverse conditions of non-development as potential opportunities. In the logic of development not centered on growth but inspired by the governance of contraction, this study addresses and attempts to provide an- swers to some preliminary questions. How can architectural and urban intervention contribute to supporting the strategic actions of controlled contraction governance? What to do with the abandoned buildings in depopulated small centers? How to imagine a plausible scenario of balance between disused buildings and the terri- tory of contracting habitats? Themes of depopulation require a contribution from the disciplines of architectural and urban design, which are called upon to imagine new balances between built and agricultural land- scapes, intermediate spaces and open fields, ancient practical reasons, and new uses. In line with economic and social policies that interpret contraction as an opportunity to rethink places starting “from what already exists”, this study outlines strategic thoughts for a renewed ar- rangement of depopulated small centers and experiments site-specific “modes” of architectur- al and urban design by applying them to a case study identified in the southwestern territory of Sardinia

Dentro il dispositivo architettonico della prigione. Sondaggi progettuali per la trasformazione degli spazi di un carcere storico

The historic post-Enlightenment prison is an architectural organism conceived at the service of a society in transformation with the explicit intention of supporting its changes, redefining its uses and reconfiguring its urban image. An innovative and demonstrative force that makes today these buildings a strategic node for contemporary cities. The need to reopen historical prisons to the life that surrounds them offers the designer the opportunity to study their characters and redefine them starting from the clarity of the original configurations. With some colleagues from the Cagliari school of architecture, we tackled these issues in design workshops integrated with the disciplines of restoration.Il carcere storico post-illuminista è un organismo architettonico concepito al servizio di una società in trasformazione con l'esplicito intento di assecondarne i cambiamenti, ridefinirne gli usi e riconfigurarne l'immagine urbana. Una forza innovativa e dimostrativa che rende oggi questi edifici un nodo strategico per le città contemporanee. La necessità di riaprire le prigioni storiche alla vita che le circonda offre al progettista l'opportunità di studiarne i caratteri e ridefinirli partendo dalla chiarezza delle configurazioni originarie. Con alcuni colleghi della scuola di architettura di Cagliari, abbiamo affrontato questi temi in laboratori di progettazione integrati con le discipline del restauro

The coastal-mining landscape of Sulcis in Sardinia. The ruins of the landing and of the laveria Lamarmora of Nébida, perspectives of preservation and reuse

The industrial archeology of Nébida is a presence that over time has taken on the strength of an extraordinary icon of the entire coastal-mining landscape of Sulcis, south-western region of Sardinia. The programs for the recovery, enhancement and revitalization of the Sulcis mining ports and landings, represent an occasion of rethinking in an evolutionary sense the model of growth and development of the territory. Among them, the complex constituted by the laveria Lamarmora and by the coastal landing in Nébida are one of the most emblematic and distinctive nodes. This communication describes the outcome of a design research anchored to the historical knowledge of places

Adaptive Reuse of Abandoned Monumental Buildings as a Strategy for Urban Liveability

This proposal is intended to be a contribution toward achieving more liveable cities through the revitalization of inner areas based on the restoration and rehabilitation of historic facilities in order to meet current needs. The research starts by posing several questions. What is the potential of abandoned monumental buildings for renewing and regenerating inner-city areas of our cities? What future do we imagine for old buildings that historically have played a significant role in the civic structure of a community and that still contribute to forming the memory and identity of a society? Can we suppose that the recovery of abandoned buildings could be a virtuous practice not only in terms of sustainability for their enormous potential but also for the role that public landmark centralities can play in social revitalization and urban regeneration? The complexity of this issue is addressed by analyzing related cases, relevant for their design solutions and effects, and proposes answers to the opening questions by investigating a relevant case study, the adaptive reuse of the Ospedale of San Giovanni di Dio in Cagliari, Italy. Starting from its original urban vocation, a place of healthcare for the whole city, the research envisions to re-functionalize Cagliari’s historic hospital maintaining its soul, and at the same time introducing new uses. Through preservation and adaptive reuse, we aim to create a civic landmark and a cultural and social meeting, a city gateway capable of strengthening the civic character and at the same time of enabling dynamic relationships in the lives of citizens

Progetto del ‘vuoto naturale’. Riequilibrio tra elemento costruito e naturale nei contesti consolidati in abbandono

Il dominio dell’essere umano sulle forze naturali si è attuato nella modernità secondo una concezione del progresso basata sull’antitesi e la sottomissione. Dal primo Novecento questo squilibrio si è palesato con forza nei contesti antropizzati, negli habitat densamente costruiti e malamente urbanizzati, caratterizzati dalla preponderanza dell’artificio sulla natura, dove i processi di sfruttamento e urbanizzazione costituiscono una delle principali cause del manifestarsi pervasivo di fenomeni disfunzionali e nocivi per gli ecosistemi ambientali. Si tratta di una condizione che riguarda non solo le grandi conurbazioni urbane, ma anche gli abitati più piccoli, come i paesi dei contesti rurali. In questa cornice si inseriscono le riflessioni raccolte in questo scritto che sono parte di uno studio condotto e sviluppato in ambito didattico all’interno del laboratorio di Architettura Sostenibile del corso di laurea magistrale in Architettura dell’Università di Cagliari. L’indagine esplora le potenzialità del progetto architettonico e urbano nella transizione di un paese in via di spopolamento verso nuovi scenari di vita, a partire dal superamento del principio della ‘crescita a tutti i costi’ e dalla restituzione alla vita di spazi abbandonati

Architetture per l’uomo.

L'articolo descrive un punto di vista e una riflessione sulla ricerca progettuale e sulla pratica professionale dei giovani architetti sardi selezionati per la mostra SYA Sardina Young Architects. Osservando i lavori, si può ragionevolmente pensare che i giovani architetti sardi interpretino con gli strumenti e le conoscenze di oggi, i problemi e i temi del progetto di sempre: muovendo da un tema, da un luogo, da un dato materiale e spaziale, come pervenire alla definizione di un frammento di realtà, corretto, preciso, sapiente, che contribuisca al piacere di abitare una stanza, una casa, una strada, una piazza, una città? L'articolo espone alcune interpretazioni sulle differenze e individua in filigrana percorsi trasversali di integrazione e di comunanza, oltre che prospettive di innovazione e di cambiamento