Small Forgotten Places in the Hearth of Cities

This book is the result of a research project designed and carried out at the Department of Architecture, University of Florence. This book discusses urban public spaces and, more specifically, run-down, inactive micro-spaces that are barely used due to their location, dimensions, morphology or semantic characteristics. In literature, these spaces are often defined as “residual urban spaces.” A large abandoned industrial area on the outskirts of a town or a small interstitial space in a historical centre can be residual. With respect to such a broad subject matter, the book seeks to radically limit the field, concentrating on public residual spaces found in the oldest parts of cities. The book reflects on this theme and introduces a method for reading and assessment of the residuality of public spaces in historical contexts (Residuality Assessment Process) which was tested in the historical centre of Florence. It is the authors’ view that residual spaces, above all if designed according to a system logic, can go from being problems to potential activators of urban and social regeneration processes, offering a useful contribution to improve city life

Chapter The Coastal village of Zvërnec

Part III of the book focusses on Zvërnec, a small village located in the southern part of the Lagoon of Nartë, on a promontory over a small gulf (Gjiri i Vogël), which looks like a miniature of the ‘great’ Gulf of Vlorë (Gjiri i Vlorës). Zvërnec is part of the Protected Landscape Vjosë-Nartë and is well-known for the suggestive island which hosts the Byzantine church of the Dormition of Mary (Category I Cultural Monument), which every year attracts many faithful and tourists alike, both Albanian and foreign. In the first chapters, the importance of the intangible heritage is stressed. In Zvërnec the cultural traditions in the lagoon area play a pivotal role, especially the fishing tradition together with the culinary tradition connected to sea products. In the following chapters, the multiple aspects of the tangible heritage are analysed. The protected landscape of Vjosë-Nartë requested a special attention. It includes a number of habitats, which constitute one of the most significant assets in terms of biodiversity at a national level. Unfortunately, both active and dismantled industrial sites present in the area as well as questionable development policies, threaten the fragile and delicate lagoon landscape. As far as the built heritage is concerned, the Church of the Dormition of Mary, traditional dwellings and the abandoned military heritage were thoroughly analysed. For each of the aforementioned issues, the theoretical and historical analysis are closely bound to an evaluation of those features of the cultural heritage that could be enhanced to guarantee a sustainable tourism development of the area. Each chapter ends with a consistent set of specific intervention strategies. They are substantive tools for action aimed at public and private local actors

On the relationship between universal and particular in architecture

In 1998 Molly Follette Story, James Mueller and Roland Mace published the book The Universal Design File; that can be considered the result of a long way, started by Mace in 1985, towards a design approach based on the principles of Universal Design. In 2010 the Centre for Active Design publishes the Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design. Between these two milestones, this article offers some ideas about the evolution of the universal approach to design. Assuming that Universal Design approach can present limits, this article aims to reflect on the relationship between universal and particular in developing a theoretical approach to architecture and design, supporting the idea that the wide gray area of the population who need specific access solutions can find answers to their needs only through successive adjustments, time by time plugged on universal solutions. This implies a process of requirement­based retrofitting of existing spaces and goods, to get qualities or perfecting performances otherwise inadequate. From this perspective the project for accessibility should be seen as a never ending process, and not a fix and final product, and Universal Design should be considered as a methodological approach ideally tending towards accessibility as a goal. Having this in mind, the article explores the issues related to how to blend universal and particular in a human centred design strategy, how to combine design actions and awareness by the users to allow an effective mutual adaptation between people and their living environment. The article aims to be further food for thought regarding research to be implemented in future works

Accessibility as a “Key Enabling Knowledge” to Human Development: the Accessibility Plan

In Italy, according to Law no. 41/1986 and Law no. 104/1992, public entities must draw up a Plan for Elimination of Architectural Barriers (PEBA). Unfortunately, many years after the introduction of these laws we can see that the PEBA is not yet a reality in much of the country. In trying to solve this critical issue and to overcome the conceptual and methodological limits of the PEBA, the Region of Tuscany, by means of the Province of Pistoia, commissioned, between the 2008 and 2010, two research projects at the TESIS Interuniversity Research Centre at University of Florence. This article presents the main outcome of these research projects – an “Accessibility Plan” –and describes its ethical horizon, the conceptual innovations that it introduces, the cultural perspectives that it opens and the methodology that it uses. In Italy, several municipalities are already carrying out planning tools inspired by the concepts and methodology of the Accessibility Plan

Chapter Three villages of Përmet: Bënjë, Kosinë and Leusë

Part I of the book focusses on three villages in the Municipality of Përmet: Bënjë, Kosinë and Leusë. Bënjë, which lies entirely within the "Bredhi i Hotovës - Dangëlli" National Park, has undergone anthropization processes since prehistoric times. Due to its landscape and architectural value, it was recognised in 2016 as a “historical centre” and as such has come under the protection of the National Institute for the Cultural Heritage. There is little information concerning the history of Kosinë. The inhabitants show a strong connection with the Byzantine Church of the Dormition of Mary, but regrettably, it was impossible to go back to the origins of the current settlement. The village of Leusë, instead, existed before 1812, the year in which the Church of the Dormition of Mary was built. Today, the image of the village is a consequence of the partial reconstruction occured after the severe damage suffered during World War II. In the first chapters, the importance of the intangible heritage is stressed. Përmet’s food heritage is well-known on a national scale for its typical products (spirits, fruit preserves, dairy, meat, honey and bakery products), which result from the favourable climatic conditions and the rich biodiversity of the area. The tradition of the Tosk iso-polyphony, the hospitality of Përmet inhabitants and their historical devotion to religion, knowledge and study emerge with great strength together with the craftsmanship traditions and the exceptional skills of the itinerant and seasonal master builders. In the following chapters, the multiple aspects of the tangible heritage are analysed. The landscape in Përmet includes a vast variety of habitats, which have preserved to a large extent their original qualities. It is deeply marked by the Vjosa River and other several minor watercourses that crisscross the territory. A special attention is given to the historical built heritage of the villages, and specifically to three architectural assets (all listed as category I Cultural Monuments): the Katiu Bridge in Bënjë (an Ottoman bridge of the 18th century), the Church of the Dormition of Mary in Leusë (a Post-Byzantine building of the 19th century), and the Church of the Dormition of Mary in Kosinë (a Byzantine building of the end of the 12th century). For each of the aforementioned issues, the theoretical and historical analysis are closely bound to an evaluation of those features of the cultural heritage that could be enhanced to guarantee a sustainable tourism development of the area. Each chapter ends with a consistent set of specific intervention strategies. They are substantive tools for action aimed at public and private local actors

Chapter The Mountain Village of Razëm

Part II of the book focusses on Razëm, a hamlet of the mountain village of Vrith, in the Municipality of Malësi e Madhe. Razëm lies within the Regional Natural Park of Shkrel and is considered the “gateway” to the Western Albanian Alps. The evocative landscape, the quality of the air and the proximity to Shkodër have transformed Razëm into a proper tourist resort. In the first chapters, the importance of the intangible heritage is stressed. The quality of the typical products and of the culinary tradition, the rhapsodic chants based on the Eposi i Kreshnikëve, the tradition of the customary law based on the Kanun code, the religious festivities and the xhubleta (as a most significant feature of local craftsmanship) are some of the issues addressed. In the following chapters, the multiple aspects of the tangible heritage are analysed. Here, the quality of the natural and pastoral landscape – characterised by alpine pastures and typical hut settlements –, together with the building tradition of the area, is highlighted. A special attention is dedicated to a complex of villas built by the rich bourgeoisie from Shkodër during the Twenties and Thirties, a unique phenomenon that deserves a proper in-depth study. For each of the aforementioned issues, the theoretical and historical analysis are closely bound to an evaluation of those features of the cultural heritage that could be enhanced to guarantee a sustainable tourism development of the area. Each chapter ends with a consistent set of specific intervention strategies. They are substantive tools for action aimed at public and private local actors

Five Albanian Villages

This book is the result of a research project designed and carried out at the Department of Architecture, University of Florence. This research was based on the transfer of knowledge from members of the Albanian Diaspora in Italy (university students, young architects and researchers) to their home country. This unique process blazed a trail in the Albania-related studies by creating a methodology, which could be replicated not only in Albanian rural contexts, but also elsewhere. The book constitutes a structured tool for generating sustainable and socially inclusive territorial development processes in five lesser-known Albanian cultural sites. Their tangible and intangible cultural heritage was seen as a driving factor for triggering development processes aimed at improving the inhabitants’ quality of life and strengthening local identity and social networks. Through concrete proposals and strategies, the book offers scenarios and solutions capable of enhancing the potential of each village and, at the same time, counteracting the effects of land abandonment that so often characterise them

A South African <i>Convivio</i> with Dante

This book offers a collection of South African university students’ written responses to the Commedia and scholars’ commentary on them. The students’ collection includes writings of all genres and subjects: prose, poetry, personal reflection, dialogue, non-fiction based on the first two cantiche of the Commedia. Some are autobiographical and others are fictional stories, but they all have in common a very personal (and South African) approach to Dante’s text. The scholarly essays of the second part are concerned with the unusual way in which Dante is appreciated by our youth: not as a remote figure only encountered in the hallways of the literature department, but as an intimate presence, a guide, a friend whose language is familiar and invites a response

Small Forgotten Places in the Hearth of Cities

This book is the result of a research project designed and carried out at the Department of Architecture, University of Florence. This book discusses urban public spaces and, more specifically, run-down, inactive micro-spaces that are barely used due to their location, dimensions, morphology or semantic characteristics. In literature, these spaces are often defined as “residual urban spaces.” A large abandoned industrial area on the outskirts of a town or a small interstitial space in a historical centre can be residual. With respect to such a broad subject matter, the book seeks to radically limit the field, concentrating on public residual spaces found in the oldest parts of cities. The book reflects on this theme and introduces a method for reading and assessment of the residuality of public spaces in historical contexts (Residuality Assessment Process) which was tested in the historical centre of Florence. It is the authors’ view that residual spaces, above all if designed according to a system logic, can go from being problems to potential activators of urban and social regeneration processes, offering a useful contribution to improve city life