Architecture (Conservation)

1. Course content 1.1. Objectives To provide basic knowledge of restoration theory and history; to ensure relevant skills in historical and constructive investigation of architecture, reading and diagnosis of degradation phenomena, and conservation intervention; to provide information on regulatory aspects, including cataloguing issues; to provide training in the drafting of restoration project documents. 1.2. Teaching method Lectures Traditional lectures on methodological and more general issues will be supplemented by laboratory work on practical and technical topics related to the specific issues raised by the exercise topic. Brief description of the lecture topics: a. General issues: basic definitions and terminology. b. The scope of restoration, from individual objects to the territory. c. The relationship between the various arts: “restoration” and “monument restoration”. d. The theoretical basis of restoration. The most recent methodological proposals. e. The dialectic between critical process and creative act in restoration. f. Relationship between technical choices and historical respect for the monument. g. The deterioration of structures and materials: causes and processes. h. Modern materials and restoration. i. The conservation programme; the restoration project. l. General rules for the restoration of monuments. The “Charter” of restoration. Laboratory and practical exercises Study of a monument, or a significant part thereof, that presents conservation problems and allows for direct surveying, philological and historical-critical analysis, analysis of structural and material deterioration, and experimentation with well-founded proposals for intervention. Preference is given to small-scale, isolated subjects that can be inspected, especially in external walls (the most significant from a historical point of view), stratified, suffering from neglect or improper use. There are therefore no course topics, but criteria established by the course for the selection of didactically effective topics. In addition, the course favours the possible re-proposal of topics already covered in the exams “Construction characteristics of historic buildings and restoration problems” or “Consolidation of historic buildings” and “Theory and techniques for restoration”, if adequately explored. 2. Examination methods The assessment of students' results will be conducted partly during the course (including written tests focusing mainly on the theoretical and conceptual aspects of the subject) and partly at the end of the course, through individual examinations. After an interview on the topics covered in the lectures and in the basic bibliography, there will be a discussion of the exercises and then of the final project, which will have been continuously reviewed throughout the semester. In fact, enrolment in the examination is subject to obtaining a signature of attendance and a favourable outcome of a final review of the work carried out. 3. Exercises and required work The required exercises, while tailored to the specific nature of the chosen topic, must comply with the following general provisions: - preparation of black and white or colour charts in A1 format (59.4x84.1 cm); - production of a copy of the aforementioned boards in A3 format (29.7x42 cm); - presentation, at the final examination, of a maximum of 16-18 boards, depending on the chosen topic and the size of the study group; - drafting of a short written report - on A3 format boards, obtained by placing two A4 sheets (21x29.7 cm) side by side on each sheet - containing: a) a concise description of the artefact (1 sheet, 30 lines of 65 characters each); b) a chronology, with direct references to the bibliography and archival register (1-2 pages); c) a historical-critical summary (2-3 pages); d) a technical-critical report on the characterisation of materials and issues of analysis of degradation, conservation and design (2-3 pages); e) the archival-documentary register; f) the bibliography; g) essential photographic documentation (5-6 pages); h) any appendices with archival documents (transcripts or photographic copies). The entire apparatus of direct philological analysis of the monument, up to its historical-critical and diagnostic conclusions, must not remain an end in itself but must be considered with particular attention to the “restoration project”. This cannot be limited to a simple identification of problems or a feasibility study, but must address issues of authentic preliminary, definitive and executive design, with all the methodological, technical, educational and architectural implications that this entails. It must therefore address the preliminary analysis of the range of new, possible functions that are compatible with the protection of the architectural asset (research into the “uses” of the building), then illustrate the general proposal for the restoration of the building as a whole (using drawings on a scale of 1:200 to 1:50), structural checks and proposals for consolidation, physical-technical environmental and plant engineering proposals (from traditional plumbing and electrical systems to any systems for capturing and using renewable energy), construction details (scales from 1:20 to 1:1, as required), and proposals for conservation work on surfaces and materials. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide further details, even if brief, in terms of the economic evaluation of the planned works, the schedule for the works themselves and a final ‘scheduled maintenance plan’. The development of the study and the written and graphic documents will be monitored periodically by the teaching staff. The examination discussion will take place both on the A1 format boards and on the other A3 format boards; these must not be folded or bound, but loose sheets, preferably contained in a transparent plastic envelope. The boards must be numbered consecutively and include, among other information (university and its logo, faculty and its logo, laboratory, lecturer, academic year, study topic, subject of the individual board), the full names of the authors. A copy of the work in A3 format will be retained for the course archive.

General preparation with no mandatory prerequisites

C. BRANDI, Teoria del restauro, Torino, Einaudi, 1977 (1° ed. Storia e Letteratura, 1963); G. CARBONARA, Avvicinamento al restauro. Teoria, storia, monumenti, Liguori, Napoli 1997; voce Restauro in ENCICLOPEDIA Universale dell’Arte, vol. XI, Venezia-Roma, 1963, coll. 322-353.

Attendance is compulsory as this is a design workshop in architectural restoration. Attendance in person, in the classroom and on educational visits.

The assessment of students' achievements will be conducted partly during the course (including written tests focusing mainly on the theoretical and conceptual aspects of the subject) and partly at the end of the course, through individual examinations. After an interview on the topics covered in the lectures and in the basic bibliography, there will be a discussion of the exercises and then of the final project, which will have been continuously reviewed during the semester. In fact, enrolment in the examination is subject to obtaining a signature of attendance and a favourable outcome of a final review of the work carried out.

Traditional lectures on methodological and more general issues will be supplemented by laboratory work on practical and technical topics related to the specific issues raised by the exercise topic.

The course aims to provide theoretical and practical skills useful for the design and management of architectural conservation and / or archaeological value. To achieve this, will be given general knowledge on: a) methods of approach to conservation site, b) analytical and diagnostic techniques; c) materials’ recognition and characterization; d) intervention techniques, pointing out recent and innovative developments; e) elaboration data and their use. The course is divided into theoretical and practical lessons during the which various topics will be addressed through case studies and exercises. In order to promote a continuously updated, will also provide information for search literature. Lessons will address in particular: references to the theory of the restoration discipline; the archival, iconographic and bibliographic research; direct and detailed analysis of the monument, in its geometric, spatial, tectonic, typological and functional characteristics; relief and its graphic restitution; metrological and modular analysis; analytical and diagnostic techniques for the conservation of monuments; methods and tools for material characterization, degradation recognition, checks during construction, testing and maintenance; new materials and innovative technologies for conservation; preliminary project, final and enforceable conservation: content and technical aspects (elements).The project will focus on a single monument, with historical and aesthetic quality and in need of a restoration, agreed with the teacher. Will be necessary to create a series of drawings aimed for the analysis and subsequent conservation project. Teaching support: PC and Video projector.

The course doesn’t have prerequisites with other courses. However, it is considered fundamental condition to have basic knowledge on the theory and practice of restoration, on architectural survey and on historical research in the architectural field.

Mandatory texts: CARBONARA Giovanni, Restauro dei monumenti. Guida agli elaborati grafici, Liguori, Napoli 1990. CARBONARA Giovanni, Avvicinamento al restauro, Liguori, Napoli 1997. DOGLIONI Francesco, Stratigrafia e restauro, Lint, Trieste, 1997. GIULIANI Fulvio Cairoli, L'edilizia nell'antichità. Nuova edizione con CD-ROM, Carocci, Roma 2006.

the course includes lectures and exercises; various topics will be addressed through case studies and exercises. The conservation project will focus on a single monument, with historical and aesthetic quality, which shows conservation problems. Will be necessary to make some drawings aimed for the analysis and subsequent conservation project:. 1- survey drawings (as a critical analysis of the 'architectural text'), strictly aimed at full comprehension, in particular historical-aesthetic, tectonic and diagnostic, of the building (1:50, 1:20, 1:10); 2- historical-critical research with the identification of the most important historical phases; 3 - comparison analysis on typological, stylistic, metrological, proportional and material aspects; On the facade or on the most significant side: 4 - map of decay phenomena; 5 - conservation project.

Lectures, with an annual duration, include an obligation to attend.

The final exam will consist of an individual, oral test on the lesson’s topics and basic bibliography and a valuation, with comments and clarifications on the subject and manner of the restoration project. The two components of the test are aimed at verifying the acquisition of the necessary skills and the ability to apply them to a specific, practical, topic.

BOATO Anna, L' archeologia in architettura: misurazioni, stratigrafie, datazioni, restauro. Introduzione di B. Paolo Torsello, Marsilio, Venezia 2008. BRUSCHI Arnaldo, Indicazioni metodologiche per lo studio storico dell'architettura, in Lineamenti di storia dell'architettura, Roma, Carucci, 1978, pp.13-29; Trattato di restauro architettonico, diretto da Giovanni Carbonara, 4 voll., Utet, Torino 1996. TORSELLO B. Paolo, MUSSO Stefano. F., Tecniche di restauro architettonico, 2 voll., Utet, Torino 2003.

the course includes lectures and exercises; various topics will be addressed through case studies and exercises. The conservation project will focus on a single monument, with historical and aesthetic quality, which shows conservation problems. Will be necessary to make some drawings aimed for the analysis and subsequent conservation project:. 1- survey drawings (as a critical analysis of the 'architectural text'), strictly aimed at full comprehension, in particular historical-aesthetic, tectonic and diagnostic, of the building (1:50, 1:20, 1:10); 2- historical-critical research with the identification of the most important historical phases; 3 - comparison analysis on typological, stylistic, metrological, proportional and material aspects; On the facade or on the most significant side: 4 - map of decay phenomena; 5 - conservation project.