20th Century Architectural Heritage (MSTAA)

The course is envisaged as an introduction to the 20th-century architectural heritage. The first part of the course provides a cultural, theoretical and critical framework for understanding the recent heritage as a historical, symbolic and aesthetic resource, and/or as possessing functional, technical, social, economic and ecological values. It also introduces the history of conservation theories and practices and the terminology used to define such practices. The exercise guides students through the construction of a “monographic study of the work” for a given building. In providing the building under study with a historical-critical allocation in relation to the above parameters, the architect contributes to the “making of the heritage”: this is considered an intrinsic part of an architect’s design work. Through a broad range of case studies, the second part of the course provides a methodology for devising criteria of intervention and tailored solutions for each specific case.