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RESTORATION OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE - LABORATORY (LAB A)

Academic year and teacher
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Versione italiana
Academic year
2021/2022
Teacher
LUCA ROCCHI
Credits
13
Didactic period
Primo Semestre

Training objectives

The workshop aims to provide the necessary knowledge and methodological tools to deal with architectural restoration project for historical buildings.

Knowledge
Through the theoretical study of specific items related to all aspects of historical architecture and a project exercise on a real case, the student will acquire the appropriate knowledge in relation to:
- Historical research and geometric survey as critical and knowledge tools for architecture and building steps;
- Building and material characters of historical buildings (masonry, stairs, vaults, floors, curtain walls, plaster, colorings, stones, flooring, fixtures);
- Deterioration processes of materials (chemical deterioration, biological deterioration, erosion, humidity);
- Analysis of the state of preservation (diagnostics operations and representation methods);
- Restoration project in all its steps: conservative restorations (pre-consolidation, cleaning, consolidation, reintegration, protection), structural interventions for seismic improvements, actions for functional adaptation (vocations and analysis on new uses compatibility), performance adjustment measures and energetic improvements;
- Graphic rules for technical drawings of the project;
- Site organization: security, laws, management.

Abilities
Students will be able to:
- Consciously recognize historical buildings as testimonies;
- Understand an architectural organism in relation to its origin, to its modifications and to the transformations of its context;
- Analyze, on the base of exhaustive geometric and photographic surveys supported by accurate and repeated inspections, architectural features, materials features, construction and structural features;
- Independently develop a proper historical-critical reading of the building;
- Make a real characterization of conservation condition;
The student will also be able to deal with the complex technical and juridical system that controls performance transformations and use.
The restoration project exercise allows the student to acquire both the tools and the technical and operational skills pertaining to the technical profession, and a full awareness in the translation of conservative principles into practice.

Prerequisites

To take the exam you must have already passed the following examinations:
- Theories and history of restoration
- History of Modern Architecture.
Knowledge required:
- basic knowledge of architectural history of ancient, medieval and modern ages;
- knowledge of the principles and vocabulary that governs spatial formal and structural composition for architecture;
- predisposition to analyze the 'historic architecture with specific design tools.

Course programme

The restoration project exercise will take place on an existing historical building with bad conditions. For the purposes of the exercise, students will be taken by professors inside the building carry out survey operations, thus learning more about constructive, conservative, structural and functional issues to be considered in the project.
In order to implement the project exercise, groups of students (composed by 3 or 4 people) will be required to produce the following documents:
- Historical-critical reading
- Architectural survey
- Photographic geometric assembly
- Current state drawing
- Analysis of materials, degradation and indication of operation
- Survey and critical interpretation of structural damage
- Project on architectural surfaces
- Analysis of use vocations
- Restoration project and functional redistribution
- Architectural detail of a distribution node
The project exercise work will be supported by an integrated program of lectures focused on restoration contents, practical lessons focused on technical and executive drawing methods, seminar and conference activities on specific issues.
In particular they will be addressed to:
- Analysis of historical building and disciplinary principles aimed to the restoration;
- Restoration project;
- Restoration site.
Didactic Unit: Architectural restoration
- The study of the building through the direct examination: architectural survey, photographic survey, photographic assembly and current state drawing;
- The critical reading of indirect sources as comprehension of its historical building process: bibliographic research and archival research;
- The respect of the building in different uses: analysis of use vocations and of transformation limit;
- Comparison between current state and project state as a comparative reading instrument for the evaluation of the changes;
- The operational translation of principles: the project as a the definition of limits and intervention purposes.

Didactic Unit: Constructive features in historical buildings
- Traditional materials: production, local uses, building techniques and their meanings about architectural history and styles;
- Traditional building techniques: masonry, stairs, vaults, floors, ceilings, floors, curtain walls, plaster, colorings, stones.

Didactic Unit: Materials Technology and Chemistry for Cultural Heritage
- Traditional materials: nature, classification, origin, use;
- Analysis of materials and degradation: the conservative condition and the degradation morphologies relating to natural and artificial stone materials;
- Restoration work on surfaces and materials: pre-consolidations, cleanings, consolidation and protection for natural stone, brick, terracotta, plaster, wall paintings.

Didactic Unit: Fundamentals of consolidation in historical buildings
- Analysis of mechanical behaviour in masonry constructions;
- Study of structural damages;
- Study of boundary suffering and its interpretation;
- Some techniques of consolidation and intervention methods.

Didactic methods

Learning assessment procedures

Reference texts

- R. Dalla Negra, M. Nuzzo, “L’architetto restaura. Guida al laboratorio di restauro architettonico”, Caserta 2008.
- G. Carbonara, “Restauro architettonico: principi e metodo”, Roma 2012.
- S. F. Musso, “Tecniche di Restauro”, Torino 2013.
For a historical and complete subject background, see the bibliography of Restoration course (third year).