Studies for the requalification of small towns. Architectural projects and historical sites in the Veneto region, Italy
Résumé
Our work is the result of students' workshops, developed in the framework of the courses on "Architectural and Urban Composition" 2 and 3 taught on the master's degree in Architectural Engineering at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering of the University of Padova, academic years of 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. Our research has been carried on with a more general purpose, that is to debate about the urban image, applying the theories and techniques of building design, considered both as a study on architectural sources and as a teaching method. We have considered the small towns of the Veneto region, Italy, as a case study, concentrating our analysis and proposals for a new urban design on areas which has been affected by a rapid post 2nd world war reconstruction, thus losing their organic unity with the surrounding parts. The methodology looks at the town as a result of its spatial structure. More than political, social, and economic systems, which are important but not sufficient, reasons for its special nature can be found because of its constancy. Planning new buildings starts from understanding the context, that is, its physical structure, and this is especially so in the historic center. The method adopted is based on studying the history of the place to understand the urban morphology of it. The physical specificity of the urban form is explored with the aim of elaborating a design process to reinforce the public space as a reference point for the community. Fundamental for the succeeding in the design process is the analyzing of the direct relation between a architectonic scale and a urban one. The instrumental value of history and the importance of studying the pre-existing environmental conditions for the purposes of the project represent foundations in teaching especially now sustainability is such a crucial theme. Our survey and research of planning hypotheses have been conducted on some ten towns, where part of the center is strongly clashing with the neighbouring context. The planning hypotheses include some relevant small towns (such as Dolo, Soave, Noale, Adria, Mirano, Feltre, etc...) whose harmonisation with the surrounding areas was never completed, at first because of the emergency of post war reconstruction, and then because of the building speculation.