The Architectural Preservation Studio A is about the conservation of XXth century architectural heritage. 

During the semester the students will develop a comprehensive conservation project on a modernist architecture: the Collegi Universitari in Urbino, designed by Giancarlo De Carlo between 1962 and 1983.

 The Studio will provide:

- the logic of a design method capable of achieving a balance between conscious new needs and the reality of the signs that are layered history and identity of the object;

- the logic of permanence and change that every project involves: completeness / fragmentation, authentic / original selection / stratification, new / old;

- the methodological tools for re-thinking and a problem-solving approach (rather than pre-fab technical solutions);

- the tools to develop and prepare technical drawings and technical papers of a conservation project.

In the first part of the semester the students will develop a deep knowledge of the case study trough documental researches, analysis of historical documentation, direct observation, survey and the study of all the tangible and intangible features of the monument. The first part of the semester will be dedicated to the study of conservation theories and the comprehension of the theoretical positions in the current debate on preservation, as well. In the second part of the semester we will deal with the strengths and the weaknesses of the case study, with the problems and the decay that affect its conservation. Using the conceptual and operational tools learned during the lessons and during the discussion we’ll have in class and the individual study, every group of students will be able to develop and apply a coherent strategy of intervention. 

To deal with this assignement the students will also get the contribution of the modules of  “Architectural Analysis and Representation” and “Museology, Art and Restoration Criticism”. In "Architectural Analisys and Representation" the student will deal with the theorical aspect of Representation’s Methods but also their application directly on the study case. Lectures will concern the representation of architecture, the organization of an architectural survey. The aim is giving to the students advanced concepts about Representation’s Method but also the sensibility to organize and carry out a correct survey, bringing out all the characteristics of the building, in a critic way. In “Museology, Art and Restoration Criticism” the students will learn about the classical and the contemporary conservation theories. Lectures will concern the historical evolution and the different philosphical approaches to restoration in the last two centuries. The aim is giving to the students the methodological tools for developing their own conservation strategy applied to the study case.

PLEASE, NOTE: on the one hand the subject of XX century archiecture conservation will give the opportunity to understand and manage all the complexity and contradictions in the contemporary preservation realm and it is very challenging for real architects, but on the other hand please CONSIDER that this Studio needs a strong commitment and the ability to develop autonomous researches. 

The project will be developed in small groups (about 4 people) but the final exam will be individual. During the semester we’ll have several reviews group by group. There will be a mid-term and a final presentation about your project that will influence your final mark. At the end of the semester you’ll deliver a book on the case study and a methodological report.

The oral examination (individual!) will be based on the lectures, on the bibliography, on the project developed by your own group. The evaluation (and the mark) will be based on the individual workflow during the semester, on the marks you got in presentations and in the test on restoration criticisms, on the quality of the final project and on the individual knowledge of conservation theories.

Please note that the use/study of texts is part of the design process activities and it is not expected only for the mere purpose of the oral. For this reason, in the first half of the semester, we are going to have a test on the bibliography. Please note that study of the bibliography is compulsory.

Read: pp. 58-63

Read: Kuipers Marieke, Fairy Tales and Fair Practice, Considering Conservations, Image and Use

Read: pp.47-65

Read: Allan, John, Points of Balance: Patterns of Practice in the Conservation of Modern Architecture, pp.13-46.

Read: Casciato Maristella, Modern Architecture is Durable: Using Change to Preserve , p.xiii

Read: Vanlaethem France, Poisson Cèline, Questioning Material/Conceptual Authenticity, pp.127-130.

Read: Canziani, Andrea, On the edge of modern heritage conservation, pp. 38-47

pp.4-7

Read: Macdonald Susan, Conserving the Modern in the Twenty-First Century, pp.149-156.

Read: Hubert-Jan Henket, Back from Utopia: The Challenge of the Modern Movement, pp. 8-17

Read: Rem Koolhaas, Miestakes, pp. 238-251