Pamphlet 07. CONTRAST AND HARMONY BETWEEN ANCIENT AND NEW ARCHITECTURE. From the analysis to the project

The Design Laboratory for Conservation and Recovery of Architectural Heritage addresses and develops design explorations of existing artefacts, their relationship with the context and the definition of possible volumetric extensions. This necessarily entails a reflection on the relationship between old and new, that is, between past and future history, yet to be written. It is therefore a question of investigating the various possibilities ranging from conservative restoration practices to the grafting of new architectural and urban regeneration devices, applying the tools of architectural and structural design, deepening the relationship between memory and invention, also in relation to the problems arising from the analysis and rethinking of the existing city. The case study identified is the former Provveditorato agli Studi of Gorizia, an Art Nouveau building designed by Zaninovich in the early 20th century as the headquarters of the Cassa Distrettuale per Ammalati. It is a strongly characterised building, located on a lot overlooking the new Valletta Park and offering the possibility of an extension capable of establishing new relationships between the pre-existing building and its urban and territorial context. The Laboratory deals with the different scales of the project, starting from urban, architectural and structural analysis, with the aim of constantly relating the various readings and intervention hypotheses. The workshop consists of 3 teaching modules, which operate in a closely coordinated manner, with constant seminar-type discussion moments: Architectural Design 4, Structural Problems of Historic Buildings, Architectural Restoration 2.