Ability to read and properly evaluate the main changes and all restoration work inside of an architectural, urban, archaeological etc.., In order to identify the most suitable choices to preserve, enhance and manage the Architectural and Environmental Heritage.

The student must have historical knowledge in order to be able to critically read both material and immaterial signs of the buildings. It must also have acquired, during the three-year degree course in Architecture, knowledge about the fundamentals of restoration theories and history, design and representation, technology and history of architecture.

This course will examine the contemporary approach to preserve our architectural heritage through a comprehensive overview of the history, theory, and techniques of architectural restoration. The class format will be structured into three parts: the first intends to provide students with grounding in the history and theory of restoration, and its development over the centuries. The second part will survey the latest tendencies and advances regarding strategies, international guidelines and restoration techniques. The final part will focus on the intricate topics associated to the preservation of modern architecture. Supported by readings, lectures and class discussions, students will be encouraged to explore how laws, public policies and cultural attitudes define the way we preserve or not our built environment. Students will then be required to evaluate given historical buildings – their design, context, history and their relationship to the collective identity – with an informed and critical eye. Each week, at least two students will be in charge to start a discussion over the assigned readings, briefly introducing the significant issues and conclusions of each piece and raising critical questions. The development of these informal weekly presentations intend to encourage teamwork, firmly convinced that an open and collaborative environment, that encourages diverse approaches and conclusions, is essential in the learning process.

Equirements include weekly readings and discussions, a mid-term written exam, two short papers (2-4 pages), a final research paper.

The textbooks for this class are: 1. S. Caccia, Restoration in a few words. Methodology and Techniques, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Press (HUST Press), Wu Han - China 2013 (II ed.). 2. S. Caccia, In praise of care. The restoration project: critical orientation and experience, Pisa, Ets 2012. 3. E. Romeo, Instaurare, reficere, renovare, Celid Torino 2017.

Exam: Written test; Compulsory oral exam;

Students will develop the analytical tools to understand and document buildings, to place them in their cultural continuum and to create the basis for their preservation. Grades will be based on class participation and leadership in discussion (20%), class essays and exercises (30%), and final paper (50%). For the final paper, you are encouraged to develop an innovative proposal for a preservation intervention at a particular site: an innovative method of adaptive reuse, a new preservation bylaw, a model way of providing public interpretation of an historic site. Obviously, the topics will be developed in consultation with me.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.