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Selected topics in conservation and restoration practice

This course is part of the programme
Doctoral study programme Cultural Heritage Studies

Objectives and competences

The course will develop the research skills for the analysis and understanding of built heritage focusing on the assessment of the state of conservation and damage.
Ability to develop conservation and restoration projects of built heritage in line with valorization and maintenance plans.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of the theory of structures, main material degradation phenomena of historic and modern buildings.
Basic knowledge of history of architecture with a focus on evolution and transformations in architecture related to the advancements in technology.
Skills in graphic design for the representation of architecture.

Content

The lectures will focus on the analysis of the built heritage through material and structural characterization, with particular attention to decay and instability phenomena. The preservation of the material and building characteristics and the structural behavior will be evaluated through the geometrical and material survey of the building.
The analysis and interpretation of the built heritage, whether historic, modern or as an admixture of different periods and styles will be at the core of the investigation process.

  1. Fundamentals of conservation and restoration project
    - course presentation (objectives, methods, tools);
    - the concepts of incompleteness and heterogeneity of the object of study;
    - built heritage as complex cultural phenomena;
    - lacks and perspectives of the interdisciplinary approach;
    - presentation of the contemporary research perspectives;

  2. State of the art
    - the historic research and comparative methodologies of investigation (archival, historic, critical and observational methods for the analysis of built heritage)
    - survey procedures and survey techniques;
    - analysis and diagnostic of materials and structures (analysis of the damage of the principal historic building techniques (including reinforced and unreinforced concrete);
    - interpretation of the assessment data through comparison of the historical building techniques and materials;
    - recognition of the interruptions i.e. transformation moments in the life of historic fabric;

  3. Assessment of the state of conservation
    - declination of the assessment of the state of conservation considering re-functioning and maintenance issues;
    - overview and comparison of different consolidation techniques and materials;

Intended learning outcomes

The final outcome of the course is the acquisition of a sound scientific and cultural background for the development of the conservation and restoration project of built heritage.

Readings

  • AA.VV., Curare il moderno. I modi della tecnologia, Atti del 1° Convegno Nazionale DO.CO.MO.MO. Sezione Piemonte, Venezia 2002
  • AA.VV., Architettura moderna in Italia. Documentazione e conservazione, Atti del 1° Convegno Nazionale DO.CO.MO.MO. Italia, Roma 1999
  • Brandi C., Teoria del restauro, Torino 1977
  • Brandi C., Basile G. (edited by), Theory of restoration, Nardini, Firenze, 2005.
  • Boriani M. (a cura di), La sfida del moderno. L'architettura del XX secolo tra conservazione e innovazione, Unicopli, Milano 2003
  • Brogiolo G.P., Faccio P., Stratigrafia e prevenzione. Archeologia dell'architettura, vol.XV/2010, p. 55-63, 2011, ISSN: 1126-6236
  • Bruschi G., Faccio P., Pratali Maffei S., Scaramuzza P., Il calcestruzzo nelle Architetture di Carlo Scarpa. Forme, alterazioni, interventi., vol. 1, p. 1-263, BOLOGNA: Editrice Compositori, 2005. ISBN: 8877944315
  • Bruschi G., Faccio P., Scaramuzza P., Vanin A., Brevetti per edifici asismici: tra teoria e pratica. In: Valtieri S. A cura di. 28 dicembre 1908. La Grande Ricostruzione dopo il terremoto del 1908 nell’area dello Stretto. p. 1044-1067, ROMA:CLEAR, 2008, ISBN: 9788838501050
  • Campanini G., Faccio P., Fain E., Bruschi G., Saramuzza P., Il restauro del contemporaneo. Esperienze e prospettive. p. 1-160, Bologna:Editrice Compositori, 2012, ISBN:9788877947932
  • Carbonara G., Avvicinamento al restauro. Teoria, storia, monumenti, Liguori, Napoli, 1997
  • Carbonara G. (edited by), Il restauro del moderno, fascicolo monografico della rivista “Parametro”, XXXVI, 2006, n°266.
  • Crippa M.A., Per il restauro del moderno. Qualche riflessione sul riconoscimento e il progetto di restauro di architetture del Novecento, in “Territorio, n°23, 2003
  • Crippa M. A., Il restauro del grattacielo Pirelli, Milano 2007
  • Dal Co F., Il vecchio e il nuovo. L’infondatezza del vecchio, l’aleatorietà del nuovo, in “Casabella” n°754, aprile 2007, p.3.
  • Dezzi Bardeschi M., Conservare non restaurare, in "ANANKE", n.35-36, 2002
  • De Seta C., Le architetture della modernità tra crisi e rinascite, Torino 2002
  • Dorfles G., Il restauro del Moderno rispetto all’Antico, in “Arte/Architettura/Ambiente”, settembre 2004, pp.9-10
  • Faccio P., Conoscenza e prevenzione, In: Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali - Segretariato Generale (a cura di Laura Moro e Antonella Neri). Linee Guida per la valutazione e riduzione del rischio sismico del patrimonio culturale – allineamento alle nuove norme tecniche per le costruzioni. p. 192-200, ROMA:Gangemi, 2010, ISBN: 9788849220292
  • Faccio P., Alcune considerazioni sul comportamento strutturale del Tempietto di Villa Barbaro a Maser. In: Piana Mario, Soragni Ugo . PALLADIO. MATERIALI TECNICHE RESTAURI IN ONORE DI RENATO CEVESE. Venezia: Marsilio, 2011, ISBN: 97888317107561)
  • Frampton K., The Evolution of 20th Century Architecture: A Synoptic Account, China Architecture & Building Press, 2007. E-version
  • Frampton K ., Modern Architecture: A Critical History, 4th ed. Thames & Hudson, New York, 2007
  • Galliani P., Restauro del moderno: obiettivi e ragioni del progetto, in “Territorio”, n°40, 2007
  • Hofstadter D.R., Gödel, Escher, Bach: An eternal Golden Braid, Basic Books, 1979
  • Jester Thomas C., Twentieth-century Building materials, History and Conservation, Getty pubblications, 2014 E-version
  • La Regina F., Il restauro dell’architettura. L’architettura del restauro, Liguri, Napoli 2004
  • Macdonald, S., Ostergren G., Conserving Twentieth-Century Built Heritage: A Bibliography, 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Conservation Institute, 2013; E-version
  • Poretti S., L’opera invisibile, DOCOMOMO Italia - giornale 10-11/2002
  • Torsello B. P., Che cos’è il restauro, Marsilio, Venezia 2005
  • Varagnoli C., L’architettura italiana del periodo fascista: dalla conoscenza al restauro, in C. Robotti (a cura di) “Lo spazio mostre in biblioteca”, San Salvo 1994, pp. 117-122
  • Vassallo E., Tempo e memoria, in “d’Architettura”, n°2, 2003

Assessment

Based on evaluation test and public presentation research work. 50/50

Lecturer's references

Paolo Faccio is a full professor at the University IUAV of Venice.
He is Director of the School of Specialization in Architectural and Landscape Heritage at the IUAV University of Venice for the academic triennium 2023-2026.
He teaches "Architectural Restoration" and “Theory and techniques of historical buildings” at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
He holds agreements with the "Directorate General for landscape, fine arts, architecture, and contemporary art" of the Italian Ministry of Culture for the experimentations in the field of "Seismic risk of cultural heritage with reference to building technical standards" (DPCM 12.10.2007) and is one of the guideline extensors.

Recent pubblications:
1. Color, Time, Layering and Preservation
Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2023.
Article
2. Giuseppe Torres’s ‘Byzantine House' in Venice: Building Materials and Deterioration Products of an Early 1900s Home in the Lagoon Environment
Studies in Conservation, 2023.
Article
3. Chapter in book
Il progetto di conservazione nell’attività dei laboratori didattici, Rubettino, 2023.

  1. Chapter in book
    Linee guida per il recupero dell’architettura rurale
    Rubettino, 2023.
  2. Chapter in book
    Pier Luigi Nervi: dall’invenzione alla realizzazione
    Esempi di Architettura, Aracne, 2023.
  3. Conference proceedings contribution
    Seismic vulnerability assessment of RC buildings at compartment scale: the use of CARTIS form, Procedia Structural Integrity, Elsevier B.V., 2023.

  4. Article
    Understanding the structures of Pier Luigi Nervi: a multidisciplinary approach, Vitruvio, 2023.

  5. A multidisciplinary approach for the vulnerability assessment of a Venetian historical palace: high water phenomena and climate changes effects, Buildings, 2022.
    Article

  6. Antonelli versus Danusso. Il consolidamento della cupola di San Gaudenzio a Novara, Quaderni del Dipartimento di Culture del Progetto, Mimesis; IUAV, Dipartimento di Culture del Progetto, 2022.
    Chapter in book
    More pubbications: https://iuav.unifind.cineca.it/individual?uri=http%3A%2F%2Firises.iuav.it%2Fresource%2Fperson%2F5019
    Works inthe firls of the architectural conservation:
    ANALYSIS, DIAGNOSTICS, RESTORATION, AND CONSOLIDATION OF PROTECTED BUILDINGS
    RISK ASSESSMENT AND EMERGENCY STABILIZATION AFTER THE 2016-2017 EARTHQUAKE IN MARCHE
    • Church of St. Clare, Rieti (2017 – ongoing)
    Seismic safety assessment following the Municipality of Rieti’s ordinance.
    Client: Regional Secretariat of MiBACT for Lazio.
    • Church of St. Augustine, Amatrice, Rieti (2017 – ongoing)
    Design and project management services for the "Urgent intervention for stabilization and prevention of further structural damage" of the church.
    Client: Regional Secretariat of MiBACT for Lazio.
    Project Budget: €300,000.00
    Primary Work Category: S04.
    CONSOLIDATION AND RESTORATION INTERVENTIONS AFTER THE 2012 EARTHQUAKE IN EMILIA (ONGOING)
    • Oratory of Piazza di Santa Croce, San Felice sul Panaro, Modena (MO) (2014 – ongoing)
    Design, project management, and coordination during both planning and execution phases for seismic retrofitting of the Oratory of Piazza di Santa Croce, damaged in the 2012 earthquake.
    Client: Archdiocese of Nonantola, Modena.
    Project Start: 2014
    Budget: €1,050,000.00
    Primary Work Categories: E22 and S04.
    • Church of St. John the Baptist, Disvetro, Cavezzo (MO) (2013 – ongoing)
    Structural stabilization and assignment for preliminary, final, and executive design, as well as project management, of the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist in Disvetro, Cavezzo (MO).
    Client: Regional Directorate for Cultural and Landscape Heritage of Emilia-Romagna.
    Project Start: 2013
    Budget: €230,000.00
    Primary Work Category: S04.
    • Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Rovereto di Novi (MO) (2013-2014)
    Preliminary, final, and executive project and construction supervision for architectural restoration of the historic Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, located in Rovereto sul Secchia, Novi (MO).
    Client: Diocese of Carpi, Modena.
    Project Duration: 2013/2014
    Budget: €230,000.00
    Primary Work Category: S04.
    • Ducal Palace, Mantua (2012 – ongoing)
    Final and executive project for restoration and structural improvement of Ducal Palace, Mantua, Castle of St. George.
    Project Duration: 2012-2014
    Client: Regional Directorate of MiBACT for Lombardy.
    Budget: €1,669,773.00
    Primary Work Category: S04.
    CONSOLIDATION AND STRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENT
    • Praglia Abbey, "Double Cloister," Teolo (PD) (2014 – ongoing)
    Rehabilitation and reconstruction of the roof of the Double Cloister of Praglia Abbey in Teolo, Padua.
    Responsible for consolidation and structural improvement project.
    Client: Praglia Abbey.
    Project Start: 2014 – ongoing
    Budget: €1,300,000.00, with €1,000,000.00 in category S04.
    • Church of St. Jerome of Colloredo and Rectory (VI) (2014-2015)
    Seismic consolidation and improvement of the Church of St. Jerome and rectory in Colloredo, Vicenza.
    Responsible for structural consolidation and roof improvement.
    Client: Parish of Colloredo.
    Project Duration: 2014-2015
    Total Project Budget: €150,000.00
    Structural Roof Interventions: €47,000.00
    Category: S04.
    PRELIMINARY, FINAL, AND EXECUTIVE RESTORATION AND REUSE PROJECTS
    • Former Crociferi Convent (2009-2012)
    Responsible for the final and executive project of restoration and structural consolidation works, including on-site project management.
    Restoration of the former Crociferi Convent, formerly Caserma Manin in Venice, now serving as a student residence and hospitality facility for IUAV University of Venice.
    Project Approved: 2009
    Works Started: November 2010
    Completed: August 2012
    Client: ISP (IUAV Servizi e Progetti) S.r.l., Venice.
    Total Budget: €17,178,668.64, including €3,491,421.06 for category E22 and €1,376,419.19 for category S04.
    • Former Santa Marta Bakery in Verona
    Responsible for the final and executive project of restoration and structural consolidation works, including on-site project management.
    Restoration of the former Santa Marta Bakery in Verona, now a university campus.
    Project Approved: 2009
    Works Started: October 21, 2009
    Completed and Tested: 2015
    Client: ISP (IUAV Servizi e Progetti) S.r.l., Venice.
    Total Budget: €23,682,894.08, including €16,507,715.90 in category Id.