In many cases of post-disaster reconstruction, the primary rationale driving the process is groun... more In many cases of post-disaster reconstruction, the primary rationale driving the process is grounded on technical aspects and functional considerations related to the urge of reinstating disrupted activities. Such reliance on the quantifiable dimensions of the complexity of urban systems, uncritically espoused by most political decision-makers and administrators, is often unresponsive towards the affective sphere of citizens and visitors alike, who sense that the reconstructed city feels cold, unreal, or distant from what it was before the catastrophic event. While data provide tools to visualise key indicators of urban mechanisms, the non-representational sphere of emotion eludes quantification. Yet, these aspects are crucial in supporting a reconstruction capable of addressing the deeper layers of human experience, which assume even greater importance when a city is recovering from trauma. This chapter addresses a strain of creative and descriptive practices connected to photography, both as a medium for public art and as a tool to create affective descriptions of lived space.
Francesca’s Place is a phenomenographical account, performed through drawings and photographs, of... more Francesca’s Place is a phenomenographical account, performed through drawings and photographs, of five central Italian towns, struck by several earthquakes between 2009 and 2017. By describing these places twelve years after the first disastrous telluric event, we try to bring to life the corporeal sensations experienced during our exploration, in an attempt to uncover a deeper stratum of knowledge, remaining otherwise opaque to conventional methods of representation. Such knowledge, we argue, can prove useful when imagining the reconstruction efforts in this and other post-catastrophe settings.
FAM - Magazine del Festival dell'Architettura, 2019
I due annessi museali a Basilea e Zurigo dello studio svizzero Christ & Gantenbein, entrambi inau... more I due annessi museali a Basilea e Zurigo dello studio svizzero Christ & Gantenbein, entrambi inaugurati nel 2016, offrono l’opportunità di riflettere sul concetto stesso di ampliamento. Non si tratta della mera logica incrementale di aggiungere spazi ad una preesistenza, bensì di accomodare le molteplici forme di espressione dell’arte contemporanea. Entrambi gli edifici, pur nel loro differente aspetto, programma e dimensione, interpretano questi mutamenti culturali sia nella loro struttura architettonica, sia nelle qualità degli spazi espositivi realizzati. Per chiarire tali affinità, il saggio si avvale di alcuni contributi dell’estetica analitica che indagano sullo statuto dell’opera d’arte e sulla sua performatività in relazione al visitatore.
Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of bu... more Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of building design in order to create environments which satisfy man's demands. This can be achieved through the understanding of neurophysiological correlates of architectural perception. To this aim, the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals of 12 healthy subjects were recorded during the perception of three immersive virtual reality environments (VEs). Afterwards, participants were asked to describe their experience in terms of Familiarity, Novelty, Comfort, Pleasantness, Arousal, and Presence using a rating scale from 1 to 9. These perceptual dimensions are hypothesized to influence the pattern of cerebral spectral activity, while Presence is used to assess the realism of the virtual stimulation. Hence, the collected scores were used to analyze the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the EEG for each behavioral dimension in the theta, alpha and mu bands by means of time-frequency analysis and topographic statistical maps. Analysis of Presence resulted in the activation of the frontal-midline theta, indicating the involvement of sensorimotor integration mechanisms when subjects expressed to feel more present in the VEs. Similar patterns also characterized the experience of familiar and comfortable VEs. In addition, pleasant VEs increased the theta power across visuomotor circuits and activated the alpha band in areas devoted to visuospatial exploration and processing of categorical spatial relations. Finally, the de-synchronization of the mu rhythm described the perception of pleasant and comfortable VEs, showing the involvement of left motor areas and embodied mechanisms for environment appreciation. Overall, these results show the possibility to measure EEG correlates of architectural perception involving the cerebral circuits of sensorimotor integration, spatial navigation, and embodiment. These observations can help testing architectural hypotheses in order to design environments matching the changing needs of humans.
Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of bu... more Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of building design in order to create environments which satisfy man's demands. This can be achieved through the understanding of neurophysiological correlates of architectural perception. To this aim, the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals of 12 healthy subjects were recorded during the perception of three immersive virtual reality environments (VEs). Afterwards, participants were asked to describe their experience in terms of Familiarity, Novelty, Comfort, Pleasantness, Arousal, and Presence using a rating scale from 1 to 9. These perceptual dimensions are hypothesized to influence the pattern of cerebral spectral activity, while Presence is used to assess the realism of the virtual stimulation. Hence, the collected scores were used to analyze the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the EEG for each behavioral dimension in the theta, alpha and mu bands by means of time-frequency analysis and topographic statistical maps. Analysis of Presence resulted in the activation of the frontal-midline theta, indicating the involvement of sensorimotor integration mechanisms when subjects expressed to feel more present in the VEs. Similar patterns also characterized the experience of familiar and comfortable VEs. In addition, pleasant VEs increased the theta power across visuomotor circuits and activated the alpha band in areas devoted to visuospatial exploration and processing of categorical spatial relations. Finally, the de-synchronization of the mu rhythm described the perception of pleasant and comfortable VEs, showing the involvement of left motor areas and embodied mechanisms for environment appreciation. Overall, these results show the possibility to measure EEG correlates of architectural perception involving the cerebral circuits of sensorimotor integration, spatial navigation, and embodiment. These observations can help testing architectural hypotheses in order to design environments matching the changing needs of humans.
The recent efforts aimed at providing neuroscientific
explanations of how people perceive and exp... more The recent efforts aimed at providing neuroscientific explanations of how people perceive and experience architectural environments have largely justified the initial belief in the value of neuroscience for architecture. However, a systematic development of a coherent theoretical and experimental framework is missing. To investigate the neurophysiological reactions related to the appreciation of ambiances, we recorded the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals in an immersive virtual reality during the appreciation of interior designs. Such data have been analyzed according to the working hypothesis that appreciated environments involve embodied simulation mechanisms and circuits mediating approaching stimuli. EEG recordings of 12 healthy subjects have been performed during the perception of three-dimensional interiors that have been simulated in a CAVE system and judged according to dimensions of familiarity, novelty, comfort, pleasantness, arousal and presence. A correlation analysis on personal judgments returned that scores of novelty, pleasantness and comfort are positively correlated, while familiarity and novelty are in negative way. Statistical spectral maps reveal that pleasant, novel and comfortable interiors produce a de-synchronization of the mu rhythm over left sensorimotor areas. Interiors judged more pleasant and less familiar generate an activation of left frontal areas (theta and alpha bands), along an involvement of areas devoted to spatial navigation. An increase in comfort returns an enhancement of the theta frontal midline activity. Cerebral activations underlying appreciation of architecture could involve different mechanisms regulating corporeal, emotional and cognitive reactions. Therefore, it might be suggested that people’s experience of architectural environments is intrinsically structured by the possibilities for action.
Housing the city: scarce urban quality, scarce sustainability European cities are haunted by the ... more Housing the city: scarce urban quality, scarce sustainability European cities are haunted by the growth of sprawling suburbs, the progressive fragmentation of urban space, and the subsequent loss of identity of urban centers. In turn, the quest for meaningful places to live drives citizens towards an increased mobility, overburdening infrastructures and consuming resources. Recognizing the advent of this crisis, in 2007 the Leipzig Charter for Sustainable European Cities called for the use of integrated urban development as the principal ...
This essay serves as an executive summary of the entire research project, providing a step-by-ste... more This essay serves as an executive summary of the entire research project, providing a step-by-step recapitulation of all the central topics which have been developed. The relevant potentialities in terms of urban space qualities of the public housing areas are analyzed, in terms of city image, cultural heritage, as well as for their economic value. Although a significant role in the renovation of these neighborhoods is played by non-architectural factors such as social inclusion, the importance of spatial transformation is discussed both in relation to other disciplines and in terms of stand-alone interventions. Analytical methods are reviewed, including spatial analysis, subjective and objective analysis, the pinpointing of distributed vs. concentrated criticalities, and the relationship between analysis and project within the design process. The role of the urban and architectural project is defined, both in terms of potentialities and of shortcomings. Importance of general vs. local issues, and the way they intersect within the design process is analyzed. The different “fields” of transformation and their various peculiarities are discussed: the territorial level, where public housing neighborhoods connect to the surrounding urbanization and to existing ecological networks; the neighborhood’s urban space, in particular the redesign of collective spaces; the boundaries between public and private spaces, and the connections between them; the internal spaces of buildings, in particular relating to the renovation of the individual residential units; finally the building shell, in terms of sustainability and architectural configuration. Three distinct modes of intervention are highlighted: correction, where the new intervention totally or partially substitutes the existing situation, without establishing a dialectic relationship with it; palimpsest, where the new architectural objects are added as a collateral system in relation to the existing spaces; and finally modification, implying an intervention on material or immaterial aspects, where existing objects are critically transformed with or without adding new built volumes. A working methodology intended to guide the entire transformation project from the analytical to the design stages is proposed. The main aim is that of sectioning the synthetic, general character of the architectural designs into a set of simple, primary transformative actions, to be used for both analytical and design purposes. In conclusion, governance and assessment tools are discussed, proposing possible strategies for the implementation of transformative actions.
In many cases of post-disaster reconstruction, the primary rationale driving the process is groun... more In many cases of post-disaster reconstruction, the primary rationale driving the process is grounded on technical aspects and functional considerations related to the urge of reinstating disrupted activities. Such reliance on the quantifiable dimensions of the complexity of urban systems, uncritically espoused by most political decision-makers and administrators, is often unresponsive towards the affective sphere of citizens and visitors alike, who sense that the reconstructed city feels cold, unreal, or distant from what it was before the catastrophic event. While data provide tools to visualise key indicators of urban mechanisms, the non-representational sphere of emotion eludes quantification. Yet, these aspects are crucial in supporting a reconstruction capable of addressing the deeper layers of human experience, which assume even greater importance when a city is recovering from trauma. This chapter addresses a strain of creative and descriptive practices connected to photography, both as a medium for public art and as a tool to create affective descriptions of lived space.
Francesca’s Place is a phenomenographical account, performed through drawings and photographs, of... more Francesca’s Place is a phenomenographical account, performed through drawings and photographs, of five central Italian towns, struck by several earthquakes between 2009 and 2017. By describing these places twelve years after the first disastrous telluric event, we try to bring to life the corporeal sensations experienced during our exploration, in an attempt to uncover a deeper stratum of knowledge, remaining otherwise opaque to conventional methods of representation. Such knowledge, we argue, can prove useful when imagining the reconstruction efforts in this and other post-catastrophe settings.
FAM - Magazine del Festival dell'Architettura, 2019
I due annessi museali a Basilea e Zurigo dello studio svizzero Christ & Gantenbein, entrambi inau... more I due annessi museali a Basilea e Zurigo dello studio svizzero Christ & Gantenbein, entrambi inaugurati nel 2016, offrono l’opportunità di riflettere sul concetto stesso di ampliamento. Non si tratta della mera logica incrementale di aggiungere spazi ad una preesistenza, bensì di accomodare le molteplici forme di espressione dell’arte contemporanea. Entrambi gli edifici, pur nel loro differente aspetto, programma e dimensione, interpretano questi mutamenti culturali sia nella loro struttura architettonica, sia nelle qualità degli spazi espositivi realizzati. Per chiarire tali affinità, il saggio si avvale di alcuni contributi dell’estetica analitica che indagano sullo statuto dell’opera d’arte e sulla sua performatività in relazione al visitatore.
Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of bu... more Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of building design in order to create environments which satisfy man's demands. This can be achieved through the understanding of neurophysiological correlates of architectural perception. To this aim, the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals of 12 healthy subjects were recorded during the perception of three immersive virtual reality environments (VEs). Afterwards, participants were asked to describe their experience in terms of Familiarity, Novelty, Comfort, Pleasantness, Arousal, and Presence using a rating scale from 1 to 9. These perceptual dimensions are hypothesized to influence the pattern of cerebral spectral activity, while Presence is used to assess the realism of the virtual stimulation. Hence, the collected scores were used to analyze the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the EEG for each behavioral dimension in the theta, alpha and mu bands by means of time-frequency analysis and topographic statistical maps. Analysis of Presence resulted in the activation of the frontal-midline theta, indicating the involvement of sensorimotor integration mechanisms when subjects expressed to feel more present in the VEs. Similar patterns also characterized the experience of familiar and comfortable VEs. In addition, pleasant VEs increased the theta power across visuomotor circuits and activated the alpha band in areas devoted to visuospatial exploration and processing of categorical spatial relations. Finally, the de-synchronization of the mu rhythm described the perception of pleasant and comfortable VEs, showing the involvement of left motor areas and embodied mechanisms for environment appreciation. Overall, these results show the possibility to measure EEG correlates of architectural perception involving the cerebral circuits of sensorimotor integration, spatial navigation, and embodiment. These observations can help testing architectural hypotheses in order to design environments matching the changing needs of humans.
Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of bu... more Nowadays there is the hope that neuroscientific findings will contribute to the improvement of building design in order to create environments which satisfy man's demands. This can be achieved through the understanding of neurophysiological correlates of architectural perception. To this aim, the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals of 12 healthy subjects were recorded during the perception of three immersive virtual reality environments (VEs). Afterwards, participants were asked to describe their experience in terms of Familiarity, Novelty, Comfort, Pleasantness, Arousal, and Presence using a rating scale from 1 to 9. These perceptual dimensions are hypothesized to influence the pattern of cerebral spectral activity, while Presence is used to assess the realism of the virtual stimulation. Hence, the collected scores were used to analyze the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the EEG for each behavioral dimension in the theta, alpha and mu bands by means of time-frequency analysis and topographic statistical maps. Analysis of Presence resulted in the activation of the frontal-midline theta, indicating the involvement of sensorimotor integration mechanisms when subjects expressed to feel more present in the VEs. Similar patterns also characterized the experience of familiar and comfortable VEs. In addition, pleasant VEs increased the theta power across visuomotor circuits and activated the alpha band in areas devoted to visuospatial exploration and processing of categorical spatial relations. Finally, the de-synchronization of the mu rhythm described the perception of pleasant and comfortable VEs, showing the involvement of left motor areas and embodied mechanisms for environment appreciation. Overall, these results show the possibility to measure EEG correlates of architectural perception involving the cerebral circuits of sensorimotor integration, spatial navigation, and embodiment. These observations can help testing architectural hypotheses in order to design environments matching the changing needs of humans.
The recent efforts aimed at providing neuroscientific
explanations of how people perceive and exp... more The recent efforts aimed at providing neuroscientific explanations of how people perceive and experience architectural environments have largely justified the initial belief in the value of neuroscience for architecture. However, a systematic development of a coherent theoretical and experimental framework is missing. To investigate the neurophysiological reactions related to the appreciation of ambiances, we recorded the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals in an immersive virtual reality during the appreciation of interior designs. Such data have been analyzed according to the working hypothesis that appreciated environments involve embodied simulation mechanisms and circuits mediating approaching stimuli. EEG recordings of 12 healthy subjects have been performed during the perception of three-dimensional interiors that have been simulated in a CAVE system and judged according to dimensions of familiarity, novelty, comfort, pleasantness, arousal and presence. A correlation analysis on personal judgments returned that scores of novelty, pleasantness and comfort are positively correlated, while familiarity and novelty are in negative way. Statistical spectral maps reveal that pleasant, novel and comfortable interiors produce a de-synchronization of the mu rhythm over left sensorimotor areas. Interiors judged more pleasant and less familiar generate an activation of left frontal areas (theta and alpha bands), along an involvement of areas devoted to spatial navigation. An increase in comfort returns an enhancement of the theta frontal midline activity. Cerebral activations underlying appreciation of architecture could involve different mechanisms regulating corporeal, emotional and cognitive reactions. Therefore, it might be suggested that people’s experience of architectural environments is intrinsically structured by the possibilities for action.
Housing the city: scarce urban quality, scarce sustainability European cities are haunted by the ... more Housing the city: scarce urban quality, scarce sustainability European cities are haunted by the growth of sprawling suburbs, the progressive fragmentation of urban space, and the subsequent loss of identity of urban centers. In turn, the quest for meaningful places to live drives citizens towards an increased mobility, overburdening infrastructures and consuming resources. Recognizing the advent of this crisis, in 2007 the Leipzig Charter for Sustainable European Cities called for the use of integrated urban development as the principal ...
This essay serves as an executive summary of the entire research project, providing a step-by-ste... more This essay serves as an executive summary of the entire research project, providing a step-by-step recapitulation of all the central topics which have been developed. The relevant potentialities in terms of urban space qualities of the public housing areas are analyzed, in terms of city image, cultural heritage, as well as for their economic value. Although a significant role in the renovation of these neighborhoods is played by non-architectural factors such as social inclusion, the importance of spatial transformation is discussed both in relation to other disciplines and in terms of stand-alone interventions. Analytical methods are reviewed, including spatial analysis, subjective and objective analysis, the pinpointing of distributed vs. concentrated criticalities, and the relationship between analysis and project within the design process. The role of the urban and architectural project is defined, both in terms of potentialities and of shortcomings. Importance of general vs. local issues, and the way they intersect within the design process is analyzed. The different “fields” of transformation and their various peculiarities are discussed: the territorial level, where public housing neighborhoods connect to the surrounding urbanization and to existing ecological networks; the neighborhood’s urban space, in particular the redesign of collective spaces; the boundaries between public and private spaces, and the connections between them; the internal spaces of buildings, in particular relating to the renovation of the individual residential units; finally the building shell, in terms of sustainability and architectural configuration. Three distinct modes of intervention are highlighted: correction, where the new intervention totally or partially substitutes the existing situation, without establishing a dialectic relationship with it; palimpsest, where the new architectural objects are added as a collateral system in relation to the existing spaces; and finally modification, implying an intervention on material or immaterial aspects, where existing objects are critically transformed with or without adding new built volumes. A working methodology intended to guide the entire transformation project from the analytical to the design stages is proposed. The main aim is that of sectioning the synthetic, general character of the architectural designs into a set of simple, primary transformative actions, to be used for both analytical and design purposes. In conclusion, governance and assessment tools are discussed, proposing possible strategies for the implementation of transformative actions.
Per capire, era necessario camminare. Lo spazio del terremoto non si vede da lontano, non si vede... more Per capire, era necessario camminare. Lo spazio del terremoto non si vede da lontano, non si vede dall’alto: si avverte solamente quando lo si incontra, in una sorta di impatto frontale. È necessario camminare, andare a cercare lo spazio e poi tornarci, annusare l’aria e ascoltare il movimento del proprio corpo. È necessario guardare ed essere guardati, anche se spesso non c’è nessuno: sono gli edifici stessi, le case svuotate, i terreni incolti, le rovine puntellate ad ospitare gli sguardi. Abbiamo incontrato viventi ma anche spettri, presenze ormai abituate le une alle altre, capaci di coabitare. Non con serenità, perché non c’è nulla di sereno nello spazio del terremoto. Un racconto di atmosfere, di sentimenti incontrati nell'aria, di corpi che si agitano e risuonano, di distruzione e ricostruzione. È la storia dei paesaggi e delle case, delle finestre affacciate al sole e delle rovine, dei cieli sopra il Gran Sasso e anche del nostro sguardo, che ha incrociato quello delle montagne.
Cities are not made only of stone: they harbor ways of life, practices, movements, moods, atmosph... more Cities are not made only of stone: they harbor ways of life, practices, movements, moods, atmospheres, feelings. Yet the ineffable nature of affects has long deprived human passions of a meaningful role when it comes to observing urban space and envisioning its future transformation. With this book, we explore the contemporary city and its transitional conditions from a different perspective: a quest to understand how the space of collective life and the feelings this engenders are connected, how they mutually give form to each other. In an interdisciplinary collection of essays, The Affective City means to open a discussion on the "soft" presences animating the world of urban objects: beyond the city built out of mere things, this book's focus is on the forces that make urban life emerge, thrive, flourish, but also wither, and sometimes die. A task crucial for the survival of cities as human habitats, in an urban world that-with every passing day-seems to draw closer a crisis.
La descrizione dello spazio architettonico e della città passa, di norma, attraverso una pratica ... more La descrizione dello spazio architettonico e della città passa, di norma, attraverso una pratica di elencazione delle sue parti costitutive, ponendo dunque al centro dell’osservazione la dimensione materiale degli oggetti alle varie scale. Attraverso quelli che vengono comunemente considerati gli strumenti propri della disciplina, ovvero le tecniche del disegno geometrico misurato, si possono produrre rappresentazioni esatte e altamente attendibili della consistenza fisica degli oggetti architettonici.
Affective spaces. Architecture and the living body, 2021
This book explores the notion of affective space in relation to architecture. It helps to clarify... more This book explores the notion of affective space in relation to architecture. It helps to clarify the first-person, direct experience of the environment and how it impacts a person’s emotional states, influencing their perception of the world around them.
Affective space has become a central notion in several discussions across philosophy, geography, anthropology, architecture and so on. However, only a limited selection of its key features finds resonance in architectural and urban theory, especially the idea of atmospheres, through the work of German phenomenologist Gernot Böhme. This book brings to light a wider range of issues bound to lived corporeal experience. These further issues have only received minor attention in architecture, where the discourse on affective space mostly remains superficial. The theory of atmospheres, in particular, is often criticized as being a surface-level, shallow theory as it is introduced in an unsystematic and fragmented fashion, and is a mere "easy to use" segment of what is a wider and all but impressionistic analytical method. This book provides a broader outlook on the topic and creates an entry point into a hitherto underexplored field.
The book’s theoretical foundation rests on a wide range of non-architectural sources, primarily from philosophy, anthropology and the cognitive sciences, and is strengthened through cases drawn from actual architectural and urban space. These cases make the book more comprehensible for readers not versed in contemporary philosophical trends.
PROJECTS FOR SEOUL (F. De Matteis, L. Reale), 2019
Seoul, the sprawling capital of the Republic of Korea, is a vibrant megacity with a metropolitan ... more Seoul, the sprawling capital of the Republic of Korea, is a vibrant megacity with a metropolitan area exceeding a population of 25 million inhabitants, among the largest of the world. It is not only South Korea’s prime urban center: it has also evolved to become a global hub, with thriving culture and economy, multinational companies and top-ranked universities. As the city has expan-ded well beyond the historic center, its ancient core still represents a crucial space of identity for its citizens and for the Nation as a whole.Over the past three decades, after the landmark 1988 Olympic Games that heralded the arrival of democracy and the country’s rise on the international scenario, Seoul has engaged with many major renovation plans that have radically transformed its urban landscape. Architectural design has played a central role in promoting a new dimension of urban quality, necessary require-ment to place the city on the global map.This book documents a decade of research and design work carried out on several important sites in Seoul’s central core. Through architectural competi-tions, master theses, design workshops and investigations of some of the city’s most relevant projects, the authors provide insight into the practices of designing for a megacity.
Vita nello spazio. Sull'esperienza affettiva dell'architettura, 2019
Sin dalla fine del XIX secolo, il termine spazio ricorre costantemente nella letteratura architet... more Sin dalla fine del XIX secolo, il termine spazio ricorre costantemente nella letteratura architettonica, tanto da essere giunto, nel tempo, a ricapitolare quasi integralmente i temi del progetto. Per gli architetti e tutti gli altri progettisti che si occupano della trasformazione dell’ambiente, dunque, lo spazio rappresenta un tema centrale, dotato peraltro di una specificità disciplinare. Tuttavia, a fronte di questo carattere fondante, il discorso teorico sullo spazio in architettura appare oggi inadeguato, minato da una vaghezza che lo rende inapplicabile come strumento per la pratica del progetto, nonché datato, se consideriamo che molte delle (peraltro controverse) formulazioni teoriche cui si fa riferimento nel parlare di spazio architettonico risalgono alla metà del secolo scorso. Al contrario, negli ultimi venti anni nelle scienze umane si è assistito ad uno spatial turn che ha interessato trasversalmente la geografia umana, l’antropologia e la filosofia, con importanti ramificazioni nelle scienze cognitive e affettive. Con varie declinazioni, lo spazio è divenuto centrale nella descrizione della relazione del soggetto con l’ambiente circostante e con gli altri soggetti che lo occupano; relazione costituita dalla corporeità vissuta degli individui, dalle azioni percettive e dalla risposta affettiva, in una dinamica di costante codeterminazione. Anche nella teoria dell’architettura contemporanea è giunta l’eco di queste trasformazioni del pensiero, elaborate tuttavia in forma asistematica ed eccessivamente semplificatoria. Il volume Vita nello spazio. Sull’esperienza affettiva dell’architettura si pone l’obiettivo di descrivere un modello di spazio che tenga conto della complessità e ricchezza dell’esperienza che il soggetto fa dell’ambiente. Tale esperienza si fonda sulla risposta preriflessiva allo spazio, momento che fonda l’apprezzamento e influenza le successive interpretazioni da parte del soggetto. Al centro dell’indagine la dinamica percezione – movimento – emozione, fondata sulla corporeità del soggetto e centrale nel comprendere il modo in cui agiamo negli ambienti che abitiamo Pur basandosi su una diversità di ambiti disciplinari, il libro è centrato sulle questioni inerenti il progetto architettonico, avvalendosi di un ampio numero di esempi di ambienti costruiti, dei quali vengono descritte le condizioni situazionali che influenzano la percezione dello spazio da parte del soggetto. Si tratta quindi di un volume a carattere introduttivo, che coniuga aspetti centrali dell’architettura con temi derivanti dalla fenomenologia, dall’estetica, dalle scienze cognitive ed affettive, in un’ottica di aggiornamento del concetto di spazio secondo quanto elaborato in altri ambiti scientifici.
Di che cosa è fatto lo spazio della città? Il pensiero contemporaneo suggerisce di sostituire il ... more Di che cosa è fatto lo spazio della città? Il pensiero contemporaneo suggerisce di sostituire il modello dominante della cultura moderna, che interpreta lo spazio come articolazione di oggetti nella loro relazione misurabile, con una diversa prospettiva, basata sulla centralità di un soggetto capace di attuare la realtà dell’ambiente che abita. Un’interpretazione ben più ricca rispetto a quella che sottende, in maniera ormai inattuale, le pratiche consolidate del progetto urbano e di architettura. Lo studio di quattro quartieri novecenteschi di case pubbliche a Roma – Trullo, Primavalle, Villaggio Olimpico, Decima – è diventato quindi territorio di sperimentazione dei modi e dei ragionamenti che possono portare il progetto di riqualificazione contemporaneo ad acquistare una consapevolezza più ricca e articolata di che cosa significhi, per il soggetto, essere presente nella città. La dimensione vitale di un quartiere, incarnata nel suo spazio vissuto, chiede di essere riconosciuta e descritta con la precisione di strumenti adatti a trasferire tale conoscenza nella pratica del fare. Questo libro vuole pertanto aprire le porte a un dialogo su un diverso modo di intendere lo spazio, osservandolo attraverso lenti come il tempo, il soggetto nella sua profondità esistenziale e le soglie come condizioni di transizione, con l’obiettivo ultimo di giungere a ipotizzare dei nuovi strumenti per il progetto sulla città esistente.
L’emergenza abitativa rappresenta oggi, per la città di Roma, uno dei temi più urgenti. La dinami... more L’emergenza abitativa rappresenta oggi, per la città di Roma, uno dei temi più urgenti. La dinamica di crescita urbana negli ultimi decenni, unita alla forte speculazione edilizia che ha caratterizzato la trasformazione del territorio romano, hanno inasprito il fenomeno della povertà abitativa, spingendo in una condizione di criticità fasce di utenza sempre più ampie. Al contempo, il progressivo indebolimento dell’edilizia residenziale pubblica ha sottratto a molti nuclei familiari più bisognosi la possibilità di accedere ad un alloggio decoroso con il sostegno della società. L’inesorabile invecchiamento dello stock edilizio pubblico, processo per arginare il quale risulta vieppiù difficile individuare risorse, minaccia di ridurre ulteriormente l’utilità di un patrimonio che richiede sempre maggiori cure. A completare il quadro di emergenza si registra il fatto che le dinamiche demografiche attuali stanno dando luogo ad un disallineamento sempre più marcato tra la consistenza del patrimonio residenziale e le domande dell’utenza. Affrontare questa complessa situazione non è certo, nella presente congiuntura politica ed economica cosa semplice: esistono però alcune strategie che, se implementate, potrebbero contribuire ad un miglioramento non marginale della situazione. Questo volume affronta il tema della ridefinizione e frazionamento degli alloggi quale possibile strumento “agile” per riportare una quota rilevante delle unità abitative ad un’effettiva rispondenza, sia dimensionale sia per la configurazione degli spazi, con le categorie di nuclei che richiedono l’accesso alla casa pubblica. Sulla base di un ricco campione di alloggi di proprietà del Comune di Roma, la ricerca ha individuato gli strumenti architettonici per la riconfigurazione degli spazi interni, sviluppando anche un quadro tecnico-economico appropriato per la fattibilità degli interventi.
Urbact II Working Group Hopus brings together five universities and two city administrations, eac... more Urbact II Working Group Hopus brings together five universities and two city administrations, each working on different aspects of housing: from the urban to the building approach, from building regulations to construction technology, from environmental quality to energy certification: a multi-faceted and interdisciplinary vision, trying to cover a wide range of different problems, joining theory and practice.
The challenge set out by the Leipzig Charter may seem vast; nevertheless, it is only through joint efforts that we can truly aspire to better new housing developments – good, green, safe, and affordable – which will eventually give birth to the cities we want for the future of our continent.
ISBN 978-88-6216-014-8
The book Good Green Safe Affordable Housing was presented at the Urbact annual conference in Montpellier, December 2008. It collects the first results of the working group's activities, together with a strategic plan for the project's implementation phase.
The 2012 Internet mini-series The Beauty Inside and the 2015 Korean film based upon it, Byuti Ins... more The 2012 Internet mini-series The Beauty Inside and the 2015 Korean film based upon it, Byuti Insaideu, illustrate some crucial philosophical questions related to the body, our relationship to objects and the way we engage space. This paper discusses some of these implications in relation to the elusive concept of beauty in contemporary architectural practice.
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 2022
Purpose - Adaptive reuse entails the physical modification of abandoned architectural structures,... more Purpose - Adaptive reuse entails the physical modification of abandoned architectural structures, with the activation of processes and practices leading to the re-incorporation of heritage into the contemporary life of communities. This transformation entails an affective adaptation, a re-modulation of how citizens attune to a built environment that has been returned to urban, shared forms of use. By observing the emotional ties that are established between subjects and the spaces they inhabit, affecting forms of dwelling, attachments and corporeal responses, the author can clarify how adaptation purports this affective modification, where the original ambiance is not necessarily altogether overwritten, but may rather merge with the supervening situation to give life to unique assemblages of spatialized feelings. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing from contemporary phenomenological theories, with their specific focus on the affective and embodied dimension of lived experience, this paper describes and discusses two instances of adaptive reuse, one in Brussels, the second in Rome, highlighting their different processes and spatial outcomes. Findings - The paper implements recent literature on spatial experience to bring to light conditions found in cases of adaptive reuse. By describing the generators of shared emotionsobjects, movements, expressions, materialities, texturesit highlights how the layering of the physical world can lead to both the domestication of affects and to discrepancies and discontinuities in the fabric of experienced space. Originality/value - There is only a limited literature dedicated to the description of adaptive reuse processes from the contemporary phenomenological perspective. This kind of description can clarify the dynamics unfolding between citizens and experienced space in cases of heritage reuse.
This paper discusses the concept of climate in relation to architectural space. By elaborating on... more This paper discusses the concept of climate in relation to architectural space. By elaborating on the notion of atmosphere, that today permeates a wide range of architectural research, I intend to expand its relevance by outlining a relationship between atmosphere and climate analogous to what occurs in meteorological studies. While climate represents a rather stable (if evolving) cycle of recurring conditions, atmospheric events are fleeting and less predictable. Equally, architectural spaces can establish a general climatic scaffolding that increases the possibility of particular atmospheres to unfold, without however evolving into a deterministic cause-effect relationship. By addressing and comparing philosophical notions and architectural questions, I intend to formulate a novel theorisation as a useful tool for both criticism and design.
When catastrophes strike urban centers causing widespread damage to the built fabric, extensive c... more When catastrophes strike urban centers causing widespread damage to the built fabric, extensive coverage of events usually focuses on the material dimension of destruction and on the ordeal of residents that are displaced to safe locations. Far less attention, however, is dedicated to the dimension of human space, i.e. that dynamic entity connecting places and their inhabitants, exceeding the material constitution of physical space, and describing the existential dimension of lived experience. Human space as understood in this work gathers contributions from several disciplinary fields such as affective science, aesthetics, phenomenology, anthropology, history and architecture. All these studies converge on the centrality of the experiencing subject in the constitution of space, with particular emphasis on the affective dimension of experience. One particularly interesting – albeit so far under-explored – subject is the temporal dimension of affectivity in relation to space: how emotions are re-enacted over prolonged timespans, and if the connectedness of feelings and space is capable of intersubjectively bridging across subjects. This hypothesis is especially relevant to understand the capacities for survival of human space through disastrous events, considering parts that are lost and those that may survive, being hinged to the materiality of places.
In recent years, the theory of atmospheres has extended beyond phenomenology and aesthetics, info... more In recent years, the theory of atmospheres has extended beyond phenomenology and aesthetics, informing a wide variety of descriptive practices in the humanities. Diverse scholarly fields such as anthropology and architecture, musicology and art criticism now include the notion of atmospheric space in their methodological toolkits. The descriptive practices of lived space, however, entail several theoretical questions, concerning the potential and limits of giving voice to first-person experience. In the introductory essay of the 2019 special issue of Ambiances, we address the methodological perspectives emerging from the articles and discuss several question concerning the theory of atmospheres and the practices aimed at describing them.
The museum spaces of Carlo Scarpa are deeply rooted in first-person experience, through the sensu... more The museum spaces of Carlo Scarpa are deeply rooted in first-person experience, through the sensuous use of materials and a sophisticated interaction between architectural features and exhibited objects. This paper investigates how the architect leveraged suggestions of movement implicit in the expressive qualities of human figures, particularly statues, to provide visitors with an affectively charged experience of space. Scarpa exploited the statues’ gestures and gaze to establish a corporeal communication with subjects, creating theatrical situations that exude atmosphere. By analyzing three of his designs – Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo, Castelvecchio in Verona, and the Canova Museum extension in Possagno – through the lens of suggestions of movement, the study intends to highlight the dynamics of these “atmospheric generators”, clarifying some characters of Scarpa’s work that remain otherwise opaque to critical appraisal.
Architectural spaces are central in eliciting moods and atmospherics feelings in subjects. In thi... more Architectural spaces are central in eliciting moods and atmospherics feelings in subjects. In this paper, I describe the relation between specific spatial gestures and the emotional response that arises from situations, with a focus on the spontaneous architectural actions that are performed as response to the pervasive moods that subjects encounter in space. As a case study, I address the post-earthquake reconstruction of Italy's central Apennine region, that has been severely damaged by seismic events in 2016. Architecture has a lot to do with moods. Emotions pervade space as atmospheres, occupying the environment and partaking in a certain situation that the subject experiences. Their precise location cannot be ascertained, for they exist in a pre-dimensional, undefined space (Schmitz 1969: 98). To inhabit, claims Hermann Schmitz, is to cultivate emotions in an enclosed space (umfriedeten Raum, see 2015: 28), and we may consider this notion of enclosed in a wide sense, beyond the immediate meaning of Innenraum, interior space. Emotions and moods are both manifestations experienced within the gamut of the subject's affective states; there may be no clear dividing line between them, and distinctions are sometimes instrumental: some affective scientists, for example, claim that "moods [differ] from emotions mainly in intensity and duration, in particular as being less intense and longer lasting than emotions" (Colombetti, 2014: 1). Contemporary phenomenology proposes a more nuanced distinction, 1 federico.dematteis@univaq.it.
This paper provides a description of the Durga Puja religious festival that is held each autumn i... more This paper provides a description of the Durga Puja religious festival that is held each autumn in Kolkata. During the ten days of the celebration, the Indian city is enriched by a multitude of temporary temples, where local communities come together for both religious and social gatherings. The colourful marquees host rituals and music, flooding urban space with a festive atmosphere that has become a hallmark of Kolkata, attracting large crowds of visitors and tourists who are interested in the folk festival and in its religious connotation. The description focuses on the emotional response to the transformed space, analyzing how the rituals performed in the temporary temples, and the urban and architectural features of the festival’s instalment affect the visitors’ corporeal feelings.
This chapter investigates the notion of corporeal contraction and expansion, a dialectic that phi... more This chapter investigates the notion of corporeal contraction and expansion, a dialectic that philosopher Hermann Schmitz identifies as the primary movement of the felt-body. This alternation is influenced by what the subject encounters in space, and thereby articulates his overall corporeal experience. Different environments, such as natural landscapes or urban spaces, provide distinct types of experiential frameworks that the felt-body habitually responds to with different modulations of the dialectic. For the subject, the typified response of the felt-body to certain environments represents an element of constancy, defined by a set of expectations of events that are likely to occur. The chapter first analyses some key elements of corporeal dynamics then uses two first-person accounts of specific urban situations to describe how the contraction-expansion dialectics underpin all spatial experience.
Over the last few years, the efforts to reveal through neuroscientific lens the relations between... more Over the last few years, the efforts to reveal through neuroscientific lens the relations between the mind, body, and built environment have set a promising direction of using neuroscience for architecture. However, little has been achieved thus far in developing a systematic account that could be employed for interpreting current results and providing a consistent framework for subsequent scientific experimentation. In this context, the enactive perspective is proposed as a guide to studying architectural experience for two key reasons. Firstly, the enactive approach is specifically selected for its capacity to account for the profound connectedness of the organism and the world in an active and dynamic relationship, which is primarily shaped by the features of the body. Thus, particular emphasis is placed on the issues of embodiment and motivational factors as underlying constituents of the body-architecture interactions. Moreover, enactive understanding of the relational coupling between body schema and affordances of architectural spaces singles out the two-way bodily communication between architecture and its inhabitants, which can be also explored in immersive virtual reality settings. Secondly, enactivism has a strong foothold in phenomenological thinking that corresponds to the existing phenomenological discourse in architectural theory and qualitative design approaches. In this way, the enactive approach acknowledges the available common ground between neuroscience and architecture and thus allows a more accurate definition of investigative goals. Accordingly, the outlined model of architectural subject in enactive terms—that is, a model of a human being as embodied, enactive, and situated agent, is proposed as a basis of neuroscientific and phenomenological interpretation of architectural experience.
Che cosa significa abitare? Il presente volume di Sensibilia ambisce a costituire un primo import... more Che cosa significa abitare? Il presente volume di Sensibilia ambisce a costituire un primo importante passo verso la definizione di un concetto largo e non ingenuo di abitare.
The 2019 special issue of Ambiances intends to gauge the breadth and scope of phenomenographies, ... more The 2019 special issue of Ambiances intends to gauge the breadth and scope of phenomenographies, thereby meaning the vast variety of methods and techniques adopted to describe the atmospheric qualities of lived space, especially in a cross-disciplinary context. Phenomenographical accounts do not simply aim at providing a representation of phenomena: they should be considered as tools to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of space, and to sustain design practices that anticipate their transformation. We strongly encourage contributions that address the above topics from an interdisciplinary perspective, crossing between fields such as architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, visual arts, geography, anthropology, cognitive science, philosophy and literature. Papers may address theoretical questions, discuss methodologies, focus on relevant case studies or merge different approaches.
It is a well-known fact that modern Western culture has been obsessed with the "past" for well ov... more It is a well-known fact that modern Western culture has been obsessed with the "past" for well over three centuries. The "story of history" – if we may indulge in this calembour – is a rather long one: we could perhaps synthesize it as an urge to expand Humanity's rational control over anything that existed, both what was physically available and what was not – because far away in either space or time. In the classical age – that period of European culture that eventually culminated in the French Enlightenment – as maps emerged as a means of describing and measuring newly discovered territories, history was intended to crystallize in a univocal and centralized way events belonging to the past, but which nevertheless were understood as still actively exerting some form of influence.
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administrators, is often unresponsive towards the affective sphere of citizens and visitors alike, who sense that the reconstructed city feels cold, unreal, or distant from what it was before the catastrophic event. While data provide tools to visualise key indicators of urban
mechanisms, the non-representational sphere of emotion eludes quantification. Yet, these aspects are crucial in supporting a reconstruction capable of addressing the deeper layers of human experience, which assume even greater importance when a city is recovering from trauma. This chapter addresses a strain of creative and descriptive practices connected to photography, both as a medium for public art and as a tool to create affective descriptions of lived space.
explanations of how people perceive and experience
architectural environments have largely justified the
initial belief in the value of neuroscience for architecture.
However, a systematic development of a coherent theoretical
and experimental framework is missing. To investigate
the neurophysiological reactions related to the
appreciation of ambiances, we recorded the electroencephalographic
(EEG) signals in an immersive virtual
reality during the appreciation of interior designs. Such
data have been analyzed according to the working
hypothesis that appreciated environments involve embodied
simulation mechanisms and circuits mediating
approaching stimuli. EEG recordings of 12 healthy subjects
have been performed during the perception of three-dimensional
interiors that have been simulated in a CAVE
system and judged according to dimensions of familiarity,
novelty, comfort, pleasantness, arousal and presence. A
correlation analysis on personal judgments returned that
scores of novelty, pleasantness and comfort are positively
correlated, while familiarity and novelty are in negative
way. Statistical spectral maps reveal that pleasant, novel
and comfortable interiors produce a de-synchronization of
the mu rhythm over left sensorimotor areas. Interiors
judged more pleasant and less familiar generate an activation
of left frontal areas (theta and alpha bands), along an
involvement of areas devoted to spatial navigation. An
increase in comfort returns an enhancement of the theta
frontal midline activity. Cerebral activations underlying
appreciation of architecture could involve different mechanisms
regulating corporeal, emotional and cognitive
reactions. Therefore, it might be suggested that people’s
experience of architectural environments is intrinsically
structured by the possibilities for action.
The role of the urban and architectural project is defined, both in terms of potentialities and of shortcomings. Importance of general vs. local issues, and the way they intersect within the design process is analyzed. The different “fields” of transformation and their various peculiarities are discussed: the territorial level, where public housing neighborhoods connect to the surrounding urbanization and to existing ecological networks; the neighborhood’s urban space, in particular the redesign of collective spaces; the boundaries between public and private spaces, and the connections between them; the internal spaces of buildings, in particular relating to the renovation of the individual residential units; finally the building shell, in terms of sustainability and architectural configuration.
Three distinct modes of intervention are highlighted: correction, where the new intervention totally or partially substitutes the existing situation, without establishing a dialectic relationship with it; palimpsest, where the new architectural objects are added as a collateral system in relation to the existing spaces; and finally modification, implying an intervention on material or immaterial aspects, where existing objects are critically transformed with or without adding new built volumes.
A working methodology intended to guide the entire transformation project from the analytical to the design stages is proposed. The main aim is that of sectioning the synthetic, general character of the architectural designs into a set of simple, primary transformative actions, to be used for both analytical and design purposes. In conclusion, governance and assessment tools are discussed, proposing possible strategies for the implementation of transformative actions.
administrators, is often unresponsive towards the affective sphere of citizens and visitors alike, who sense that the reconstructed city feels cold, unreal, or distant from what it was before the catastrophic event. While data provide tools to visualise key indicators of urban
mechanisms, the non-representational sphere of emotion eludes quantification. Yet, these aspects are crucial in supporting a reconstruction capable of addressing the deeper layers of human experience, which assume even greater importance when a city is recovering from trauma. This chapter addresses a strain of creative and descriptive practices connected to photography, both as a medium for public art and as a tool to create affective descriptions of lived space.
explanations of how people perceive and experience
architectural environments have largely justified the
initial belief in the value of neuroscience for architecture.
However, a systematic development of a coherent theoretical
and experimental framework is missing. To investigate
the neurophysiological reactions related to the
appreciation of ambiances, we recorded the electroencephalographic
(EEG) signals in an immersive virtual
reality during the appreciation of interior designs. Such
data have been analyzed according to the working
hypothesis that appreciated environments involve embodied
simulation mechanisms and circuits mediating
approaching stimuli. EEG recordings of 12 healthy subjects
have been performed during the perception of three-dimensional
interiors that have been simulated in a CAVE
system and judged according to dimensions of familiarity,
novelty, comfort, pleasantness, arousal and presence. A
correlation analysis on personal judgments returned that
scores of novelty, pleasantness and comfort are positively
correlated, while familiarity and novelty are in negative
way. Statistical spectral maps reveal that pleasant, novel
and comfortable interiors produce a de-synchronization of
the mu rhythm over left sensorimotor areas. Interiors
judged more pleasant and less familiar generate an activation
of left frontal areas (theta and alpha bands), along an
involvement of areas devoted to spatial navigation. An
increase in comfort returns an enhancement of the theta
frontal midline activity. Cerebral activations underlying
appreciation of architecture could involve different mechanisms
regulating corporeal, emotional and cognitive
reactions. Therefore, it might be suggested that people’s
experience of architectural environments is intrinsically
structured by the possibilities for action.
The role of the urban and architectural project is defined, both in terms of potentialities and of shortcomings. Importance of general vs. local issues, and the way they intersect within the design process is analyzed. The different “fields” of transformation and their various peculiarities are discussed: the territorial level, where public housing neighborhoods connect to the surrounding urbanization and to existing ecological networks; the neighborhood’s urban space, in particular the redesign of collective spaces; the boundaries between public and private spaces, and the connections between them; the internal spaces of buildings, in particular relating to the renovation of the individual residential units; finally the building shell, in terms of sustainability and architectural configuration.
Three distinct modes of intervention are highlighted: correction, where the new intervention totally or partially substitutes the existing situation, without establishing a dialectic relationship with it; palimpsest, where the new architectural objects are added as a collateral system in relation to the existing spaces; and finally modification, implying an intervention on material or immaterial aspects, where existing objects are critically transformed with or without adding new built volumes.
A working methodology intended to guide the entire transformation project from the analytical to the design stages is proposed. The main aim is that of sectioning the synthetic, general character of the architectural designs into a set of simple, primary transformative actions, to be used for both analytical and design purposes. In conclusion, governance and assessment tools are discussed, proposing possible strategies for the implementation of transformative actions.
Affective space has become a central notion in several discussions across philosophy, geography, anthropology, architecture and so on. However, only a limited selection of its key features finds resonance in architectural and urban theory, especially the idea of atmospheres, through the work of German phenomenologist Gernot Böhme. This book brings to light a wider range of issues bound to lived corporeal experience. These further issues have only received minor attention in architecture, where the discourse on affective space mostly remains superficial. The theory of atmospheres, in particular, is often criticized as being a surface-level, shallow theory as it is introduced in an unsystematic and fragmented fashion, and is a mere "easy to use" segment of what is a wider and all but impressionistic analytical method. This book provides a broader outlook on the topic and creates an entry point into a hitherto underexplored field.
The book’s theoretical foundation rests on a wide range of non-architectural sources, primarily from philosophy, anthropology and the cognitive sciences, and is strengthened through cases drawn from actual architectural and urban space. These cases make the book more comprehensible for readers not versed in contemporary philosophical trends.
Al contrario, negli ultimi venti anni nelle scienze umane si è assistito ad uno spatial turn che ha interessato trasversalmente la geografia umana, l’antropologia e la filosofia, con importanti ramificazioni nelle scienze cognitive e affettive. Con varie declinazioni, lo spazio è divenuto centrale nella descrizione della relazione del soggetto con l’ambiente circostante e con gli altri soggetti che lo occupano; relazione costituita dalla corporeità vissuta degli individui, dalle azioni percettive e dalla risposta affettiva, in una dinamica di costante codeterminazione. Anche nella teoria dell’architettura contemporanea è giunta l’eco di queste trasformazioni del pensiero, elaborate tuttavia in forma asistematica ed eccessivamente semplificatoria.
Il volume Vita nello spazio. Sull’esperienza affettiva dell’architettura si pone l’obiettivo di descrivere un modello di spazio che tenga conto della complessità e ricchezza dell’esperienza che il soggetto fa dell’ambiente. Tale esperienza si fonda sulla risposta preriflessiva allo spazio, momento che fonda l’apprezzamento e influenza le successive interpretazioni da parte del soggetto. Al centro dell’indagine la dinamica percezione – movimento – emozione, fondata sulla corporeità del soggetto e centrale nel comprendere il modo in cui agiamo negli ambienti che abitiamo
Pur basandosi su una diversità di ambiti disciplinari, il libro è centrato sulle questioni inerenti il progetto architettonico, avvalendosi di un ampio numero di esempi di ambienti costruiti, dei quali vengono descritte le condizioni situazionali che influenzano la percezione dello spazio da parte del soggetto. Si tratta quindi di un volume a carattere introduttivo, che coniuga aspetti centrali dell’architettura con temi derivanti dalla fenomenologia, dall’estetica, dalle scienze cognitive ed affettive, in un’ottica di aggiornamento del concetto di spazio secondo quanto elaborato in altri ambiti scientifici.
Lo studio di quattro quartieri novecenteschi di case pubbliche a Roma – Trullo, Primavalle, Villaggio Olimpico, Decima – è diventato quindi territorio di sperimentazione dei modi e dei ragionamenti che possono portare il progetto di riqualificazione contemporaneo ad acquistare una consapevolezza più ricca e articolata di che cosa significhi, per il soggetto, essere presente nella città. La dimensione vitale di un quartiere, incarnata nel suo spazio vissuto, chiede di essere riconosciuta e descritta con la precisione di strumenti adatti a trasferire tale conoscenza nella pratica del fare. Questo libro vuole pertanto aprire le porte a un dialogo su un diverso modo di intendere lo spazio, osservandolo attraverso lenti come il tempo, il soggetto nella sua profondità esistenziale e le soglie come condizioni di transizione, con l’obiettivo ultimo di giungere a ipotizzare dei nuovi strumenti per il progetto sulla città esistente.
Affrontare questa complessa situazione non è certo, nella presente congiuntura politica ed economica cosa semplice: esistono però alcune strategie che, se implementate, potrebbero contribuire ad un miglioramento non marginale della situazione.
Questo volume affronta il tema della ridefinizione e frazionamento degli alloggi quale possibile strumento “agile” per riportare una quota rilevante delle unità abitative ad un’effettiva rispondenza, sia dimensionale sia per la configurazione degli spazi, con le categorie di nuclei che richiedono l’accesso alla casa pubblica. Sulla base di un ricco campione di alloggi di proprietà del Comune di Roma, la ricerca ha individuato gli strumenti architettonici per la riconfigurazione degli spazi interni, sviluppando anche un quadro tecnico-economico appropriato per la fattibilità degli interventi.
The challenge set out by the Leipzig Charter may seem vast; nevertheless, it is only through joint efforts that we can truly aspire to better new housing developments – good, green, safe, and affordable – which will eventually give birth to the cities we want for the future of our continent.
ISBN 978-88-6216-014-8
The book Good Green Safe Affordable Housing was presented at the Urbact annual conference in Montpellier, December 2008. It collects the first results of the working group's activities, together with a strategic plan for the project's implementation phase.
Design/methodology/approach - Drawing from contemporary phenomenological theories, with their specific focus on the affective and embodied dimension of lived experience, this paper describes and discusses two instances of adaptive reuse, one in Brussels, the second in Rome, highlighting their different processes and spatial outcomes.
Findings - The paper implements recent literature on spatial experience to bring to light conditions found in cases of adaptive reuse. By describing the generators of shared emotionsobjects, movements, expressions, materialities, texturesit highlights how the layering of the physical world can lead to both the domestication of affects and to discrepancies and discontinuities in the fabric of experienced space.
Originality/value - There is only a limited literature dedicated to the description of adaptive reuse processes from the contemporary phenomenological perspective. This kind of description can clarify the dynamics unfolding between citizens and experienced space in cases of heritage reuse.
hypothesis is especially relevant to understand the capacities for survival of human space through disastrous events, considering parts that are lost and those that may survive, being hinged to the materiality of places.
We strongly encourage contributions that address the above topics from an interdisciplinary perspective, crossing between fields such as architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, visual arts, geography, anthropology, cognitive science, philosophy and literature. Papers may address theoretical questions, discuss methodologies, focus on relevant case studies or merge different approaches.