Papers by Maria Luisa Germanà
Agathon, 2010
Germana', ML (2010). A partire dalla manutenzione: strategie per i siti archeologici. In Spo... more Germana', ML (2010). A partire dalla manutenzione: strategie per i siti archeologici. In Sposito A. (a cura di), Agathon (pp. 31-38). Palermo : OFFSET Studio. ... Il contributo, evidenziando l'ambiguità del rapporto manutenzione / conservazione e illustrando alcuni paradossi ...
Patrimonio e progetto di architettura
Il contributo, redatto su invito per la sezione \u201cPatrimonio e archeologia\u201d di un volume... more Il contributo, redatto su invito per la sezione \u201cPatrimonio e archeologia\u201d di un volume promosso dalla Societ\ue0 scientifica nazionale ProArch, prende avvio da alcune considerazioni sul costruito archeologico come archetipo del concetto stesso di patrimonio e come campo d\u2019indagine e di progetto sempre attuale, specialmente in area mediterranea, in cui il patrimonio architettonico \ue8 connotato da spessore e stratificazione pi\uf9 marcati che altrove, fornendo supporto fisico a un\u2019identit\ue0 comune. Inoltre, l\u2019intervento sul costruito archeologico, nella sua essenza intrinseca di incompletezza, viene indicato come rappresentativo dell\u2019essenza stessa dell\u2019atto progettuale, considerato come parte del pi\uf9 esteso processo di trasformazione che, in modo continuativo, riguarda un determinato contesto. Malgrado i pi\uf9 recenti orientamenti tendano a superare la contrapposizione tra progetto di architettura e cultura del patrimonio, ancora \ue8 forte l\u2019inerzia di precedenti approcci e tendenze, come dimostra il prevalere di segmentate visioni, puntate su singoli aspetti. La frammentazione, e conseguente contrapposizione, di visioni ed approcci non hanno giovato al costruito archeologico. Ci\uf2 ha frenato gli sviluppi teoretici e ancor pi\uf9 le condizioni operative: anche nel restauro archeologico la conservazione inaffidabile spesso \ue8 riconducibile a un perverso by-pass dalla programmazione alla realizzazione, che scavalca la progettazione. La riflessione si conclude con la constatazione che negli interventi sul patrimonio hanno fatto difetto, paradossalmente, proprio la proiezione concreta e la conseguente prospettiva del lungo termine e che il progetto di architettura \ue8 indispensabile per accostarsi al patrimonio costruito, proprio in virt\uf9 del carattere generalista e della sua specificit\ue0 metodologica, fondata su visione olistica e multi-scalare. Ancor pi\uf9 che necessario, dunque, nel campo del costruito archeologico il progetto viene indicato come \u201cindispensabile\u201d, nella misura in cui riesce ad integrare i tre obiettivi topici della conoscenza, della conservazione e della valorizzazione. L\u2019inevitabile distanza tra contemporaneit\ue0 e patrimonio va ricucita, piuttosto che slabbrata, prendendo atto che \ue8 indispensabile \uabprogettare la differenza\ubb. L\u2019evoluzione della tecnologia, in quanto scienza dei processi, accompagna la nozione di patrimonio sin dal suo esordio; la digitalizzazione ormai in fase matura ha gi\ue0 mostrato i suoi effetti moltiplicatori e dirompenti sia in campo teoretico che operativo, offrendo nuove e stimolanti possibili traiettorie al progetto di architettura per il costruito archeologico, e non solo
Contemporary unfinished buildings, which represent a widespread sort of abandoned built environme... more Contemporary unfinished buildings, which represent a widespread sort of abandoned built environment around the globe, have only recently shaken off the taboo to which they have been relegated by their inescapable condition as symbols of failure. The theoretical connotations attributed to them often fluctuate between the mystifying poles of exaltation and demonization; without discussing these, and looking at trends that can be identified in certain works over the last decades, the article aims to contribute to defining an analytical and design-based approach. This procedure is geared towards the multidimensional goals of sustainability, and to responding in concrete fashion to the demands of stakeholders and the community. The paper aims to demonstrate that, for the sustainable future of unfinished buildings, a new point of departure is needed, in which the design project should focus on actual differences with regard to the cultural premises of the original, interrupted building pr...
VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability
Maintenance concerns most of the artifacts, referring simultaneously to the socio-cultural, techn... more Maintenance concerns most of the artifacts, referring simultaneously to the socio-cultural, technical and managerial spheres. Contemporary scenarios impose an overall rethinking, where key-topics such as tradition, consumerism, sustainability and digitization become pivotal in the search for suitable production models, between post-industrial and neo-craftsmanship, in order to have fresher references for the maintenance activities. In the construction field, maintenance is not limited to the objective of prolonging the duration of quality levels that only affect direct users, but also has important implications of a social and collective nature, in the case of both public and private buildings and spaces. Despite this and other specific features, the parallelism between building maintenance and manufacturing maintenance was fundamental in the last quarter of the 20th century, when the subject made its way into the technological culture of architecture, in search of references that c...
Il contributo approfondisce il tema della gestione del patrimonio architettonico, esponendo la co... more Il contributo approfondisce il tema della gestione del patrimonio architettonico, esponendo la conflittualità tra esigenze conservative e fruitive. Per quanto riguarda i siti archeologici, l’accessibilità viene distinta in aspetti materiali ed immateriali e si conclude riflettendo sull’opportunità di studiare casi specifici, senza accontentarsi di espedienti precari.
PoliTO Springer Series, 2021
The rural built environment, as a multiscale whole of human transformations aimed at accommodatin... more The rural built environment, as a multiscale whole of human transformations aimed at accommodating agriculture-related activities, prompts various reflections on the bioclimatic approach in architectural design. This contribution, firstly, highlights the theme of the urban-rural continuum (an intermediate and contradictory place, which epitomizes on-going contemporary transformations) in order to demonstrate that the contrast between urban and rural—although it has been used, since ancient times, on both analytical and design level—has not only been superseded, but is also, theoretically, inadequate for identifying the rural built environment. The link between agricultural and construction activities confirms the overcoming of this contrast; a reading in technological terms is proposed, with reference to the spheres of the product and the process, whilst recollecting its remote and deeply rooted cultural origins. The possible dual and contradictory character (vernacular or scholarly) of the rural built environment is illustrated with reference to the specificity of the bioclimatic aspects recognized in traditional buildings (“ante litteram sustainability”), highlighting how the relationship with the site-factor (microclimatic characteristics and local construction culture) was almost annulled in the twentieth century, also creating the basis for a widespread emergency for the quality of the buildings employed in agricultural activities. Touching upon the question of whether the rural building can be a typology distinct from other production buildings, this paper highlights the importance of the relationships with the socio-economic aspects of the agricultural sector, underlining the fact that the main identity for rural buildings in every age, in addition to the role that they play in the landscape, should be a stronger bond with the environmental elements, showing the centrality of the bioclimatic approach in updating the primordial interactions between agriculture and construction. Furthermore, the distinction between vernacular or scholarly character of the rural buildings prompted a reflection on the contemporary epistemological bases of the bioclimatic approach to general architectural design, which risks being ineffective whether it remains on an empirical level or if it is confined to a hyper-specialized niche. Finally, the bioclimatic approach is indicated as a common analytical and design methodological basis, useful for addressing the contradictory nature of the urban-rural continuum, in the framework of contemporary challenges.
Conservation of Architectural Heritage, 2022
Conservation of Architectural Heritage, 2019
Technological aspects strongly characterise the built environment in both material and immaterial... more Technological aspects strongly characterise the built environment in both material and immaterial dimensions. The architectural heritage (the built environment that has acquired cultural meanings, without prejudice regarding the age and the scale of observation) offers a peculiar point of view for dealing with this issue. This paper outlines the dynamic connections between technology, the whole idea of architectural heritage and the approaches to intervention. A focus is placed on four main theoretical aspects, the effects of which are also significant on the practical field: the distance from contemporaneity; the concept of Time; reliable conservation; sustainability. The technological evolution that has had such an effect on the architectural heritage is briefly outlined, starting from the First Industrial Revolution and concluding with digitalisation, which is now imposing a profound rethinking regarding both technology and heritage. From such considerations, it might be possible to derive a paradigm, to be discussed and shared, aimed at piloting the conservation of the architectural heritage in the forthcoming years.
Conservation of Architectural Heritage, 2022
The results of the interrupted building processes are ascribable to an anomalous category of buil... more The results of the interrupted building processes are ascribable to an anomalous category of built environment, which offers an important test bench for the technological design of architecture. In fact, the finalism focused on achieving the objectives and the linear vision of time are irrelevant when confronted by constructions, whose life cycle has never begun and which are irreducibly extraneous to both the present and the future. The bipolar phenomenon of unfinished buildings suggests a theoretical framework linked to the time variable, intended as a transformation factor and cornerstone of architectural design. Considering their diffusion and evolution, a future is foreseeable for the unfinished buildings, which is different to a certain kind of pretentious demonisation or exaltation.
AGATHÓN - International Journal of Architecture Art and Design, 2018
Digitalisation has effects on technological processes and products, as in previous industrial rev... more Digitalisation has effects on technological processes and products, as in previous industrial revolutions. Among its disruptive consequences on society and on individuals, the emergence of a different concept of Time is already influencing the operative and, above all, theoretical field of the architectural heritage. Unusual forms of memory undermine the traditional vision of heritage, based on a linear vision of time, which clearly separates the Past from the Future, leaving to the Present a mere role of transporter. Some contemporary strategies may usefully be referred to the oxymoronic Temporary Permanency, because the presumed immutability, ambition of now obsolete rigid and abstract conservative objectives, has been overcome.
La SITdA, società scientifica che dal 2007 raccoglie i ricercatori italiani di Tecnologia dell’Ar... more La SITdA, società scientifica che dal 2007 raccoglie i ricercatori italiani di Tecnologia dell’Architettura, nel 2012 ha avviato alcuni “Cluster”, per far con-vergere l’interesse su precise tematiche in modo più riconoscibile. In tale ambi-to, l’A. ha proposto l’attivazione del “Cluster SITdA Patrimonio Architettoni-co”, di cui è coordinatore protempore e di cui ha curato la relativa sezione nel volume che ha fatto seguito alla presentazione avvenuta presso la MadeExpo 2015 a Milano (redazione del saggio introduttivo, coordinamento dei contributi di giovani ricercatori e di qualificati stakeholders). Tale volume, edito in una collana con comitato scientifico, contiene testi in italiano con traduzioni inte-grali in inglese ed è stato oggetto di blind peer review. Partendo dalla dimensione pubblica del patrimonio architettonico e degli in-terventi che lo riguardano e continuando con una rassegna critica delle criticità nello scenario italiano, il contributo evidenzia le potenzialità della Tecnologia dell’Architettura nel raggiungimento dell’auspicata visione sistemica e olistica del patrimonio culturale. Evidenziando che dal ruolo identitario del patrimonio architettonico in Europa e nell’area mediterranea scaturiscono importanti filoni di ricerca, il contributo indica un riferimento centrale nelle dimensioni (ambientale, socio-economica e culturale) della sostenibilità. Since 2007, SITdA brings together the Italian academics that identify themselves in the Architectural Technology. In 2012 the SITdA Clusters were founded, aiming to focus on some emerging themes. The Author in this circumstance proposed a “SITdA Cluster Architectural Heritage” and, as its pro term coordinator, has edited the dedicated section in the book “Cluster in progress”, that followed the SITdA Clusters presentation, in Milan during MadeExpo 2015. This book, with bilingual texts, has been subjected to blind peer review before the publication in a Scientific Series. The Author considers as central the public dimension of the Architectural Heritage and of the interventions on it and describes some main critical conditions in the Italian scenario. The text outlines the potential contribution of the Architectural technology in defining a systemic and holistic vision of the cultural heritage as a methodological base. As the European and the Mediterranean architectural heritage has the meaning of the physical support of a shared identity, important research lines are opened, where the sustainability dimensions (environmental, socio-cultural, and economical) are central.
Il testo è compreso in un volume collettaneo che espone i risultati di una ricerca su Conoscenza ... more Il testo è compreso in un volume collettaneo che espone i risultati di una ricerca su Conoscenza tecnologica e conservazione dell’architettura antica a Morgantina e a Solunto. Il contributo espone i risultati di uno studio, condotto con il contributo della Sezione Archeologica della Sovrintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Palermo, sulla manutenzione nei siti archeologici e finalizzato alla programmazione di tale attività, a partire dalla visione sistemica dei siti.
This poster describes the results of a research aimed to design and assess a new layered envelope... more This poster describes the results of a research aimed to design and assess a new layered envelope component that might be implemented on buildings of the Mediterranean area, in order to improve the energy e ciency and the environmental sustainability. These goals have been achieved by means of the use of local and natural building materials or arising from renewable resources. In particular, thermal insulating has been realized utilizing a mix of natural and mineral materials, obtaining a biocomposite with comparable building physics and mechanical properties to commonly used building materials. Among natural materials, the sheep wool was chosen since it is, on a hand, a waste to exploit and, on the other hand, it has a good behavior towards heat, moisture and indoor air pollution. Several samples have been realized mixing sheep wool, at di erent granulometry, with lime in di erent weight percentages. For each sample, thermal tests have been performed by means of a heat ow meter. The U value, Yie, mass and time lag have been evaluated for the whole designed system according to the Italian standards. In order to compare the environmental impact of the designed system with a similar commercial product, a Life Cycle Assessment has been carried out. Finally, thermal performance of the envelope system was evaluated by simulating its use in the retro t of the old structure of a factory both in wall and in oor elements. The results was good in terms of energy balances of the building, while LCA results are contradictory, being one of the main issue the lack of data for local materials not directly investigated by authors.
Perforated building envelope presents a global contemporary architectural trend which is connecte... more Perforated building envelope presents a global contemporary architectural trend which is connected – in some circumstances – to the traditional perforated models, such as ‘Mashrabiyya’, ‘Takhtabush’, ‘Qmariyyah’, etc. This study focuses on perforated models that have archetypical perforated elements within buildings and have technological and behavioural functions reflecting socio-cultural values, economic situation, and environmental needs of the building’s users. An analytical comparison (technologically and behaviourally) has been conducted between the selected contemporary cases of perforated buildings and the traditional models, by considering various aspects of the building’s envelope, and taking into consideration the interaction between perforated envelopes and occupants. After discussing the global trend, an ultimate goal of this paper is to discuss the appropriateness and potentials of advanced solutions of contemporary perforated envelopes in the Mediterranean region in o...
The OSDOTTA 2010 workshop took place in a scenario of profound transformations in the general uni... more The OSDOTTA 2010 workshop took place in a scenario of profound transformations in the general university set-up; this marked a sort of turning-point and the material covered so far will have to be developed further and necessarily in a novel way. The text includes following paragraphs: 1. The impact on the doctorate of certain recently emerging governmental and ministerial measures; 2. Data regarding the employment situation of PhDs; 3. PhD courses in Architectural technology and the incorporation of Scientific disciplinary sectors; 4. Long-term outcomes of PhD courses and competences; 5. Short-term outcomes of PhD courses: theses; 6. The theme Mediterranean architecture between heritage and innovation in OSDOTTA 2010. L’esperienza del Seminario in OSDOTTA 2010 si è svolta in uno scenario di profonde trasformazioni dell’assetto generale dell’Università. Il testo sviluppa i seguenti paragrafi: Impatto sul dottorato di alcuni provvedimenti governativi e ministeriali di recente emanazione; 2. I dati sull’inserimento professionale dei dottori di ricerca; 3. I corsi di dottorato in Tecnologia dell’Architettura e l’accorpamento dei Settori Scientifico-disciplinari; 4. Esiti a lungo termine dei corsi di dottorato: le competenze acquisite; 5. Esiti a breve termine dei corsi di dottorato: le tesi; 6. Il tema Permanenze e innovazioni nell’architettura del Mediterraneo in OSDOTTA 2010.
Scuole di dottorato, 2011
The volume offers considerable material for reflection on the subject of Mediterranean Architectu... more The volume offers considerable material for reflection on the subject of Mediterranean Architecture between Heritage and Innovation, demonstrating the wide range of aspects linked to architectural technology, highlighting the flexibility of the disciplinary boundaries with regard to the various meanings that can be applied to the concept of resource. To be read as a continuation of previous Osdotta publications, this allows to trace the current developments in third-level education in a particularly critical moment for the university institution, continuing to emphasize the crucial question of the supply/demand in research, in comparison with other institutions and with the world of production in this sector, in the current scenario dominated by increasingly rapid and incisive transformations. The main challenges to be faced are the quality improvement of PhD courses, through reflection on immediate and long-term results, alongside with clarifying the identity contents of the discip...
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Papers by Maria Luisa Germanà