The Regeneration of Architectural Heritage to Manage the Reversibility of Adaptive Reuse Technology Design: Two Italian Case Studies

The essay presents two case studies in comparison, which exemplify an active and adaptive process of conservation and reuse of historical heritage: the centrifugal matrix first one starts from the retrofit of the Palazzo Ducale in Serre (SA), where an enlightened client has realised the European Study Centre of the Mediterranean Diet (DIE MED), to extend the benefits to the urban surroundings; the centripetal matrix second one involves the entire insula of the Ave Gratia Plena in Sessa Aurunca (CE) to define the prototype of intervention on the Cathedral, with a view to sustainability and preservation of the heritage for future generations. Both projects, whose recovery process is described here, were conducted with a design approach based on circularity and reversibility of technological design choices. The reversibility of transformations is intrinsically linked to heritage conservation standards; in adaptive reuse, where planned maintenance is also considered, it is still complex to introduce design solutions that anticipate the effects of climate change, for which there is no specific standard.