“Knowledge development to improve the performance of the rehabilitated traditional architecture. The case of “Sassi di Matera”

ISSN 0356-9403 Quality is the ability of a building structure to meet the functional requirements. It is measured by identifying the level of performance of building components in relation to the requirements which have guided building concept, design and construction. Quality is not measured against an absolute set of criteria but in relation to the project objectives. Flexibility is one amongst the fundamental criteria for defining quality. It is the intrinsic potential of any product to adapt to technical, technological and functional changes whilst meeting performance requirements. The need for flexibility leads to a different methodological approach in the design of new buildings and the rehabilitation of built heritage. In the case of the built heritage, the objective is “future proofing” through an appropriate re-use that goes beyond the concept of pure conservation towards planning for potential changes of the heritage use or its building services in the future. This approach has been used in the conservation and re-use of the ancient Sassi neighbourhoods of cave dwellings in Matera, Italy. The criteria for assessing their architectural, technical and technological components which should be safeguarded have been developed, taking into consideration the required performances for new uses. The types of appropriate new uses of Sassi have also been recommended. The compatibility and suitability of the interventions undertaken in Sassi have been established by using the above mentioned criteria. The methodological approach included the development of criteria for safeguarding the heritage values and planning adaptive re-use. The criteria can be considered as a knowledge base developed with the aim to ensure the usability of Sassi through improved performance. The appropriateness of the criteria has been verified through their experimental application on two Sassi neighbourhoods which have been converted into flexible spaces whilst the typology and the morphological-environmental equilibrium of the historical context have been preserved. This methodological approach enables an integral conservation of the historical built heritage by providing flexibility for technological and functional changes in the future, whilst ensuring the preservation of its cultural, historical and architectural values.