“Inclusive Design for the conservation of built heritage: two examples in Matera, Italy”

As the future of residential architecture should include the restoration and re-use of inherited buildings and parts of cities, it seems necessary to develop more specific design and construction guidelines which assist the selection of the best option while ensuring that a balance of technical and cultural characteristics of the built heritage will be achieved in the process of its conservation and transformation. In other words, there is a need to ensure that the rehabilitation project provides a balanced synthesis of the dichotomy between conservation, transformation and use. The design should meet the needs of an appropriate new function, which is compatible with the historical and technological characteristics of the built heritage, and the requirements of the current life style. Therefore, it is evident that the central problem is the question of the heritage usability which can be addressed by developing an approach for comparing different design solutions in order to select the design which provides an inclusive environment. The aim is to provide an inclusive environment for “different people, social inclusion and equality” (Stockholm Declaration - 9 May 2004). The above methodological approach has been tested on two recent interventions, Locanda di S.Martino and Hotel S.Angelo in Matera, different but at the same time similar in form and architectural features. The case studies have enabled the confirmation of the proposed method, demonstrating that the design of an inclusive environment guarantees the conservation of the heritage.