Evaluating Material Resources: A Methological Approach to Reading Territorial Possibility for Sustainable Design

Current approaches to material assessment often address environmental, cultural, design and territorial dimensions separately. This research proposes an exploratory multi-criteria framework aimed at bringing these perspectives into a common comparative structure to guide ecodesign and territorial enhancement processes in contexts characterised by widespread yet underutilised material and cultural resources. The framework integrates a set of criteria addressing material, cultural, design and systemic dimensions. A scenario-dependent weighting system allows the comparison to reflect different design priorities, including circular innovation, ecodesign and heritage enhancement. Its first application in the Basilicata Region illustrates how the relative positioning of local material resources changes according to the priorities considered: clay emerges under priorities related to innovation and circularity, while calcarenite assumes greater significance when cultural continuity and territorial identity are emphasised. The proposed framework complements established material-assessment methods by incorporating cultural, territorial and design-related dimensions. The paper highlights the limitations, potential and prospects of the proposed multi-criteria framework, including the possibility of integrating digital tools and AI systems for territorial data management.