Progetto di continuità: il laterizio nell’integrazione dell’antico

Dealing with the use of brickwork in conservation and reuse of ancient buildings means handling a settled topic that interprets the role of contemporary architecture dedicated to conservation works as a project of continuity with the history. The article analyses some interventions realized between 20th and 21th century, which investigate integration methods of building’s lacks in order to achieve a new figurative unity. The interventions don’t embody mere oppositive addition works, but they represent critical grafts able to activate or re-activate processes. The use of brickwork doesn’t necessarily mean mimesis, but it represents a choice which entails a creative responsibility arising both from the interpretation of the buildings’ features and the will to fit the conservation work in their history. A first aspect of the investigation lies in the integration choices carried out in wide missing parts of the masonries, characterized by a cautious and appropriate architectural language in conservation design. A second issue is embodied by the use of building materials and techniques connected to the aim of long-term durability: the lastingness of the new insertions and their aging processes in relation to those of the ancient building represent a further subject for the analysis which helps to define a context rich in interest and criticalities.