URBAN PIC ITALIA

DESCRIZIONE: The buildings which are the object of the restoration project for via dei Capitelli are situated in the historic center of Trieste, where the...

The buildings which are the object of the restoration project for via dei Capitelli are situated in the historic center of Trieste, where the medieval city system can still be seen in the old city. At the beginning of the century this part of the city, which is very central, was in a state of abandonment. The planned intervention, in line with Community Directives intended to restore rundown areas of historic city centers with considerable cultural value, seeks contemporary solutions able to respect and renew the purposes of the historic site. The project respects on an urban level the norms of the restoration plan, which impose a philological re-composition of prospects; it salvages the urban image of the blocks, relating it to the fourteenth century fabric of this part of the city. Attention was therefore mainly paid, during the planning stage, to the inside of the coverings, which are more flexible, where above all the common parts had been conceived as a contemporary design expression. The parting walls, in uncovered cement, the lattice-work imposed by the caissons, as well as a large-scale use of steel and other materials, highlight the peculiarity of the existing structures and, at the same time, announce the contemporary intervention: this prevents a mimetic relationship with the old structures. The area of the operation consists of two buildings, destined by the project to be temporary student residences and communal areas.