CRACO: RUINS COME BACK TO LIFE MA Architecture and Urbanism 2019/2020 Manchester School of Architecture HANG YANG 19087614
Thesis Project Title: Craco: Ruin back to life No of Pages: From Jan 2020 - Aug 2020
Hang Yang 19087614 yh243070126@outlook.com +447421114173 Totur: David Chandler James Dyson
MA Architecture and Urbanism 2019/2020 Manchester School of Architecture
ABSTRACT
Craco is located in the Italian region of Basilicata, in the Province of Matera.About 25 miles from Taranto Bay, on the instep of boot-shaped Italy. It has a long history, dating back as far as 1060. As a result of the war, thousands of local people fled to the United States and other places, and after frequent geological disasters, they were completely abandoned and became a ghost town. Now the bleak but beautiful town has become a Hollywood favorite.
The main purpose of the design was to restore Craco's dynamism and economy. Craco is now dominated by the tourism industry, but this industry cannot support Craco's economic development. The reason is that Craco is famous as a ghost town. Facilities for sightseeing are scarce and provide only a safe tour route. At the same time, CrACO's inadequate infrastructure and lack of visitors create a vicious circle. What the design needs to do is to change the thinking and transform the past tourist attractions. At the same time, seek new economic development possibilities and combine them with tourism. One of the principles of the design was to avoid modernizing Craco to preserve its original look.
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CONTENT
[ INTRODUCTION ]
BASILICATE SITE AND KEY ELEMENTS ANALYSIS PHOTOGRAPHY SITE ANALYSIS TIMELINE AND EVENTS MIGRATION AND EX-RESIDENT'S VOICE KEY ELEMENTS INDUSTRY ANALYSIS TRANSPORTATION ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
[ DESIGN PROCESS ]
SITE NODES POTENTIAL PRECEDENTS INSPIRTION DESIGN PROCESS GIVE THE LAND BACK
[ PROPOSAL ]
DESIGN SITE PLAN SECTION OF STRUCTURE DETIAL OF STRUCTURE VIEW OF THE SYSTEM FUNCTION ANALYSIS ROUTE ANALYSIS VIEW OF ENTRANCE VIEW OF PLATFOEM VIEW OF STREET
Craco is a ghost town and comune in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. It was abandoned towards the end of the 20th century due to natural disasters. The abandonment has made Craco a tourist attraction and a popular filming location. In 2010, Craco was included in the watch list of the World Monuments Fund.
CRACO, MATERA, BASILICATE
BASILICATE SITE AND KEY ELEMENTS ANALYSIS
PHOTOGRAPHY SITE ANALYSIS
TIMELINE AND EVENTS
MIGRATION AND EX-RESIDENT'S VOICE
KEY ELEMENTS
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
TRANSPORTATION
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
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[ INTRODUCTION ]
PROVINCE OF MATERA, BASILICATE
as far as the context analysis is concerned, one cannot forget the proximity of the area to Matera. Matera is a city that was reborn from its ruins. Matera is the symbol of the redemption of this part of Italy. After the First World War it was considered a “national disgrace”. Its historical houses had to be evacuated because of malaria. Now it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the 2019’s European capital of culture. It is a one- of –a- kind city. Matera’s landscape and “sassi” – literally “the stones”- are the elements that make it unique. The city is a maze of caves, grottoes and wells carved in the stones overhanging the gorge of Gravina. It is an archaic scenario standing out for its “painful beauty” as Carlo Levi stated in the forties. He considered Matera as monumental as Dante’s hell.
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SITE OVERVIEW
Walking along the streets of Craco is an experience that including the most skillful description fails to express. The echo of one’s steps, the sweet and intense perfume of fig leaves, the rustling of arid bushes in the wind. everything in Craco is a note of a greater and majestic composition of colors, vistas and sensations. Just a few sounds break the symphony of silence. Donkeys sporadically bray, black flocks of jackdaws circle over the Norman Tower, flies buzz in the warmest hours of the day in an incessant cry.
CRACO, MATERA, BASILICATE 3
40° 22'40.2"N 16° 26'23.4"E
CRA CO T OWN
RA
TE MA
Tourism
Film Religion History Agriculture CRA CO P E
SCH
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VE
I ER
N VO CA
IERA
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SITE ANALYSE
Residents still live in the old city on the west side of the site, and part of the site has been developed as a tourist attraction. However, due to the danger of landslides, visitors need to wear helmets when entering.
The cliff formed by the landslide caused the town to lose part of its road. There is only one entrance to this ruin, which has become the only safe tourist route.
AREA STILL IN USE
Except the ruins, the area still in use also includes parking lots, restaurants, passenger service centers and residential buildings. Craco does not have a complete public facility system, and lacks facilities such as banks and hotels, which also has an adverse impact on the development of local tourism. At the same time, the undeveloped relic area cannot be accessed, which greatly reduces the experience of tourists.
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TIMELINE AND EVENTS
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RESIDENTS MIGRATION
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Craco existing industry
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EXISTING INDUSTRY
The tourism industry The Craco government clearly wanted Craco to be a tourist destination.Craco is a very famous ghost town, but few people want to experience it.The reason is that tourism in southern Italy is less developed and other cities, such as Matera, are more famous than Craco.At the same time, Craco's urban development is not sophisticated enough to give visitors a good enough experience.For all these reasons, Craco failed to attract enough tourists, and tourism declined. The film industry Craco has a very unique and unique landscape, which makes it a choice for many films, especially religious ones.Craco's dilapidated historic buildings and strong religious atmosphere make craco a favorite of many directors.The most famous of these is the Passion of the Christ. Public facilities Craco's commercial facilities are few and far between, numbering almost zero.Satellite maps show that the only restaurants are closed. This also reflects the decline of Craco's tourism industry.Craco didn't have a bank, probably because Craco didn't have a place to spend it.The parking lot is still available to accommodate bus Tours. In general, Craco's existing industry is not enough to support the development of this ghost town. To restore the vitality of the city, it is necessary to adjust the industry.
Three different sights from the ruin
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TRANSPORTATION
Bari is the closest city to Craco to have an international airport. Bari serves almost every country in Europe, so bari is almost the only city to travel to southern Italy.
There are two stages that go from Bari to Craco.The first stage is from Bari to Ferrandina by train.Ferrandina station is the nearest railway station to Craco. Then all you have to do is rent a car and drive from Ferrandina to Craco. It's not a long drive to Craco, about 30 minutes away.Or you can get off at Matera and drive an hour to Craco. Craco has no public transportation available, and the only way to get there is by car hire or tour bus.This is one of the reasons why Craco's tourism industry is underdeveloped.
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MAIN ISSUE AND CHALLENGES
Landslides have become one of the most serious problems in the area.The cliff formed by the landslide not only destroyed the original structure of houses and towns, but also cut off the original traffic lines in the area. Craco takes tourism as its main industry, but the economic benefits of tourism are not enough to support urban development.There are not many tourist attractions at Craco to attract enough tourists. At the same time, the lack of public transportation and supporting public facilities makes the travel experience not good.The main design challenge was redesigning Craco to revitalize it.
ECONOMIC ISSUE
F e w e r t h a n 2 0 0 p e o p l e l i v e i n C ra co ' s remaining towns.Public facilities are limited to two restaurants and a parking lot for a small number of visitors, and restaurants are currently closed.Craco's economy relies heavily on state help and some of its services revenues.The lack of financial resources is one of craco's main problems, and the current tourism industry cannot support craco's development. So Craco needed to find a new industry.
PROTECT RUIN
The significance of the site to craco residents is so great that the original appearance of the site should be fully respected during the design process, and the damaged site should not be demolished.The new landscape should be adapted to the ruins.One of the design challenges was how to use the remains of the landslide area, one of which Craco did not open because the landslide made the whole area very dangerous.Unfortunately, this area is the most distinctive part of Craco, and how to reuse this area is one of the design issue.
INDUSTRY ISSUE
The area is open to visitors.The area is complete with streets and buildings, but they are not stable enough due to landslides, so visitors need to wear helmets to enter.This area presents a complete Craco town, with winding roads and stone buildings typical of craco cities.All that is needed for this area is how to make it more suitable for tourists to enter and visit.
Design has changed a lot from Studio B to Studio C due to changing design ideas and the discover y of new key clues.The design began as an attempt to modernize Craco and gradually evolved to preserve its wild-like appearance. A description of how the design is generated and these key clues will be presented in this chapter.
HOW DOES THE DESIGN HAPPEN
SITE NODES POTENTIAL
PRECEDENTS INSPIRTION
DESIGN PROCESS
GIVE THE LAND BACK
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[ DESIGN PROCESS ]
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1
2
5 4 9
6
7
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8
SITE NODES 1
3
2 4
5 9
6
7
8
1
Safe house
3
Dead end
2 4 5
6
7 8 9
Cliff
Ruin
Tower Squre
Entrance Road
Church
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POTENTIAL
Matera DOC wine logo
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Matera DOC wine region
Section of the street
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PRECEDENTS AND INSPIRTION
2 LEMON STRUCTURE 1 NINFA GARDEN 3 STRUCTURE SYSTEM
1 NINFA GARDEN
The NINFA Garden was my first case study.Ninfa Garden is also a ruin reconstruction case. What impressed me most is that its use of natural landscape makes the whole ruin look very original and brings new life to this forgotten place. 2 LEMON STRUCTURE
This picture of a lemon structure provided by my tutor gave me a lot of ideas when I decided to use landscape as the main means of transformation.Vines seem to be a good choice for decorating ruins. 3 STRUCTURE SYSTEM
This picture of a lemon stand provided by my tutor gave me a lot of ideas when I decided to use landscape as the main means of transformation.Vines seem to be a good choice for decorating ruins.
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MODEL AND SKETCHES
Most of my sketches were working on my grape arbor system.You can see That I tried to connect it to the foot of the mountain and the top of the mountain, and set up two or three green towers.It's a walkable system that can be climbed or planted by local people.
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DESIGN PROCESS
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Initial route
After landslide
Two different areas
Give the ‘Land’ back
Lift up the ‘Land’
Twist the ‘Land’
New route
Add more function
Final
GIVE THE LAND BACK
The new land consisted of a vast system of vines.The structure is interspersed with several functional areas, most of which are built within large ruins.The system attempts to return lost mountains and create new road systems and landscapes.This is undoubtedly a huge and challenging project, and the geological problems make the design more difficult.The design had to overcome several problems: preservation of monuments, rocky terrain, lack of water and dangerous cliffs.
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This is craco's most interesting area, and it's also the least utilized area.The reason is that this area is completely disconnected from the rest of the world.The area is inaccessible because of the collapse caused by the landslide, and any debris can be seen from the road or from the top of the mountain.
LANDSLIDE AREA, CRACO
DESIGN SITE PLAN
SECTION OF STRUCTURE
DETIAL OF STRUCTURE
VIEW OF THE SYSTEM FUNCTION ANALYSIS
ROUTE ANALYSIS
VIEW OF ENTRANCE VIEW OF PLATFOEM
VIEW OF STREET
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[ PROPOSAL ]
DESIGN SITE PLAN
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Cliff
Rock
VINES
The reconstruction design of the landslide area mainly revolves around vines.In contrast to the two site plans, the design fills a landscape void in the landslide area, creating new land with a massive landscape of vines covering the ruins. The design mainly considers the walking experience of tourists and the benefits of local residents.Craco itself was an agricultural city whose main industry has been transformed into tourism due to geological problems such as landslides.However, the development of local tourism is not perfect, despite the title of ghost town, but still lack of attraction.The design was primarily intended to preserve Craco's sense of wilderness, while bringing some economic resources to the local residents.Craco is one of the best wine regions in Italy, and there is no better industry for Craco than wine.
CURRENT SITE PLAN
SECTION OF THE STRUCTURE
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DETAIL OF THE STRUCTURE
Cat
Structure
Lightweight material
Platform
Agriculture Vines Window
Landscape Ruin
City explorer Ladder
Soil
Foundation
VIEW OF THE STRUCTURE
ENTRANCE
TOWER
PLATFORM
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ELEVATION
74 M
64 M
0M
SOUTH ELEVATION GREEN TOWER
EAST ELEVATION 33
TOWER
ROAD
FUNCTION AND ROUTE ANALYSIS
JUNCTION
CLIFF NEW ROUTE
PUBLIC SPACE
EXISTING ROUTE TOWER
NEW ROUTE
JUNCTION ENTRANCE PUBLIC SPACE
ENTRANCE
TOWER
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ENTRANCE
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WALK IN THE STRUCTURE
The design interspersed a new road with the vines.The road connects the corner of the mountain to the top of it.At the same time, the new road form is similar to the original road, retaining the sense of twists and turns of the original road.The design is likely to incorporate the new part into the existing town, returning the lost mountain and town to Craco
VINE PLATFORM
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STAY IN THE STRUCTURE
This huge system hides some public and interior Spaces. The public space is a landscape platform for visitors to rest and view the landscape.The interior space is a wine tasting room, transformed from relics.The presence of these Spaces enriches the functional composition of the whole system, making the walking experience more interesting.
STREET
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STAY ON THE STREET
The renovation of streets is mainly for the addition of functions.Make full use of the original housing system, repair the broken roof and walls with glass, reduce the damage to the original features.The added features are mainly commercial.
CRACO: RUINS COME BACK TO LIFE