Cadaveri Eccellenti - Strategy by Marco Iembo

Cadaveri Eccellenti Design Research

Master Degree Thesis Academic year 2018/2019 Student: Marco Iembo Mentor: Matteo Umberto Poli Politecnico di Milano AUIC School Course of study in Architecture

Contents

Territorial Analysis

Framework The elemenst of the territory Features of urban development

Strategy Method Building protestantism Interventions-Actions-Cases Timeline

Exploratory Design Reworking local architectural tradition Archipelago Baglio Productive courtyards Re-appropriation of the sea front Tonnara Reconfiguration of the seafront Hybrids The religious buildings Plan, sections and atmospheres

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28 33 34 38

42 44 46 48 50 52 56 60 62 66

territorial analysis

Framework

The cementification of the western Sicilian coast.

The coastal landscape dominated by endless and disordered agglomerations of small houses is part of the contemporary Mediterranean coastal landscape, as are the wild coasts, the ancient historical centers on the sea and the tourist resorts. Also Sicily, therefore, contributes to the image of a continuum of cement which, in various forms and types, has irreversibly changed the Mediterranean coast. However, if one exceeds the romantic attitude for what has been, one can realize that, however, this landscape offers the opportunity to be rethought; a challenge that is not exclusively the prerogative of urban planners and architects, as it was in the second half of the 1900s, but of all those categories of professionals who can contribute to a change through their contribution; because the project in these places is transversal, it exceeds the categories, or perhaps mitigates them. The design approach that will be developed in these pages will not be strictly architectural but will use architecture, typology, urban stratification, as tools for regeneration not only urban but social. The first part of the research is aimed at the study of the territory that plays a fundamental role in the formation of â&#x20AC;&#x153;abusive coastal citiesâ&#x20AC;?; real urban centers if we consider the density of the built, which however does not follow an equal number of services and residents, being mostly populated places during the summer season. Moreover, being in Sicily, the observation of the territory becomes fundamental given its topographical features that highlight a territory that is strongly discontinuous and vulnerable at the same time, as history has shown us. Alcamo Marina is the coastal hamlet of the municipality of Alcamo (TP), a city of foundation located at the foot of Mount Bonifato which thanks to its 825m dominates the Gulf of Castellamare. We are in western Sicily, one of the areas that has a percentage of cementification among the highest on the island. One could define the entire coastline that goes from Palermo to Mazara Del Vallo, excluding the Zingaro Reserve, as a single widespread city, which takes on different names along the way but which has the same architectural and urban features. Alcamo Marina is located in the middle of the Gulf of Castellammare, bordered to the south by the municipality of Castellammare del Golfo, a city of Spanish foundation that shows in its plan the rigor of the Aragonese tracks; and to the north from Punta Raisi, just outside Palermo. Observing the territory that extends from Alcamo to Alcamo Marina and then to the coast, it is noted that it is marked by watercourses that before pouring into the gulf furrow the land generating a series of ridges to the negative that link the share of the Alcamo with that of Alcamo Marina, lowering itself with a linear trend up to a distance of about 30 meters from the coast, where there is a rapid descent towards the sea that from a height of 40/45 meters leads to the level of the road SS187 and then to the shoreline . It is interesting to note how the topography has influenced the construction that from the compact link of Alcamo is dismembered along the ridges taking advantage of the flat area located at the apex of them, and then thiken again, but in totally disordered manners, near the sea: a cluster of houses today called Alcamo Marina.

Palermo Golfo di Castellammare

Trapani

Alcamo

scale 1:30 000

1.a Orography of the territory

scale 1:30 000

1.b Urbanization of the territory

2.a The buildings develop along the ridges that extend from the coast to the flat area on which Alcamo lies. The urban fabric has different densities due mainly to the proximity to the sea and the presence of infrastructures. As can be seen in image 2.b, the territory presents a discontinuous profile made up of valleys and ridges that regulates only near the coast.

Mediterranean Sea

Alcamo

2.b sezioni territoriali 1:1000

OROGRAPHY Morphologic Substratum : virgin territory.

The elements of the territory

The Anthropization of the”virgin territory” analyzed by layers.

To understand the complexity of the territory and the relationship that this has with its anthropization it is necessary to isolate its main components. This analysis aims to unveil the possible causes that have generated the chaos of today’s construction, the urban facts that have generated the expansion towards the sea of an urban nucleus defined as that of Alcamo. The starting point is the orography, what could be called the “virgin territory”, which as already highlighted has had a fundamental influence on the urbanization of the area and above all on the development of the city of foundation, Alcamo, placed on a pallet of travertine, an ideal plateau at the foot of Mount Bonifato. Alcamo, in fact, represents a medieval city that, like many other realities of western Sicily, has been influence by the Arabs constructive knowledge. Observing the plan of the medieval historical center of Alcamo, one can notice a very rigid Cartesian structure, anomalous for the times; and this thanks to the pre-existing Arab tracks. Its subsequent expansion until the nineteenth century took place in an orderly manner, almost without continuity solutions. The element is the ridges that from Alcamo stretch out towards the coast. They are fingers that are furrowed by rivers and rivers that flow into the Mediterranean. These elements present a flat central part, which has undergone a sparse urbanization; it is a steep course on the sides that reaches the bed of the streams that run through them. A sign of the important anthropization consists of the great infrastructures that connect Palermo with south-western Sicily, we talk about the Palermo - Mazara del Vallo motorway and the railway line that extends to Trapani, now underutilized. These elements have certainly influenced the urban development of the late ‘900, and in the case of Alcamo Marina the railway is the only element that orders part of the building expansion that affects the coast; a sort of impassable limit to which the crazy building speculation had to adapt. The carriageable roads at right angles to the coast that cut the ridges longitudinally are actually traced historical agricultural tracts. They were small streets bordered on the sides by agricultural lots, mainly vineyards that from the road descended to the valley. Today they are the backbone of the building expansion that has affected this part of the territory, and therefore the generators of that hidden structure that, at least in this portion of the territory gives an order to the built. Finally, the last element is the coast, a cluster of houses that climbs up the slope of the ridge up to the railway, and overcomes it by forming a parallel line of houses on the beach, located on the now imperceptible coastal dunes.

Features of urban development

Diversity of the urban fabric in relation to the topography.

As already highlighted in the analysis of territorial levels, the built and topography have a strong link. The fabrics that are found along the urban development from the city of Alcamo to the coast are mainly three, depending on whether you are near the town, in the agricultural area or close to the coast. The first variation of fabric that meets is that placed on the edge of the municipality of Alcamo; it is typical of the building expansion of the second half of the 20th century, which sees a sort of urban sprawl consisting of independent multi-storey buildings, industrial warehouses and not places. Here the difficult coexistence between contemporary and historical building emerges, an absence of continuity in the constructive tradition, in the typology that actually created a small suburb in the inhabited center with small dimensions. The second fabric meets forward into the agricultural territory, along the tracts that connect Alcamo with its coastal village. The fabric in this area is not dense and even in the more built up areas it does not reach the density that is found on the coast. The reason is mainly given by the fact that this area has remained in a sort of â&#x20AC;&#x153;limboâ&#x20AC;? does not enjoy the same tourist attraction of the coast and is not desirable from the commercial point of view not being connected efficiently with Alcamo. In addition, the highway creates a clear limit, breaking the ridge into two portions, thus affecting the continuity of the building. Finally, the third type of fabric is coastal: dense and disordered. The state road and the railway constitute as already highlighted a net limit, which however has been validated over time. If we look at the fabric from above we can see that there is only one rule, that of the wildest building speculation that has divided lots according to economic logic, not considering the context. This is the fabric that needs an effective planning reflection that must be able to reread the deterioration of the status quo extrapolating the bridge to a urban and cultural regeneration of the area.

scale 1:20000

3.a The urban fabrics highlighted showed the variation in urban density that is encountered moving from the suburbs of Alcamo (4.a) to the agricultural territory (4.b) up to the overcrowding of the coastal strip (4.c).

4.a,b,c Urban tissues, from top to bottom: Suburs of Alcamo, agricultural territory, and coastal strip.

strategy

Method

A strategy for the illegal settelments.

The illegal building is a socio-economic phenomenon that has affected Italy and particularly the southern regions in the decades following the second post-war period. The abusive heritage represents the document of this period, so it deserves to be preserved in the limits in which it does not compromise the surrounding landscape. Alcamo, like many others in the urban centers of western Sicily, preserves traces of the different cities that have followed one another over time: the Arab, Medieval, Norman, Aragonese, Bourbon, etc. Despite the skepticism that each new kingdom or era brought towards the previous one. This expansion without solutions of continuity continued until the nineteenth century, before the advent of the modern movement and its prefabricated building of which the local underworld abused under the distracted eyes of an absent state. Aldo Rossi in the Architecture of the City suggests how the form of urban artifacts was seen as the foundation of the architecture of the city; each singular intervention had a clearly articulated relationship to the overall social and political context. The city is considered as the manifestation of collective memory, composed of different historical fabrics that reflect the social and political context of a given epoch. The abusive city is a branch of the contemporary city that, however, does not contemplate the character of the community while expressing the collective memory of a given historical period. When we talk about abusive cities, we talk about agglomerations of individual individual interventions that do not have strong relations with the context. On the one hand, these nuclei are the emblem of individualism protracted by individuals who have replaced the interest for the public good for their own family. However, these same places tell the story of the sacrifices and the perverse link with the land of origin of all those individuals who after the Second World War have sought economic fortune far from their roots; a common history, albeit in different ways, to a large part of the Mediterranean.

Expansion untill the 15th century

Expansion untill the 16th century

Expansion untill the 17th century

Expansion untill the 18th century

Expansion untill 1941

Expansion untill 1968

Expansion untill 1994

Expansion untill 2003

Expansion untill the 1858

5.a The urban fabric of Alcamo (scale 1:10000) is constituted, as often happens in Italian historic centers, by pieces of cities dating back to different periods and which, however, until the second half of the twentieth century, coexisted in harmony without solutions of continuity. The coexistence of different civilizations is a figure of Sicilian architecture. Alcamo was originally a small medieval center that with the advent of Spanish domination, saw its perimeter expand, reaching a fair size until the Second World War. The fragmented periphery is the result of the contemporaneity that even in this context is struggling to live with tradition.

Alcamo Marina facilities Hotel & holiday homes Restaurants/bars Religious places Supermarkets Sports facilities Police stations Municipal offices Postal offices Libraries Cinemas Markets Schools Museums

124 8 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6.a Accommodation facilities in Alcamo Marina. Although Alcamo Marina does not represent a desired tourist destination, many houses have been used as holiday homes and bed and breakfasts. Accommodation services are the only services existing in the area. Other types of services are minimarkets, tobacconists, bars and restaurants, all mostly seasonal.

7.a Commercial activities are mostly related to the summer season. This is due to the fact that the population of Alcamo Marina drastically decreases from the summer season to winter. The houses present in this area are second homes to be used during the summer months and this therefore prevents the formation of a true community.

legenda Abandoned buildings Irregular buildings Empty plots 150m constraint of construction Hydrogeological risk Water flows

8.a Alcamo Marina current condition.

Strategy: Building Protestantism Strategy: Building Protestantism

The process of building amnesty that took place from 1985 onwards guaranteed the complete acquittal from the crime of building abuse in exchange for the payment of an oblation to the state coffers; a real sale of indulgences promoted by the state with the purpose of making cash, sacrificing the Italian landscape. The proposed strategy tries to subvert this obsolete policy that has proved ineffective from different points of view: The of building amnesty place from 1985 guaranteed thetocomplete acquittal from the crimeof fromprocess the environmental point of that view,took given the increase inonwards the number of abuses; the administrative one because of building abuse in exchange for the payment of an oblation to the state coffers; a real sale of indulgences promoted the multitude of inottemperate practices present in the municipal offices; and above all financial, since the sums of by the state with theby purpose of making cash, sacrificing the Italian landscape.of the urbanization works necessary for the money collected the municipalities are not sufficient for the realization The proposedofstrategy tries nucleuses. to subvert this obsolete policy that has proved ineffective from different points of view: regeneration the abusive from the environmental point of view, given the increase in the number of abuses; to the administrative one because of the multitude of inottemperate practices present in the municipal offices; and above all financial, since the sums of money collected by the municipalities are not sufficient for the realization of the urbanization works necessary for the regeneration of the abusive nucleuses. Current situation

Strategy

Current situation

Strategy

Alcamo Marina, like most of the abusive realities on the Sicilian coast, presents an urban landscape made up of different degrees of legality: the building corpus consists of about 8000 single and two-family houses, most of them isolated on a lot. A good part of this heritage falls within the absolute ban of building within 150 meters from the coast sanctioned by the regional law of 1976, and by law they should be demolished. However the lack of funds does not allow their demoliAlcamo Marina, likeismost of the abusive realities the Sicilian coast, presentspart an urban landscape made for up amnesty of different tion. Another case constituted by illegal housesonscattered in the innermost for which the request degrees of legality: the building corpus consists of about 8000 single and two-family houses, most of them isolated was never presented and therefore partly confiscated by the municipality. Finally we find abusive or legalized houseson a lot. part of this heritage fallsbuilt within absolute banproximity of building 150 meters coast sanctioned builtAingood hydro-geological risk places onthe or in excessive to within watercourses and from finallythe some unfinished or by the regional law ofbuildings 1976, and by law they should be demolished. However the lack of funds does not allow their demolidecommissioned scattered along the coast. tion. Another case is constituted by illegal houses scattered in the innermost part for which the request for amnesty was presented and into therefore partly the municipality. Finally we find abusive or legalized houses The never strategy tries to take account the confiscated multitude ofby situations listed, providing specific resolutions for each case. The built in hydro-geological risk places built on or in excessive proximity to watercourses and finally some unfinished or lowest common denominator of all interventions is a subversion of the process that replaces to the complete municipal decommissioned buildings scattered along the management of the problem a partnership thatcoast. sees groups of citizens, and associations collaborate with the municipality for the management and use of funds to be allocated to works designed to improve the status of illegal settlements. The strategy to take account the multitude of situations listed, association providing specific resolutions each case. The basic roletries of the trial into lies in the district committee, a sort of citizen that has the task offor acquiring missing lowest common denominator all interventions a subversion that replaces to the complete offers by using them, togetherof with private funds is and public aid, of forthe theprocess different projects, following a scale of municipal intervenmanagement the problem partnershipitself. that sees groups of citizens, and associations collaborate with the municipalition prioritiesof drawn from theacommunity ty for the management and use of funds to be allocated to works designed to improve the status of illegal settlements. The basic role of the trial lies in the district committee, a sort of citizen association that has the task of acquiring missing offers by using them, together with private funds and public aid, for the different projects, following a scale of intervention priorities drawn from the community itself.

Actors

Actors Comunity Land Trust

Municipality of Alcamo

Regione Sicilia

European Union

Squatters

Landowners

Needy Families

Entrepreneurs

Comunity Land Trust

Municipality of Alcamo

Regione Sicilia

European Union

Squatters

Landowners

Needy Families

Entrepreneurs

Intervention on the existing building stock 1_Assisted Reuse The owners of crumbling and underused properties can agree to regularize them "for free" in exchange for transferring the house to public programme of rents. The houses are assigned to needy families, chosen according to the range of needs from the municipality. The assigned families, in exchange for the convenient rent, have to carry out a series of maintenance works aimed at improving the architectural condition of the building. This strategy aims to conserve and regenerate the underutilized assets, decreeing on the other hand an improvement in the urban image of the place.

2_Entrepreneurship and services The owners of homes that already went through the process of amnesty can contribute to the improvement of the service network by selling part of the ground floor of their homes, favoring greater permeability. The municipality and the Region of Sicily can incentivize this process by reducing taxation to those who decide to cede part of their home or granting tax relief to those who decide to change the function of the ground floor from residential to entrepreneurial. The district committee and the municipality can decide whether to keep the space acquired as a public space or to sell it to private individuals or associations that provide services for the community.

3_Activating abandoned spaces The vacant lots acquired improperly, the skeletons and the buildings constitute a network that can be activated and transformed into public spaces and primary and secondary urbanization. This may be an opportunity to rethink the use of these precarious spaces in an unprecedented way through their securing and the use of new ecologies. Projects can be funded by the city committee, municipality, region, European Union or by private actors with the consent of the community.

4_Demolition and relocation The demolition tout court will leave room for the functional demolition, which will free up some hydrogeological risk areas that currently put the families who live there at risk. These can be moved to new homes that can be built in places that need a consolidation of the building as the strip of ridges that connect Alcamo to Alcamo Marina.

New Interventions The strategy involves the design of a series of hybrid buildings that collect public functions and serve as infrastructure for water collection, energy production, waste recycling and agricultural production and storage.

1_Public buildings +

The strategy involv gs that collect pub for water collectio agricultural produ

Degrees of illegality - Cases I’ve already obtained the amnesty for my house: what can I do? 1. I can transfer a part of the building (and land) to the municipality which, through partial demolition works, can free the soil and realize public space projects that redevelop the land in some strategic points of the area (the coast).

2. I can assign part of the property or its entirety to a company / start-up site; that contributes to diversify the vocation of the area that today is residential, with the exception of some seasonal services.

What do I gain in return? By giving up part of the property, I can take advantage of tax incentives regarding both the taxation of the property and the taxation on work, in the event that the house is converted into a business / company; in case the owner decides to sell the ground floor of the building for the realization of public space, I can increase the cubic meters of the building by raising a floor and paying reduced housing taxes.

I’ve already obtained the amnesty for my house, but I don’t use it: what can I do? 1. I can lend it to the municipality so that it is included in a social housing program that guarantees convenient rents for the groups of citizens who need it. Lessors in return undertake to carry out maintenance work that ensures that the building does not fall into degradation.

What do I gain in return? By giving up the property I contribute to its conservation thanks to the assisted reuse. This also improves the perception of the area that sees the number of empty and dilapidated buildings decrease and increase the number of residents. Furthermore, if you decide to start a business or business, you can get tax relief and incentives.

My house is unauthorized: what can I do? 1. I can transfer it to the municipality so that it is included in a social housing program that guarantees rented rents for the groups of citizens who need it.

2. I can transfer a considerable part of the property (and land) to the municipality which, through partial demolition works, will free the soil and realize public space projects that rehabilitate the soil in some strategic points of the area (the coast).

3. I can maintain the building as long as a considerable part of it or its entirety becomes the seat of a company or start-up of one’s own or of a third party; that contributes to diversify the function of the area that today is residential, with the exception of some seasonal services.

4. I can demolish it autonomously in order to maintain the soil and preserve some of the materials of the demolished asset.

What do I gain in return? By giving up the property, I can maintain it and prevent it from being demolished or seized because it is abusive. Expenses resulting from the demolition are subsequently charged to the owner of the illegal property. In addition, the property becomes a source of new income, both through its inclusion in a program of subsidized rentals and in the event that a business is launched. Finally, self-demolition allows you to keep possession of the land (if owned) so you can reuse it in the future for the construction of activities other than residence. 36

Actors

The community land trust is the fulcrum of the new management system of funds interested in the redevelopment of abusive realities. The district committees, according to the most incumbent needs, and through a sort of timeline of the works, realize the different design steps. In addition, the members of these consortia also carry out an awareness raising of the consequences that the unauthorized generates on the ecosystem and on the quality of life of these places.

Institutions play a fundamental role in the new process of recovering abusive realities. The institutions act on different action plans, from the local one that primarily calls into question the municipality and the Region that represent the bodies that more than others must follow and control the process of fundraising and their implementation. In addition to local institutions, national and European institutions also play a fundamental role in the process of establishing and promoting calls for tenders and for allocating funds necessary for the implementation of programs that provide for the construction of low environmental impact infrastructures and public facilities using sustainable technologies.

Entrepreneurs represent the entire group of individuals who invest in the construction of infrastructures or who decide to renovate existing homes both owned and rented by third parties to start up small businesses. The aim is to offer services that work throughout the year and give the area a vocation that is not only residential and seasonal. Those who decide to start a business can enjoy tax breaks and incentives provided by institutional bodies.

The non-governmental organizations will program the re-use of various buildings that will be used for building agreements for some sections of the population. The organizations will also undertake to follow the tenants in the construction of works for the maintenance of leased buildings. Finally, the volunteers will have the task of sensitizing and involving the local population in order to trigger a real process of self-awareness capable of regenerating these places.

Needy families that are part of a contracted building program will be included in the under-utilized buildings with flat rates. These families will participate in a process of assisted re-use that involves the construction by the tenants of a series of works to maintain the property in exchange for reduced rents. The members of the families, together with the voluntary organizations, will also take care of the gardens and common spaces.

The citizens ( both living in regular or irregular houses ) will be the protagonists of the change since the members of the consortia will be that through the debates public discussions will draft the program of the priority works to be carried out. Citizens will also have to continue the work of raising awareness on the issues concerning the impact that abusive houses have on the ecosystem and the beauty of the Sicilian territory. Finally, the citizens will also be those small entrepreneurs who will challenge the rebirth of Alcamo Marina by investing in small businesses and businesses..

Professionists in field of design, engineering, urban planning, landscape represent another fundamental category in the process of urban regeneration. In fact the interventions on the existing with the new buildings / infrastructures will be followed by a group of technicians both during the planning and execution phases. This process also allows a sort of training for citizens who decide to take advantage of rented rents in exchange for renovations.

Step 1

Reactivating the empty spaces and the coastal dunes.

The first phase of the project aims to redevelop existing gaps and to reconstitute the natural system of coastal dunes that characterize this stretch of coastline. This type of intervention also aims to trigger a process of construction and strengthening of public space, which, as we can see from the analysis, is almost inexistent. The redevelopment of empty spaces between the enclosures of the houses will be the instrument that will allow to combine the development of arboreal essences and local vegetation with agricultural production and economic development. Also the regeneration of the coastal dunes is seen as an intervention to strengthen the public space. Today the dune system has been largely compromised by the cementification of the coastline, however it is composed of a series of vegetative essences typical of the Mediterranean scrub such as agave, figs, prickly pears, mulberries, reeds etc ... A restoration of the original fauna would at least partially restore the beauty of the coast in question.

S sa tart le o of f t pa he rt fir s o st f e en xis ter tin pr g ise as s se th ts an ks to

S pr tart oc o es f th s e

As sis te

Re us e

th e

Timeline

Step 2

Start of the gradual process of transfering of the private space along the coast.

As we can unfortunately see, today most of the Mediterranean coast has been colonized by rows of houses, resorts and tourist villages that have sacrificed kilometers of scenic beauty in exchange for individual and economic well-being. Access to the beach of Alcamo Marina is difficult, despite the extent of the shoreline is considerable. This is due to the presence of a few public accesses, which actually represent the negative of private space; what has advanced to the appropriation process. The strategy provides for a gradual reconquest of the beach thanks to a virtuous process of transfer of private space by the owners (mostly abusive) of the houses on the beach. The sale of the private space on the ground floor takes place for the purpose of obtaining tax relief and incentives to start up a business / own or third party business. The final result of this action will be a mixture of public space and domesticity.

en vir on m en -

tr an sf er in g of th e

O ta ver l i al m li pa m ct pro ve m en to ft he

vir tu ou s

an d C fa ons ci tr lit u ie ct s o io n no th f e ba be th ac ing h se rv ic es

C pr ons oc ol es ida s tio n

Step 3

Construction of the first â&#x20AC;&#x153;infrastructure buildingsâ&#x20AC;?.

The first real step towards a radical improvement of the current situation will happen with the construction of the first infrastructure buildings that, thanks to certain processes, will help to reduce the environmental pollution that today is perpetrated without restraint in this area. These light infrastructures will be used for water storage and purification, electricity production, waste composting, monitoring of pollution parameters, etc. These are buildings that will be built according to the future needs of the community, which they will follow a priority scale drawn up by the Community Land Trust that will decide how to invest the resources. In addition, these eco-sustainable buildings will be home to public functions to date completely non-existent in this fraction of the municipality of Alcamo. These will be services that will allow de-seasonalization of the coastline and favor the allocation of families throughout the year.

exploratory design

Reworking local architectural tradition Baglio, Tonnara and religious buildings.

The design strategy is based on the reinterpretation of some local architectural models such as: the baglio, the tonnara and the religious buildings present in the alcamo fabric. These buildings are seen as extraordinary examples of architecture and through their typology and use undergone over time they testify the strong relationship between Sicilians and the landscape, the sea and the sacred space. Re-reading these architectural examples in a design key can help to restore some principles of sharing public space that today seem forgotten, overwhelmed by the most cruel privatization. The Sicilian historical heritage appears extraordinarily rich both from an architectural and urban point of view, in an era in which urban planning did not yet exist. Looking at the Alcamo plant for example, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visible a balance between the full and empty blocks and therefore a project awareness. Modernity has not been able to relate to this heritage, but we can still refer to history, drawing its settlement principles, reusing them to respond to todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems. The three examples examined are located in three different contexts, the agricultural landscape, the coast and the city; therefore they are paradigmatic for all the interventions foreseen by the planning strategy. The baglio is a point in the landscape, an autonomous building that could be assimilated to a sort of fortified farm, because privacy has always been a feature of Sicilian life, therefore the central coutryard is surrounded by thick stone walls that protect it from the outside. A historical contradiction, which sees the Sicilian people so close in the public life and so reserved in the private one. The relationship with the sea and with fishing has also undergone great deformation over the years. Fishing and tuna slaughter is a historical activity in Sicily, which was performed inside the tonnara; buildings usually made up of an agglomeration of buildings with immediate views of the sea. Here the main activity was that of the tuna slaughter, illegal today, which took place orginally in the space between the building and the sea, usually on stone platforms that constituted a sort of large common working space. Finally, the religious buildings that still today in Sicily, as in Southern Italy, and in Southern Europe, are the fulcrum of the life of any community, from the largest to the smallest. Alcamo, like many other Sicilian centers, presents an apparatus of religious buildings of great architectural quality. What characterizes them is the variety with which they connect to the external (public) space, through cloisters, arcades, squares, steps, altitude jumps, etc. One wonders where all this constructive quality has ended up today, above all by observing passages from a new city like Alcamo Marina, where the private space does not interact with the public space; where public space can be defined inexistent and where the sea is just an idea.

9.a,b,c Local references: The Baglio, the tonnara, the religious buildings.

1. Archipelago

Reactivation of urban voids; scale 1:5000

The first phase of the project foresees the reactivation of the vacant areas included among the private houses. These areas are mainly divided into â&#x20AC;&#x153;propertyâ&#x20AC;? lots that for some reason have not yet been built, and vacant lots, mostly occupied by local vegetation. The goal is to regenerate the coast in a timely manner, activating different micro realities, with the aim of triggering a chain reaction. The space that is activated is transformed from a void and therefore an obstacle to public life to a real space of conjunction between the houses. The model taken as a reference is that of the baglio, a fortified farm with a courtyard in the center, which was the common space of the building. The bagli were inhabited by the owners and the peasants and saw on the ground floor a whole series of forage environments, warehouses and rooms for the processing of raw materials. This principle of productive space enclosed by a curtain of buildings is taken up in the strategy. The voids are converted into public spaces and dedicated to agricultural production. The conversion of these places into public and productive spaces is not instantaneous; as already explained in the strategy, only some voids will be activated through the processes of partial or such disposal of the buildings; subsequent voids will be designed as this virtuous process spreads.

Il Baglio

A fortified farm.

The baglio is a widespread rural building in Sicily that can be assimilated to a fortified farm with a large courtyard. The birth of the baglio coincides with the “colonizing” phenomenon of vast internal areas, abandoned and uncultivated, of Sicily, by the local nobles, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Spain, which at the time dominated in Sicily, had established the concession of a “Licentia Populandi”, through which the Sicilian nobles even found real villages near the original building, what we now call the city of foundation . The baglio was a large farm inhabited, as well as by the same landowners, even farmers who worked there all year or seasonally. It was therefore equipped with numerous lodgings, but also with stables and deposits for crops. The typical scheme of the baglio included a building with an introspective character, that is, closed on the outside and with the openings all facing inside the courtyard. The perimeter walls, without openings, served as protection against intruders and criminals, allowing even a possible defense against enemy assaults. An entrance door allowed access to the large courtyard also to carriages and transport carriaggi. In general, a part of the building for housing purposes had one or more upper floors in which the “owner” and his family lived. The lower floors were intended for peasants and for the storage of provisions and fodder. Inside the courtyard were also the stables. Other rooms were used for the storage of work tools and as a shelter for the master carriages. The baglio almost systematically arise near water sources and in dominant positions, from where it is easy to control the territory, and have an exterior appearance of fortified places, with a few small external wooden windows, equipped with railings. Finally, it should be noted that a point-like and hermetic element like the baglio manages to shape the surrounding landscape through, the agricultural layouts and the narrow road system.

The influence of the baglio on the surrounding landscape

System of artifacts that generates a defined perimeter around the central courtyard

10.a : The baglio, scheme.

Productive courtyards

Energetic, agricultural and cultural production

Vineyard

Solar energy

Library

Orangery

2.Reappropriation of the sea front

Generating a continuous public space along the beach; scale 1:2500

start of the process

developing of the process

final configuration

La tonnara

Architecture of the Mediterranean.

The tonnara in Sicily are buildings for the bluefin tuna with the mattanza boast an ancient tradition and have been of great importance in the economy of the island in the past. Over the centuries they have been among the most flourishing and important in the Mediterranean. The fishing with the tonnara was introduced by the Arabs around the year 1000 and then continued by the Spaniards. In 1800 there was the maximum expansion, with the Florio family who came to own dozens of Sicilian tonnare. The mattanza is an ancient, traditional method of fishing for bluefin tuna, developed in the tuna, and widespread in particular throughout Sicily, proof that both on its western and eastern coast in ancient times there were tuna. With the arrival of the Normans in Sicily (from 1077 to 1194), the “fishing rights that prohibited tuna fishing to private individuals are regulated. Large fishing companies were administered directly by a real administrative office, mainly through taxes and duties. . Tonnare were given to feudal lords according to the merits acquired in the war field; these, moreover, had to support the Dioceses, the Sanctuaries and the Monasteries that were connected by devotion to the tuna fishery, with donations of fish and burdensome. The tuna traps then came into possession of large feudal families who made them extraordinary architectures. Sicilian tunas have different plants, but all have a fundamental characteristic, that is the proximity to the sea, sometimes mediated through large stone platforms. These platforms were the place where the tuna slaughter was practiced, so they were great collective spaces for work. Between Alcamo Marina and Castellamare del Golfo is one of the most important tonnara of Sicily: the tonnara Magazzinazzi. Before the construction of this tonnara however, there was another located in the middle of the gulf, where today we find “Via dell’Antica Tonnara”. Over time, the tonnara has fallen into disuse and over time its working environments have been divided into smaller particles to obtain numerous housing. The great plan on which the fishermen once gathered to work together with the mattanza of tuna, today appears to be erased by the fences that perimeter the space of individualism.

The location of the tonnara in the landscape

The large outdoor area for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;mattanzaâ&#x20AC;?

11.a The tonnara, scheme.

12.a La Vecchia tonnara of Alcamo Marina. Before the Tonnara Magazzinazzi was built, the only tonnara on the coast was located in Alcamo Marina. When this was abandoned approximately after the 1910s, the building began to undergo modifications and additions. The space was fragmented and the common area dedicated to the slaughter was further subdivided.

Original division

Suddivisione originale

Following subdivision

Suddivisione originale

Suddivisione successiva

Added volumes

Suddivisione successiva

Volumi addizionati

13.a,b,c from top to bottom: original plan of the Antica Tonnara, following subdivision of the building where the fomer warehouse and offices are turned into residential parcels; and finally the addition of new volumes to increment the sqm dedited to dwelling.

Reconfiguration of the seafront Enhancing the public space along the coast.

The interventions on the first row of buildings that overlooks the coast, called â&#x20AC;&#x153;underlinesâ&#x20AC;? due to the position at the bottom of the railway line, attempt to increase the percentage of public space and access to the beach. Today this row of houses constitutes an obstruction of access to the beach and prevents the existence of a continuous space of walk. The situation is very fragmented with the presence of houses ranging from 2 to 4 floors each surrounded by fences. The project seeks to increase public space by eliminating barriers and transforming the ground floor of houses into square meters dedicated to services, commerce and public equipment. The sale of the ground floor takes place as a result of advantages, mainly due to the maintenance of the house, re-entering this in the 150m of absolute building capacity. Moreover, when the owner decides to invest in an activity or in the creation of services for citizens, he can enjoy economic incentives. The killing of fences favors the birth of a continuous public hybrid space that mixes the features of urban and domestic space. A second intervention intervenes on unfinished items which are negatively affect the appearance of these places. Since the ground floor is sold, the possibility is created, at the moment in which there must already be the predisposition of the structure, ie the so-called call-up pillars, to the construction of a further floor. The built plan will be dedicated to the residential function and can be used to balance the number of square meters sold on the ground floor. The end result will be a continuous public space that maintains its characteristic of fragmentation given by the diversity of the architectural decoration of the artefacts, the cladding materials, the flooring and the greenery.

Turning the groundfloor into a public space for service for the community.

Completing the unfinished floors.

13.a,b Actions regarding the buildings overlooking the coast .

14.a Existing condition.

removing driveway

Locker room

Pharmacy Nursery

generating public space

restoring the vegetation

14.b Project.

14.a,b: the existing groundfloor of the existing housing became a space for the city (14.b ); this happens by demolishing the fences that enclose each house (14.b). Furthermore the vegetation is restored because the two existing street are removed in order to make room for continuous walkable seafront.

15.a Existing condition.

15.b Project.

15 a,b: The unfinished houses with exposed pillars are a feature of these kind of settelments and they affect negatively their overall perception. The strategy tries to improve the actual condition by giving the chance to those citizens who decide to give of transform the groundfloor of their houses to complete the unfinished levels and adding more sqm to their houses.

3. Hybrids

Public functions + light infrastructure.

2018

Beach volleyball court + changing rooms + stands

Ambulatory

Chapel?

Cinema?

Parking / market + restaurant

Rainwater collector

Agrumeto?

Theater?

Vegetable garden

Phytoremediation?

Market?

Soccer field + grandstand + changing rooms

Library?

Public pool?

Parking area?

Park?

Police Station?

Social housing?

City Hall?

Tank?

Waste water treatment plant?

Waste collection?

Electricity production?

Phytoremediation?

Nursery school?

Composting?

Post office?

Gli edifici religiosi

Edificio come diaframma tra spazio pubblico, semipubblico e privato.

The third model taken as a reference is the religious buildings set in the fabric of Alcamo. Looking at these buildings we see an extraordinary variety of architectural solutions that connect the public space of the street with the sacred space of religious buildings. Arcades, loggias, basements, vestibules, ramps are the elements of an architectural lexicon that has managed to impeccably manage the construction of public space, managing to give the right importance to what still represent the most importante buildings for the community. Once again Alcamo city of foundation is presented as a model to follow for the contemporary; religious buildings are isolated from the urban fabric by composing a taxonomy of “urban interiors”; foundation on which the design of the new infrastructure buildings that will fill the empty areas of Alcamo Marina is based. Also in this case the goal is to generate a public city, to think about a mixture of public, private and semi-private spaces that can be considered as the link between private spaces of the houses. There are two “pilot” buildings for Alcamo Marina: a clinic with a rainwater collection system and an olive grove, and a series of buildings on the beach that contain public recreational and bathing functions, now absent or private. As already analyzed previously, Alcamo Marina has no public functions and even those for bathing are private; therefore the chosen functions represent the necessity of today: the possibility of having an emergency room for health issues and the opportunity to be able to freely use the most important public space of seaside cities, the beach.

Cathedral Cloister

base connecting with the street

16.a Cathedral of S. Maria Assunta in Alcamo is one of the most eloquent examples of the relationship of some religious buildings with the city of Alcamo. The cathedral represents a filter between the city and the cloister; moreover, the relationship with the city is mediated by a low base that represents the connection between the most important religious building and the space of the city.

17.a Religious buildings in the historic center of Alcamo. It can be seen how the buildings are configured as a filter between two open spaces: the city and a semi-public courtyard or cloister. This mediation takes place through different architectural elements: the porch, the loggia, the wall, the vestibule, the basement. Scale 1:1000.

50 0

150 100

18.a Abaco of the religious buildings of Alcamo: it can be seen how the relationship with the open space is mediated by the public building that generates an urban interior with different intensity in which the sacred, the city and the private connect in a single entity.

Hybrid buildings + public seafront + productive courtyards Scale 1:1000

Ambulatory + rainwater purification + olive grove Scale 1:400

+7.00

+5.00

+0.00

19.a Ground floor plan: 1. Public square + orangery; 2. Ambulatory entrance; 3. Cane thicket; 4. Olive groove + public space.

20.a Roof Plan, scale 1:400

1. Phytoremediation The phytodepuration process takes place through the filtration of rainwater thanks to the presence of a reed bed inside the court. The water undergoes a first filtration and is then sent to collection tank.

2. Filtration The collection tank receives the filtered water from the soil and filters it further to then send it to the storage cisterns.

21.a Section of the ambulatory showing the process of collecting, storing and distributing the rain water; scale 1:400.

3. Storage The purified water is temporarily stored in the basement of the building inside water cisterns.

4. Supply Subsequently, the water is supplied to a reduce number of neighboring houses, thus providing eco-sustainable water supply.

Axonometry

22.a Axonometric view of the ambulatory: 1 olive grove, 2 canneto, 3 water tanks, 4 public square, 5 ambulatory building.

Beach facilities Groud floor; scale 1:400

3 2

23.a Ground floor of buildings on the beach: 1. Beach volleyball court + stands and changing rooms; 2. Restaurant, 3. Covered public space for parking, market, leisure, clubbing; 4 toilets + showers; soccer field + stands and changing rooms + info point.

Beach facilities Roof floor; scale 1:400

24.a roof plan of the buildings on the beach: 1. Pedestrian crossing; 2. Vertical distribution, 3. Square / lookout.

1. Fruition The main building on the beach is designed as a multi-purpose space, completely at the service of the community and flexible thanks to its free plan. In addition, its roof is configured as a raised square loking to the sea.

25.a Sections A and B show the relationship of the building with the railway and the highway 187.

2. Connection The new building on the beach represents in itself a light infrastructure that allows you to connect the area above the railway line to the beach.

Axonometry

Atmospheres Primo bacio

Atmospheres Briscola

Atmospheres Passeggiata

Atmospheres Chiacchiere