Tecnologie, sperimentazione e uso delle risorse tra progetto Moderno ed esigenze di riqualificazione

The first, on Materials of the Modern, investigated the relational dynamics between the design stage and the experimental materials used in Italy during the Fascism and the relative rehabilitation problems.1 The second programme, identified requirements, indicators and decision-making instru- ments for achievement of sustainability in retrofitting interventions, through the study of applied cases.2 The investigation of insulation materials led to the development of an analytical directory, identifying the origins of categories of products currently in favour in rehabilitation interventions. The initial research yielded contrasting data, beginning with the documented presence of original foundations in masonry, under super-structures in reinforced concrete, with sections and reinforcing now considered inadequate, and with presence of different materials and products for infill and floors, including tuff-stone, cinder block and fired brick. The research led to a strategy of energy rehabilitation dealing primarily with the shell, through addition of surfaces and subtraction of volumes: "addition" referring to application of layers of insulating panels from the interior, and "subtraction" referring to restoration of the closed-in loggias as interiorexterior tenement spaces, serving as buffers for mitigation of solar radiation. Conclusions, future prospects The issues briefly discussed in the current paper bring to light certain aspects of Modern "authorial" architectural heritage that are as yet little considered in rehabilitation strategies: response of interior spaces to principles of environmental comfort; presence of materials and products that offer technical-construction solutions of great interest, sometimes surprisingly close to contemporary environmental requirements; trends in optimisation of resources and "economy" of construction, for maximum results with minimum waste.