P2 GRADUATION PLAN Explore Lab 22 TU Delft Spring2016

student: Veronica Vecchi 4404114

mentors: Roberto Cavallo, René Van der Velde, Ype Cuperus Contents

Personal Information 3

Studio 3

Graduation Project 4

Process 7

Reflection 8

Time Planning 9

2 Personal information

Name Veronica Vecchi

Student number 4404114

Telephone number 0617392210

Email address [email protected]

Studio

Theme ExploreLab22

Teachers Roberto Cavallo, René Van der Velde, Ype Cuperus

Argumentation of choice of the studio

Explorelab is the unique graduation studio that let me to formulate myself the topic and the brief of my graduation research. Moreover I wished to develop my research in the place where I grew up and I left at the age of 15. This is because on the one hand I felt the need to experience the rediscovery process of a place that I somehow remem- ber in a blurred way and that I experienced only at an early stage of my life. I believe it is always challenging and inspiring to reapproach something one thinks to know and then to find oneself to gain a completely new knowledge about it. On the other hand, by doing so I could also investigate better the topic of rural areas being the site it is in the inner part of central Italy. For what I can notice, rural areas and the issue of depopulation, are two topics not fully faced by academic world which on the contrary is mainly focusing on urban growth.

To resume, I believe this studio is the only one able to let a student to gain and develop a specific knowledge of choice by following a precise and individual learning process and methodology, main reason that made meto choose Explorelab as garduation studio.

3 Graduation project

Title of the graduation project

MARGINALIA

Subtitle of the graduation project

Tools and strategies for the revitalization of rural shrinking areas. An Italian case.

Goal

The research aims at defining an operational multi-scale strategy in order to face the phenomenon of rural depopulation that many European regions are experiencing. By considering every place to be different from each other, general guidelines are aimed at being defined in order to be able to become site specific according to local resources, characteristics and morphology. The chosen site is then used as practical ground and laboratory where to apply the theoretical research but also the outlined strategy in order to simulate a future scenario for of a future way of living based on new economic theories.

Location

Arcevia (Center of Italy, Marche region, Ancona province). The research, following the landscape theoretical inquiry, focuses in the part of the Provincial road 14 (SP14) that crosses Arcevia’s territory. Then, for the architectural design has been chosen a spot that, located close by SP14, located in a strategic point with respect to the municipal territory as well as to the bigger urban scale considered into the strategy. Precisely the chosen area is an ex-quarry that worked from 1950’s to mid 1990’s. This spot besides the strategic location is also symbolic and important for historical and cultural issues linked to the mountain itself.

ITALY MARCHE

adriatic sea

arcevia

4 Problem statement

This research focuses in particular on rural shrinking.

Due to historical reasons, European rural areas represent a particular kind of place where identity and culture of the European population is deeply rooted. The main reason of this shrinkage process is the consequence of the industrialization started after WWII when many people living in extremely poor conditions left the countryside towards bigger cities seeking for a better life and job opportunities. This process of depopulation is still happening and it is generating a big loss in terms of culture, agriculture and heritage. This is particularly true in the Italian context where its extremely rich cultural sector should definitively be much more considered and valorized by investing more resources on the local excellences and specificities so that its unique cultural and creative heritage can be made accessi- ble to local inhabitants as well as to tourists. Therefore by using culture as a tool revitalization strategies can be designed to envision a new rural landscape.

In this frame, rural landscape, as material and immaterial heritage, must be preserved, not for romantic and nostalgic reasons, but to guarantee a social and environmental diversity that we are running the risk to loose due to the lack of serious long terms visions, policies and development plans. This deficiency of tactics reveals a shallow awareness and concern from the public administration to the private entrepreneur towards the richness of rural European landscapes. In the Italian context, this loose interest is particualry evident and critical. The richness lies not only in the argicultural or turistic potential, but it is also based in the underevaluated potential in terms of welfare and new models of living rural areas are able to accomodate today: they might become the next place where people will want to move to escape the growing urban stress, pollution and congesiton.

As cases study show, the few examples and efforts spent in the revitalization of rural areas very often reveal a mere intent of making individual profits through a commodification of landscape. Of course such approaches might be part of the financial strategy to enhance these areas, but I do believe it must not be the starting point to face rural neglection.

With this introduction about the problem, I want to present the main reasons why rural depopulation must be better investigated and needs more clearer approaches and theories to be developed: an intent that the reseach tries to address and hopefully offers new perspectives and alternative possible approaches to face the rural shrinking.

Research questions

What vision and strategies should be adopted for the improvement of rural areas to preserve, recover and add value to landscape, minor historical centers and the cultural and creative heritage by supporting local resources and being socially sustainable?

The research does not aim at giving an ultimate answer, since I believe there is not one unique way to address rural depopulation, on the contrary it will try to present and develop possible perspectives and guidelines to properly address this main research question by considering economic, heritage and cultural issues.

Therefore, some sub questions will be:

What is the role of Landscape in the recovery and revitalization of rural municipalities and how can landscape policies be able to promote social and territorial cohesion by also allow a new economic and cultural development?

5 How to intervene in those contexts with the aim of enhancing heritage care, management and awareness of the tourist as well as of the local inhabitant?

How to preserve and promote the cultural and creative layers embedded in these areas by considering the strong potential land has in the agricultural production?

What kind of economic assessment and strategy should be proposed in order to develop a new alternative economy able to revitalize rural areas by creating new opportunities and by working at different scales?

By recognizing people to be one of the main resources to start with, how networking among all the actors, from the citizen to the farmer, from the tourst to the administration and the private investor, should be organized in order to work as the base for a new synergetic and virtuous process?

Finally, what is the role of the designer in these processes but also, more generally, in this particular historical period where crisis is becoming the normality and so new models of living and working are required?

Research paper

The theoretical research that will inform the design investigates the role of landscape within rural areas by addressing more in particular the topic of infrastructure. Indeed the paper will address and try to develop part of the main research question focusing in the understanding of the infrastructure as landscape and the landscape as infrastructure. In this way accessibility, cultural landscape and landscape as enabler are the main topics I explore in order to understand how such rural landscape can be approached critically and construc- tively.

Design assignment

Taking as reference a provincial road (SP14) crossing the territory of Arcevia from north to south according to a specific analysis on the site, I will select strategic spots where the landscape program design will be developed in different steps and moments according to the revitalization strategy. It will result into a series of light design interventions along the axis that enhance the perception of the landscape (linear design) plus one main point that instead aims at connecting the fragmented territory. This indeed will work as a sort of heart, a territorial agorà that will be developed in different steps and moments to serve as public space, maket and reserach / educational center. In general all the interventions will be based on building sustainability, mean- ing, first of all, the use and reuse of local elements and vacant or abandoned buildings as starting point.

Keywords

Rural Depopulation, Rural Shrinking, Reactivation strategies, soft economy, infrastructure, landscape and movement, cultural landscapes, identity, sustainability.

6 Process

Method description

The research will be developed starting from a general and deep theoretical framework that will be achieved by doing intensive research (literature, journals, newspapers). While developing the theoretical research, I also try to apply it into practice when analyzing the site (mapping, pictures and interviews), so that theory and practice can inform each other into a virtuous learning process and so that the research will open up new issues and new results will be obtained. The research is divided into two main sections. While the first part will present the problem at various scales by a series of theoretical essays about landscape from heritage, culture and economic points of views, the sec- ond part shows how the theory can been applied to the practice in the chosen site by mapping and design. Interviews and cases studies about revitalizations of minor historical centers (Italian and European ones) will be used as critical tools to test possible approaches and elements to consider and include in the development of the strategy.

Literature and general practical preference

1. A.A.V.V., (various articles of the issue), in PLACES Journal, vol 10 #3. 1996. 2. A.A.V.V., Rapporto sull’Italia del disagio Insediativo 1996/2016. Eccellenze e ghost town nell’Italia dei piccoli comuni. 2008, Serico - Gruppo CRESME. 3. A.A.V.V., Making Landscape Public. Journal for Architecture, ed. OASE. Vol. 93. 2014: nai010 publishers. 4. Belanger, P., Redefining Infrastructure, in Ecological urbanism, M. Mostafavi and G. Doherty, 2010, Lars Müller Publishers Baden. p. 332-349. 5. Bocci, M., Paesaggi Creativi. Paesaggi, economia, cultura e società: le Marche fututre. 2015, Ancona: Italic. 6. Briatore, S., Valorizzazione dei centri storici minori. Strategie di intervento. DIABASIS Roma, 2010. 7. Careri, F., Walkscape: walking as an aesthetical experience. Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 2002. 8. Corboz, A., Il territorio come palinsesto. Casabella, 1985. 516(9): p. 22-27. 9. Corner, J., Recovering landscape: Essays in contemporary landscape theory. 1999: Princeton Arch. Press. 10. Corner, J., The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Intervention and Critique, in Mappings. 1999. 11. Delft, T., Pierre Belanger on Landscape Infrastructure. 2013. 12. Gallegati, M., Oltre la siepe. L’economia che verrà. . 2014, Milano: Chiarelettere. 13. Ghirri, L., Paesaggio italiano. Vol. 11. 1989: Electa. 14. Gregotti, V., Il terriotorio dell’architettura. 1977 (3rd edition), Milano: Feltrinelli Economica. 15. Kelly Shannon, M.S., The perception of landscape through movement, in The Landscape of Contemporary Infrastructure, N. Publishers, 2010. 16. Norberg-Schulz, C., Genius loci: Towards a phenomenology of architecture. 1980: Rizzoli. 17. Oswalt, P., et al., Atlas of shrinking cities. 2006, Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz 18. Sepe, M., Il rilievo sensibile. Rappresentare l’identità per promuovere il patrimonio culturale in Campan- ia. Vol. 115. 2007: FrancoAngeli. 19. Socco, C., Paesaggio, memoria collettiva e identità culturale. intervento al Forum “Paesaggi italiani, per il governo delle trasformazioni”, CastelfrancoVeneto, 26-29 maggio 1999. 20. Socco, C., Paesaggio, memoria collettiva e identità culturale. 1999. 21. Swaffield, S., Theory in landscape architecture: a reader. 2002: University of Pennsylvania Press. 22. Turri, E., La conoscenza del territorio. 2002, Venezia: Marsilio. 23. Villani, V., Rocca Contrada (Arcevia). Ceti dirigenti, istituzioni e politica dalle origini al sec. XV, I. Dai castelli al comune (sec.XII- 1250), ed. Castelli Arceviesi. 2006: Comune di Arcevia. 24. Villani, V., Nidastore. Castrum Nidastoris., ed. Castelli Arceviesi. 2011, Ostra Vetere: Tecnostampa. 25. Waldheim, C., The landscape urbanism reader. 2012: Chronicle Books. 26. Zenobi, V., Paesaggio, conoscenza tacita e sviluppo locale. Il progetto Histcape ad Arcevia. . 2015, Regione Marche.

7 Reflection

Relevance

Although do exist interesting thesis and works about rural depopulation, I can generally affirm that none of them are enough powerful and striking in defining or proposing interesting theories or approaches about rural shrinking.

Indeed, according to the increasing number of associations and newspaper articles than since 10 years are raising the problem of abandonment and dereliction of minor historical centers and rural areas, I do assert that this phenomenon, even if real and relevant, it is still too neglected. The consequences of depopulation and shrinkage as phenomenon has never been properly addressed by urban and architectural researches which, on the contrary, are mainly focused in investigating urban growth. But if cities are growing so quickly, still rapidly other areas must shrink. And, if so urgent is the need to face urban growth, still crucial, I believe, it is the need to investigate shrinking processes. However, recently interesting hints start to be given by the European Commission which seems to have finally undestood the relevance of keeping these areas alive. Indeed among EU ‘s founding programs, many of them address the question of rural areas in terms of economy and agriculture, culture, hertiage and landscape re-evaluation and assessment. As consequences private actors start to show a slightly increased sensitivity and awareness towards the potential of those left behind areas as well as public administrations. But still, in my opinion, long term visions are still not formulated if not in terms of pilot projects and no real programs are fully developed.

Within all this picture what is the role of the designer, the private actor and the administration?

The Italian situation, where I focus the research, shows how the phenomenon of rural shrinking is going on since mid 1950’s. Rural in Italy means all the inner parts of the country that, as statistics show, people are leaving to go move towards the bigger cities or better, towards the coast because of higher quality of accessibility, infrastructures, job opportunities and services. But if nothing is done at larger scale and within a network, in 50 years many rural areas will be completely abandoned as already happened to more than 1650 villages in Italy (E. Torsello, Il Sole 24ore, 6/8/2008). To conclude I want to remark my holistic position and method, which is first of all to be open to sperimenta- tion in proposing new alternative programs still trying to keep it realistic.

8 Time planning

Feb-Apr Apr-June Aug-Oct Nov-Dec Dec-Jan 3.1(6)-4.1(16) 4.2(17)-4.10(25) 5.5(31)-1.8(43) 1.9(44)-2.5(50) 2.6(51)-2.10(5) P1 P2 P3 P4 P5

charette phase1 romania 3ects

phase2

phase3

phase4 MODEL &

design

sustainability PRESENTATION 3ects

phase 1 research: literature, theory paper writing, cases studies, survey. phase 2 site visit: gathering data and elaburation into local strategy. phase 3 scenarios: multi-scale strategy and first conclusion of phases 1+2 resulting into design propos- al and development of program for the local strategy of revitalization. phase 4 design: strategy of reconversion sites and development of technical details.