The landscapes of unfinished architecture

Abstract

The unfinished architecture in Italy represents a phenomenon result of the post-World War II reconstruction, figuratively active in the peripheral landscapes compared to urban centers. The suspended construction sites often fall into a “building typology” that can be linked to ruins, especially due to their similar formal characteristics. However, it is evident that semantically, these two architectural paradigms, represent two polar opposites moments on the architectural timeline. The strength of the landscape composed by unfinished architecture evokes characteristic scenography of the romantic movement, where nature becomes the main character. This phenomenon has been recently explored using research, leading to a phenomenological analysis of the case, explored through artistic solutions, but without addressing the architectural and project aspects. The informal incompleteness in unfinished architecture guides the observer to discover the intrinsic potential it contains. This contribution aims to explore a design strategy that goes beyond the purely architectural aspect, involving social, economic and environmental components transversally. The landscapes of unfinished architecture reveal scenarios of environmental quality recognized in their bidimensional aspect, which, precisely through the potential of suspended construction sites, envision a possible enhancement. This architecture should be recognized as heritage, not only due to its substantial presence in the national territory, but especially for its ability to adapt to transformation. Therefore, this contribution explore into the hypothesis of considering participatory ephemeral architecture as a possible solution that can be applied at different scales and involve the input of the daily users of this type of landscapes. The heritage of the unfinished in Italy, in a historical context like the present one, serves as a testing ground for architectural, social, and environmental actions aimed at transforming and enhancing our territory.