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Brutalism is the broader architectural phenomenon during the 1960s and 1970s of an almost sculptural Modernism rendered in raw concrete, which had manifestations the world over. From the mid-twentieth century, this style rose in popularity before reaching its apex in the mid-1970s, after which it fell into disfavor. But it seems that things are now changing, with a renewed interest and appreciation for this once disparaged architectural style. Known for its use of functional reinforced concrete and steel, modular elements, and utilitarian feel. Brutalist architecture was primarily used for institutional buildings, such as libraries, courts, public housing and city halls. Imposing and geometric, Brutalist buildings have a graphic quality that is part of what makes them so appealing today. The word Brutalist does not come from the architecture’s fortress-like stature, but from the raw concrete it is often made from-béton brut. Emblematic of this architectural movement is the most iconic building within the University of California, San Diego campus: the Geisel Library. The Geisel Library was designed in the late 1960s by William Pereira.

The contribution outlines the typical elements of Chinese architecture, which combines the sophistication of technical and aesthetic details, and provides rules and criteria for the sizing and assembling standardized construction of different classes of buildings. These building elements are described in detail, through text and images, in the ancient manuals of Chinese architecture. The most significant document for its completeness and excellent state of preservation is entitled Yingzao Fashi: it was written by Li Chieh and published in 1103, after about thirty years of changes and integrations, and has been reissued several times over the centuries by different authors. This manual includes part of the contents of other earlier manuscripts, written since 700. It contains a set of guidelines resulting from the fusion of knowledge related to the theory and practice of building, respectively, transferred through theoretical texts and practical experiences. The contents of this important text were further developed and increasingly refined in other subsequent manuals (e.g., the Gongcheng Zuofa Zeli of 1734 and the Qing Shi Yingzao Zeli - Yingzao Suanli of 1934). The technical knowledge contained in these manuals allows the dissemination of down-handed practices to support the architects, artisans, and carpenters’ activity for constructing traditional works based on a wooden frame structure. The collection of drawings, tables, and rules elaborated over the centuries allows today a deeper comprehension of the genesis and evolution of the main construction elements of traditional Chinese buildings (foundations, beams, pillars, bracketing systems, roofing systems), enabling their analysis, recovery, and reconstruction. Thus, the contribution presents an overview of the important and complex theme of the transmission of technical knowledge in construction through manuals, based on research carried out at the Archive of the BnF - Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.

Ripensare la città con principi che seguono lo spirito della “città dei venti minuti” può cambiare in meglio la qualità della vita. Progettare quartieri o città con spazi abitativi a breve distanza dal lavoro e dai servizi può aumentare il benessere sociale. Oggi, nel mondo, si stanno sviluppando diverse sperimentazioni di questo tipo; eppure basta volgere lo sguardo indietro nel tempo per accorgersi che già negli anni Trenta del Novecento, dalla mente illuminata di Edmondo Rossoni nacque, anzi si “rifondò”, la città di Tresigallo. Questa realtà ebbe origine dal progetto di una città vivibile ed efficiente, dove tutte le attività coesistono armoniosamente e si integrano con il sistema del verde urbano, nell’interesse della collettività. Tutte le funzioni - da quella civica a quella sacra, dall’intrattenimento alla formazione ginnico-culturale, da quella sanitaria a quella produttiva - coesistono in uno spazio prossimo. Il tracciato che le lega s’impianta su un preciso schema urbano, costituito da edifici pubblici e privati residenziali, in cui si denota una grande attenzione per l’arredo urbano e per la progettazione del verde. Tresigallo rappresenta quindi una città dei “Sogni”, come riporta la scritta sull’edificio degli ex Bagni Pubblici. Sogni per chiunque abbia il desiderio di non vivere più in città frammentate.

Depopulation has become a significant issue for local culture and built heritage conservation of many European rural areas. In San Giovanni Lipioni, a province of Chieti (Italy), this phenomenon has increased to the point that, nowadays, there are only 150 inhabitants and no significant economic activities. In this regard, the present paper aims to describe the crucial role of nature-oriented tourism in an economic, social, and revitalization strategy; how digital tools can be used to map and create a territorial trail system between municipalities; and, finally, outline the operations necessary for reactivation. The proposed methodology consists of a first digital survey phase using GPS receivers and outdoor navigation apps. The second phase would create a web platform with a system of virtual itineraries between villages, named “The Golden Leaves Paths”. After that, the last phase concerns the creation of analysis factsheets to guide the maintenance of paths and the design of iconic signage with artistic illustrations based on the oak leaves leitmotif to be installed along the paths. A local social promotion association will employ the outcomes, technical drawings, and strategies to reactivate paths as an attractive element for nature-oriented tourism and create a digital platform to foster the village’s territorial and cultural heritage.

The research focuses on some key factors of contemporary Japanese architecture, useful to challenge the training approach of professionals working in the construction sector and directs it towards the use of generative design tools for the design of building envelopes. Japanese architects have always shown great sensitivity in the modelling of complex geometries: these skills can be found both in the field of design (e.g. the ancient art of origami) and of architecture (e.g. the double-skin facades of modern buildings). The modern technologies support the modeling phase, within a continuous process that, thanks to the ability to interface with CNC machines, allows a precise correspondence between concept and final product. The digital tools that regulate this process, based on a parametric approach, introduce new formal possibilities for the tessellation of space and the development of innovative building envelope systems and new architectural languages. The research, which does not neglect the historical and spiritual fundaments and the inspiring principles of tradition, analyses these new architectural languages focusing on the link between the model and the variation of the layering of the building envelope components. Definitely, the final objective is to highlight the significant role of digital technology in the field of design for the development of new models derived from a design process that includes the typical connotations of the local building tradition. The analysis of these models could be an important learning tool for guaranteeing continuity between past and future and contributing to the dissemination of knowledge and culture.

This paper deals with the works of the so-called “white carpenters”, people directly or indirectly designated for tasks related to the construction of buildings. Focusing on the carpentry works for creating building roofs in the Spanish territory, from the VIII century onwards we can find two types of carpentry: Muslim and Castilian. The architectural influences between these two types of woodworkers originated a new solution for interlaced framework structures, called “armaduras de lazo”. They consisted in a particular “par y nudillo” system (with jointed rafters) applied to timber roofs having four (or more) pitches, which presented decorative motifs derived from the Islamic geometries. The paper aims to analyze in detail the geometric rules that characterize the architectural and structural composition of the “armaduras de lazo” roofs. In particular, the generation process of the “par y nudillo” structures are based on the assembly of sets of eight, nine or ten pairs of rafters composing an interlaced wheel (the so-called “rueda de lazo”). Such a wheel constituted the basis module of any geometric motif.

The paper focuses on the importance of knowing the building fabric of minor urban centres as this is tightly linked to the problem of keeping buildings safe, in order to prevent abandonment due to disastrous events. The study aims to identify the essential information for the characterization of the built heritage, to allow its classification on the basis of distinctive categories for knowledge and conservation purposes. Together with the historical data that can be found in the archives - which are often very lacking for building complexes belonging to minor historical centres - an adequate level of knowledge can only be achieved after acquiring data on the geometry of the building structure, materials and construction techniques, as well as their state of conservation. The combined study of this information is essential to adequately assess the seismic risk of the urban centre, being able to assess the seismic vulnerability and therefore to develop prevention strategies. The assessment and preservation of cultural heritage are intimately connected to the innovative processes of knowledge acquisition and management. This process is presented on a case study, as an analysis of the seismic vulnerability of some of the building aggregates in the city of Isola del Gran Sasso, in the Abruzzo region, at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain range

The aim of this research is the rediscovery of one of Giuseppe Vaccaro's architectural masterpieces thanks to the use of the contents obtained from the survey that was carried out, useful for its architectural representation; the selected building is the Agip colony, which is located on the beach of Cesenatico. The three-dimensional photogrammetry, a science that uses photography as a source of measurement, will be investigated as a method for graphic and metric representation, with the aim to study, in this particular case, the elements composing the facade of this architectural work of the '30s, through the last software born of the Agisoft family, Metashape.

The aim of this contribution is to investigate the potential offered by a design approach in which light moulds matter and colours reveal the beauty of forms and spaces. In this context, Luis Barragán is certainly the one who, more than anyone else, has masterfully experimented with the use of colour to transform spaces. His architecture employs a language in which the daring use of colour is correlated with an ever-increasing degree of awareness, starting from the earliest conception and realisation. Light and colour do not only play an ornamental role but actually represent his building materials. The paper seeks to show how colour is able to strongly characterise architecture, through the analysis of some of his projects: the Casa Barragán in Calle Ramirez, (1947-48), the Capilla de las Capuchinas in Tlalpan (1952-1955), the Torres de Satélite (1958), the Los Clubes complex (1964-1969), and the Casa Gilardi (1975).

The emergency situation that we are now facing as a result of pandemic Covid-19 is turning our life upside down and changing the way of relating to the space that surrounds us. Many questions have been posed about the best use of spaces and the correct management of the flows, but not enough attention has been paid to the comfort of these environments. The humanization of places and strategies designed to make these spaces more responsive to the psychological and emotional needs of the people who come into contact with them are, in fact, absolutely fundamental in healthcare architectural design. The spatial configuration of a hospital environment influences the relationships between user and environment, and consequently has repercussions on perceived comfort. It is clear that understanding an adequate development of the hospital space can favor the psycho-physical wellbeing of the people who live and work there, especially in historical periods characterized by pandemics. A virtuous example of architecture created in response to a pandemic situation is the Paimio Sanatorium, designed by the spouses Aalto, which was built following the program promoted by the Finnish government in response to the spread of tuberculosis in Europe in the early 1900s. The article intends to develop a reflection starting from the example of this organic architecture “tailor-made” for tuberculosis patients and on the possible design perspectives needed to address the pandemic we are experiencing.

This paper investigates the principles that regulate complex stereotomic constructions as a starting point for the design of a new two-dimensional floor structure based on the principles of TIM (Topological Interlocking Materials). These interlocking systems use an assembly of identical Platonic solids which, due to the mutual bearing between adjacent units and the presence of a global peripheral constraint, lock together to form pure geometric shapes. This type of structure offers several advantages such as a high energy dissipation capacity and tolerance towards localised failure, which has made it a popular research topic over the last 30 years. The current research project includes a case study of an assembly of interlocking cubes to create a “flat vault”. The resulting vault design features a striking appearance and its geometry may be manipulated to achieve different two-dimensional solutions, provided certain geometric conditions necessary for the stability of the system are followed.

Japanese traditional architecture from its origins is harmonized with the natural environment. The relation with the landscape has its roots to the Heian period, where the connection between the interior and the exterior space was important. The landscape is inserted to the interior, rather than excluded, due to a variety of means such as shoji, bamboo screens, balconies, entrances and verandas or open corridors (EN). The physical and symbolic use of the Japanese landscape finds its maximum expression in the architectural space of the traditional buildings, in all its forms; the outer space and the inside are deeply interconnected and at the same time separated through a gradual transition process, which has as its main principle the connection between the man and the landscape, where the building, as a construction and physical model and as a social expression becomes the medium. The fusion between exterior and interior, thus forms a spatial continuity, typical of the dedicated places as for example the tea ceremony room (茶道). So Japanese architecture recalls some of the concepts exposed by Robert Venturi in his “Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture”, such as the equilibrium generated between opposites, which in this case are inside and outside, which live in perfect continuity. This paper aims to comprehend the traditional Japanese architecture related to the landscape while investigating the design, the constructive choices and the adopted technologies, achieving awareness thanks to the fundamental instrument of representation.

The contribution proposes a methodology of multidisciplinary investigation on visualisation in architecture in order to understand and describe the origins and characteristics of images generated by graphic rendering tools. Renderings constitute a language of representation that plays a decisive role in the communication of design, because they are able to shape the imaginary and anticipate artistic and architectural trends. The literature in the field of architectural visualisation focuses almost exclusively on technological advances (software and hardware), neglecting many of the aspects that contribute to the image processing. After a recognition and classification of the types of renderings most commonly used in the artistic and architectural field, the main graphic and geometric connotations that underlie them are identified, in order to recognise the origins and the stylistic and historical-cultural influences that have contributed to their generation. Each rendering has its own precise style, in terms of graphics and content of the representation, aimed at attracting a specific audience to which it communicates certain information. Regardless of the aim to be achieved by the representation of a project through the use of renderings, the high potential of these representation tools for communication, media and social issues becomes apparent.

Il contributo affronta l’importante e complesso tema della trasmissione del sapere tecnico in ambito costruttivo attraverso la manualistica che, in questo caso, è finalizzata alla conservazione dei caratteri tradizionali dell’architettura locale cinese. In particolare, il contributo illustra la storia, ricostruita mediante ricerche svolte presso la Sezione dei Manoscritti orientali dell’Archivio della BnF – Bibliothèque nationale de France di Parigi, del manuale di architettura cinese più antico rimasto intatto, intitolato Yingzao Fashi, redatto da Li Chieh nel 1103 e più volte editato nel corso dei secoli da diversi autori. Questo testo contiene un insieme di regole e linee guida, a supporto dell’attività di architetti, artigiani e carpentieri, per la costruzione a regola d’arte delle opere tradizionali fondate su una struttura portante a telaio ligneo. Il manuale definisce gli elementi tipici dell’architettura cinese, che coniuga raffinatezza tecnica e sensibilità estetica, e fornisce i criteri e i metodi di dimensionamento e assemblaggio per la realizzazione standardizzata di diverse classi di edifici. Le informazioni in esso contenute sono state ulteriormente sviluppate e integrate all’interno di manuali redatti in epoca successiva, fino al 1934, a cui risale un altro manuale degno di nota, intitolato Qing Shi Yingzao Zeli – Yingzao Suanli. Gli elementi costruttivi illustrati in tali volumi possono essere oggi ritrovati negli edifici storici, in cui spesso le strutture originarie – inevitabilmente andate distrutte – sono state interamente ricostruite, grazie alle informazioni conservate e tramandate dalle opere manualistiche. La raccolta di disegni, tabelle e regole elaborate nel corso dei secoli consente oggi di comprendere più a fondo la genesi e l’evoluzione degli elementi costruttivi principali degli edifici tradizionali cinesi (fondazioni, travi e pilastri, complessi mensolari dougong, travi di copertura), consentendone così la loro conservazione.

Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage and protection of abandoned buildings is possible using new technologies in order to create a knowledge base to maintain the original condition of buildings as long as possible. This paper presents the digital geometric survey, combining photogrammetry and photogrammetry with drone for the documentation of a building located in the Riviera Romagnola. The fundamental task to survey historic buildings, in order to document their geometric and morphological features with very high accuracy, becomes an important incentive for the use of innovative hybrid approach. The building case study is the Woodpecker nightclub built in 1966 and abandoned in 1970 due to a fire that devastated the structure.

The use of drones has the potential to reduce the time and costs of conventional techniques employed for field survey of cultural heritage buildings. This research explored the processes necessary to convert the most iconic building of the University of California, San Diego, the Geisel Library, into an H-BIM model. The main result findings of this work is to create a model can be used for two main purposes: to collect information which can protect the cultural significance of the building and achieve a virtual tool that can be used to better define a restoration strategy.

Two languages, apparently inconsistent, such as “real” and “virtual” can be manipulated to strongly influence human perception of seeing. Representation science finds in the phenomenon of contemporary street art an interesting field of research. Street art, which binds and unites these languages, is a geometric art that influences perception. Even if it presents very different styles held together only by the main support material (the wall or the floor) and the technical means used (spray can, adhesive tape, etc.), it can be defined as a pop art when it represents unusual subjects, a rational art when it uses geometry and an irrational art when it distorts, exploiting the techniques of planar anamorphosis. Anamorphosis represents an interesting field of investigation that includes numerous theoretical studies in both geometric and graphic terms. Some currents of street art, in fact, base their essence on the effect of perception through the anamorphosis techniques or the strong manipulation of geometry. This paper presents a detailed study of 3D Sidewalk Chalk Art, a very specific current of Street Art, which leads the viewer to a different way of looking at the artwork, according to a new perspective. The paper retraces the stages of the success of this current of street art from its origins to its maximum diffusion in the 1980s - when anamorphic representations began to be used - providing a description of the methods, techniques and materials used for their construction.DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.24.2020.1

Il contributo nasce dall’interesse di esplorare il linguaggio dell’illustrazione nel campo del cinema d’animazione. Il cinema d'animazione, che integra immagine e suono, non è un genere cinematografico, quanto piuttosto un mezzo espressivo basato su precisi requisiti tecnici e criteri estetici innovativi. Nel contributo si analizza quel segmento del cinema animato fondato sulla rappresentazione di segni bidimensionali ottenuti attraverso diversi modelli di rappresentazione (disegno, pittura, ecc..), e non sull’animazione di oggetti fisici (pupazzi, oggetti ecc..) come avviene tradizionalmente. L’interesse è quindi rivolto verso la tecnica del disegno animato (cel-animation) e in parte del cut-out, e non quella dello stop-motion. Dunque, una animazione che si basa sulla possibilità che l’illustrazione possa tener conto della quarta dimensione: il tempo. Il linguaggio illustrato adottato per questo tipo di animazione vuole raccontare una storia, una azione, attraverso sequenze di unità statiche e caratteristiche patognomiche proprie dei personaggi. L’animazione crea quindi immagini in movimento partendo da immagini fisse. Il lavoro degli artisti consiste nel predisporre anticipatamente il movimento finale del film creando frame suddivisi in unità di tempo, disegni che devono essere creati nel rispetto di precise regole compositive. Il vasto e articolato mondo dell’immagine animata è quindi uno scenario complesso e mutevole, che necessita di una indagine puntuale, che ha visto nel tempo il passaggio da una tecnica manuale ad una tecnica digitale e una espansione territoriale prima confinata agli Stati Uniti e poi divulgatasi in tutto il mondo, con caratteristiche e linguaggi diversi. La molteplicità dei linguaggi di questo mondo animato lo rende un valido e prezioso strumento che conduce a una comprensione interculturale. Si può dire infatti che il cinema d’animazione, caratterizzato da un suo preciso linguaggio dell’illustrazione, costituisce una delle più alte forme di espressione attualmente esistenti dal punto di vista artistico e tecnico, culturale e sociale. Il virtuoso connubio fra arte e tecnica che si avvera in questo ambito dà così vita a capolavori dotati di grande attrattiva per un ampio pubblico spettatore e di un grande potere di suggestione, trasmissione di sapere e memoria culturale. The paper arises from the interest in exploring the language of illustration in the field of animation cinema. Animation cinema, which integrates image and sound, is not a cinematographic genre, but rather a means of expression based on precise technical requirements and innovative aesthetic criteria. The article analyses that particular category of animated cinema based on the representation of two-dimensional signs obtained through different models of representation (e.g. drawing, painting), and not, as it traditionally happens, on the animation of physical objects (e.g. puppets, objects). The interest is therefore directed towards the technique of animated drawing (cel animation) and, partly, of cut-out, and not towards the stop-motion. Therefore, an animation that is based on the possibility that illustration can take into account the fourth dimension: time. The illustrated language adopted for this type of animation wants to tell a story, an action, through sequences of static units and pathognomonic features typical of the characters. The animation thus creates moving images starting from static images. The artists’ work consists in preparing in advance the final movement of the film by creating frames divided into units of time, drawings that must be created according to precise compositional rules. The wide and articulated world of the animated image is therefore a complex and changing scenario, which needs a precise investigation, which over time has seen the passage from a manual technique to a digital technique and a territorial expansion first confined to the United States and then spread all over the world, with different characteristics and languages. The multiplicity of languages of this animated world makes it a valid and precious tool that leads to an intercultural understanding. We can therefore say that the animation cinema - characterised by its own precise language of illustration - constitutes one of the highest forms of expression currently existing from an artistic and technical, cultural and social point of view. The virtuous union between art and technique in this field thus gives life to masterpieces of great attraction for a wide audience and power of suggestion, transmission of knowledge and cultural memory.

Le case da tè giapponesi sono architetture relativamente piccole che basano il processo di costruzione su parametri definiti in linea con la filosofia buddista zen. Infatti, solamente quando tutti i componenti della struttura sono stati messi a posto la tradizionale cerimonia del tè può avere inizio. Lo spazio architettonico interno assume quindi un ruolo fondamentale, che deve essere immediatamente chiaro e leggibile in fase di progettazione. Lo spazio architettonico interno è solitamente documentato attraverso i metodi di rappresentazione quali le proiezioni ortogonali, cioè piante, prospetti e sezioni o con modelli assonometrici o prospettici. Queste tecniche rappresentano però lo spazio interno in un modo astratto. In Giappone, per ben rappresentare l’interiorità dello spazio architettonico delle case da tè sono nati gli Okoshi-ezu, disegni piegati capaci di diventare tridimensionali che offrono una modalità diversa di rappresentazione, duplice e chiara, sintetica e densa che permette un viaggio nella creatività riflettente del tempo e dello spazio. Las casas de té japonesas son arquitecturas relativamente pequeñas que basan el proceso de construcción en parámetros definidos de acuerdo con la filosofía budista zen. De hecho, solo cuando se hayan establecido todas las partes de la estructura, puede comenzar la tradicional ceremonia del té. Por lo tanto, el espacio arquitectónico interno adquiere un papel fundamental, que debe ser inmediatamente claro y legible en la etapa de diseño. El espacio arquitectónico interno generalmente se documenta a través de métodos de representación tales como proyecciones ortogonales, es decir, planos, elevaciones y secciones o con modelos axonométricos o en perspectiva (Evans, 1995). Sin embargo, estas técnicas representan el espacio interior de manera abstracta. En Japón, nacieron los Okoshi-ezu para representar la interioridad del esacio arquitectónico de las casas de té; esos son dibujos plegados capaces de convertirse en tridimensionales, ofreciendo una forma diferente de representación, doble y clara, sintética y densa que permite un viaje hacia la creatividad reflejando tiempo y espacio.

The conservation project of the historic center of La Habana Vieja is a singular model, whose results have been achieved by preserving the authenticity of the historical heritage and integrating it with current livability standards. The historic center was and still represents a place full of opportunities, thanks to the interventions that Oficina de l’Historiador has carried out in over thirty years of work and which will continue until 2030 according to its plan, whose objective is the preservation of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage and the environment. The paper aims at describing the fundamental steps and prerogatives that led to the redevelopment of La Habana Vieja, highlighting its particularities and singularities. The historic center of La Habana has a very limited size when compared to the whole city; it covers only 4.5 square kilometers of its total area and has 3,370 buildings, including 551 high-value architectural monuments. The buildings have an important environmental value, offering a very varied overview of styles and eras, which makes the image of the city suggestive and unique.

Attraverso l’analisi geometrica dei sistemi autobloccanti stereotomici e dei princìpi che regolano la tassellazione dello spazio euclideo, la ricerca esplora le possibilità formali per il design parametrico delle superfici di involucro. In particolare, il contributo si focalizza sullo studio dei sistemi autobloccanti costituiti dall’assemblaggio di solidi platonici cubici, che consentono di ottenere una maglia esagonale. Come dimostrano le geometrie osservabili in natura, questa tassellazione esagonale ottimizza la distribuzione spaziale e le proprietà di stabilità geometrica e strutturale. The research performed a geometric analysis of stereotomic interlocking systems and the principles governing the tessellation of Euclidean space in order to explore the possibilities of parametrically designing the surfaces of envelopes. In particular, the contribution focuses on the study of the interlocking systems created by assembling cubic platonic solids, thus making it possible to obtain a hexagonal pattern. Geometries visible in nature show that this kind of hexagonal tessellation optimises spatial distribution and the properties of geometric and structural stability.

Graphic representation plays an important role in the territorial development of a country. The power of images is widely exploited in all consumer-based societies because it is powerful in producing a manipulation of ideas with respect to places and it helps to attribute senses and meanings to them. Graphic representation based on stereotyped images, symbols and brands therefore affects areas on different geographical scales, thus involving their tourist, cultural, creative and social development. A central element to contribute to these developments is the debate on the creativity of a country’s representative images. The paper intends to address how this issue is tackled in Japan. Japan is a very inherent multifaceted country, and the image that Japan exhibits today finds its roots in a much deeper historical background. The art of the Japanese image manifests itself in the union and blending of its boundaries, in the wonder of the concept of mono no aware, kiwa, musubi, kata and kawaii. The aim of this article is therefore to narrate why the fascination of what appears in the images is the result of a deep cultural background, even though it deals with only a small part of the history of Japan, which would deserve a more complex and extensive treatment. Furthermore, the contribution aims to illustrate how the peculiarities and originality of images contribute to influence the tourist appeal of this country.

The Japanese tea house, called chashitsu, is attributed to the tea master Sen-no Rikyū. It is the place dedicated to the traditional tea ceremony, beloved to the Japanese people. Japanese tea houses are relatively small pieces of architecture, 8.2 m2, equivalent to about 4.5 tatami. They base the construction process on parameters defined in line with Zen Buddhist philosophy. Each element that makes up the architectural structure has a precise meaning and function and only when everything is arranged in a very particular manner, the traditional tea ceremony can begin. The position of the room for making tea (mizuya) and that for serving it, the layout of the garden, the entrances, the furnace and the alcove as well as the position of the windows and the choice of materials are never random. The internal architectural space therefore assumes a fundamental role, which must be immediately clear and legible already in the design phase. The internal architectural space is usually documented through representation methods such as orthogonal projections, using plans, elevations and sections or with axonometric or perspective models. These techniques, however, represent the interior space in an abstract way, whereas the three-dimensional representation instead allows to bypass the difficult reading of the drawings in orthogonal projection. In Japan, therefore, okoshi-ezu were born to represent the interior of the architectural space especially of the tea houses. They are folded drawings capable of becoming three-dimensional. These drawings offer a different way of representation: double, clear, synthetic and dense which allows for a better understanding of the space.

The article deals with the topic of photogrammetry applied to the historical architecture of San Francisco, one of the iconic buildings of the so-called Painted Ladies. These buildings are Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings repainted, in different colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details, starting in the 1960s.The document will address a methodological discussion concerning the construction of parametric models of historic buildings.The research is prompted by the modern need to have databases full of exhaustive information, through which we can preserve the memory of the historical heritage present in the Californian reality, monitoring conditions and planning the future.

The aim of the proposal is to illustrate how expeditious procedures of urban survey carried out through photomodeling can be the most suitable representation tool in combination with an expeditious procedure for assessing the seismic vulnerability of the historic building heritage in Italian city centres. For some years, in fact, the research group is developing a protocol for the rapid assessment of the seismic vulnerability of masonry aggregate buildings in Italian historic centres.The protocol is based on the determination of synthetic indicators providing a preventive quantification of the possible earthquake damage. This evaluation procedure is oriented to prevent and reduce the current vulnerability, aiming at the conservation and preservation of the historic building heritage. The synthetic indicators are defined by identifying expeditious evaluation procedures based on the typical evolutionary processes suffered by each aggregate in its planimetric and height development, on the construction techniques and on the design concepts used in the local area; these aspects are directly correlated to failure modes.The application of the entire process (starting from the rapid survey phases up to the final restitution of the seismic vulnerability assessment results) is illustrated for the historic centre of Imola. The ancient nucleus of this city constitutes an excellent example, as it is clearly representative of the Emilian historical architecture both for the processes of formation and transformation of the inhabited area, both for what concerns the constructive characterization deriving from the local building traditions.

The article deals with the topic of Historic Building Information Modeling (H-BIM) applied to the historical architecture of an urban park within the Itabashi district of Tokyo. The document will address a methodological discussion concerning the construction of parametric models of historic buildings in the park starting from laser scanner. The research is prompted by the modern need to have databases full of exhaustive information, through which we can preserve the historical heritage present in the Japanese reality, monitoring the conditions and planning the future. This work is carried out in collaboration with the Nihon University of Tokyo, the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, the Itabashi municipality and the Topcon industry. The work is preparatory for the development of the redevelopment project of the park, through the reuse of its buildings, the arrangement of the green and urban furniture pursuing the objectives of maintaining the historical memory of the place and its harmonization in the urban context, creating a further pole of attraction for citizens and visitors.

The project’s principal intention is the developing of structure from motion thematic applied to architecture field in medium and large scale, in order to generate a cloud of points, obtained thanks to a photographic footage, which can later be used during the H-BIM process. The matter of 3D digitalization is nowadays a very current issue for many countries including Cuba. Indeed, the growth of such a technology application for tridimensional restitution of historical buildings it’s here treated by giving special attention on those belonging to Havana’s architectural and cultural heritage. The first chapter means to present which are the methodologies employed to get tridimensional models through photographic shoots, and how those models would subsequently be taken as fundamentals to generate H-BIM integrated models.

The main topic of this work is the most recent step of a wider research project that has analyzed a few wooden roofing structures in the area of Bologna. These case studies are represented by a set of important churches in Bologna, all built between the 16th and 18th centuries, whose pitched roofs are supported by timber trusses. The most interesting roofing is in the Cathedral of Saint Peter whose trusses were possibly the biggest in Italy – and perhaps in Europe – at the time of construction. Having approximately 26 meters of span, 7 meters of height for nearly 9 tons of weight these trusses have a complex static conception with the coexistence of an external nondeformable triangle and an internal virtual discharging arc. The research protocol includes an acquisition step followed by the digital rendering of the acquired data. This last step provides many outputs (photos, drawings, graphs and 3D models) that constitute the operative tools to define and correctly interpret the behavior of the constructive systems studied. Results interpretation therefore allows us to suggest the most coherent design solutions, disengaging them, where necessary, from usual and standardized techniques. To avoid operating with excessive approximations, it was decided to transform the point cloud into 3D models using parametric modeling tools such as Grasshopper generative algorithms that once created for a single truss, allow to automatically generate 3D models of all trusses, changing only input parameters. The first result of this process is a basic 3D model representing the truss rendered with a limited number of sections. Number and position of the sections used has been decided in order to have the best-fitted 3D model with the lowest number of sections. Furthermore, it is possible to define an ideal 3D model, created through a series of robust theoretical assumptions, representing a reasonable original truss condition at construction time and used for displacement and deformations analyses. This is useful for analyzing the current static condition of the truss highlighting all undergone changes during its service life. The basic principle is to bring the basic 3D model to a pre-condition without displacements and deformations. In other words, to what it is supposed to be the original condition at construction time. The study proposed here is based on an accurate geometric and material survey of all constructive elements but above all, on the attempt to clearly understand the original implementation methods through the "rational" use of reverse engineering software and techniques. On the one hand, the analysis aims to give importance to this kind of constructive elements, neglected in the literature, identifying also new functional types, on the other it is used as an effective investigation protocol, with high diagnostic capability due to the wide use of technologies. This investigation protocol has been set up in order to systematize the analysis of these roofing systems and aims at accelerating modeling procedures as well as bringing on new tools for analyzing these structural systems surveyed through laser scanning devices.

The paper illustrates the restoration and conservation project for the Sauli and Saffi pavilions in the building complex of the old hospital of Forlì, which currently hosts the Forlì Campus as a ramification of the University of Bologna. The implementation of a Detailed Plan since February 2003 has affected the complex, which consists of ten buildings, and it is going to be concluded with the interventions on these two pavilions. The main aim of the overall project is the recovery of the existing pavilions and their conversion to managerial functions, to departmental research and to high training equipment departments. The hospital complex was built around the 1907 and it started its function in 1915; at that time, the settlement was at the forefront, thanks to the separation of the various hospital functions in seven separate pavilions, surrounded by a large park. The number of buildings then increased during the twentieth century. The Sauli and Saffi Pavilions were identical and mirror-like; they were placed in a barycentric position within the whole settlement and they had a complex and articulated shape. Regarding their structure, surveys and inspections on site have allowed to recognize a load-bearing masonry structure, with brick vaults set on masonry walls and pillars in the basement. Above, between the ground floor and the first floor, timber beams were used, except for some portions where iron beams can be found. In the areas of the old dormitories, the floor is made by a double frame of iron beams and brick vaults and a lime plaster ceiling. Hence, the material choices are the typical ones of the coeval buildings of the Region: masonry brick walls with a plastered basement, timber floors and roofs with marseilles tiles. These choices refer to the typical needs of a hospital building: simplicity, solidity, strength, durability. Nowadays, the whole complex belongs to the heritage lists by the local Superintendence for Architectural Heritage, so the intervention must follow stringent conservation criteria, both from an architectural and structural point of view. In particular, in a first phase, the paper illustrates the path of acquiring the knowledge regarding the building, from the historical and critical analysis to the geometric and constructive survey, which were supported by photomodelling activities. The architectural project will then be illustrated, showing the distributive rationalization of the interior spaces for the creation of classrooms and departmental offices for the needs of the University. In conclusion, the methodology adopted for the seismic vulnerability assessment of the structures will be shown with its results and the seismic improvement project will be illustrated. In this context, the structural choices were oriented to appropriate interventions to reach a higher safety level regarding to seismic actions without substantially modifying the global behaviour of the building.

The main research investigation deals with wooden roofs in the context of colonial architecture in Cuba, focusing especially on civil and religious buildings from XVII to XVIII centuries. The roofing technique treated in the present research comes from the Cubans span—roofs called “armadura de maderas” and they originate from Spanish sloping roofs called “armadura de pares”, typical of the mudéjar style. Thanks to the colonialization process, the experience and the cultural background in building them came directly from Spain. Like Spanish roofs, Cuban ones hide a powerful but visibly light structural whole provided with little elements of small size. Together with Canary Islands, Cuba recalls its incredible alikeness with constructive solutions used in Castilla and Andalusia. It can be noticed that both in Canary Islands and Cuban roofs there are great similitudes as well as great differences: for example, in the Canary Islands wooden decorations are often very rich, while in Cuba is more likely to be found simpler decorative items. What is emphasized in the Cuban wooden roof is instead the structure, that is always manifest independently by the type of its decorations.

The Italian artist Alberto Burri is known for his artistic research on the expressiveness of materials and particularly for his pictorial cycles more than for his sculptures. However, his expressive power is strongly manifested also in his sculptures. Burri had a strong sensitivity towards solid geometry and his sculptures are absolute works of art. In particular, the paper will investigate the first sculpture created by Burri in 1973, demolished in 1989 and then rebuilt in 2015: the Teatro Continuo created for the Milan Triennial. It is located on the spectacular perspective axis at the centre of the Sempione Park, and it is a synthesis between art and architecture, combining the characteristics of a sculpture, an architectural work and a theatre in the same object. The paper investigates its construction and geometry. The sculpture consists of a raised concrete platform of 17 x 10.5 meters, which can be reached by ramps on each side. On the short sides, there are three rotating iron wings measuring 2.5 x 6 x 0.25 meters, remotely controlled with movements independent one to each other. These had different colours on their sides: the natural colour of the metal sheet and white on the other side, although in Burri's idea the colour could be changed at will. The Teatro Continuo was created with the aim of showing how art can have a flywheel effect in the interaction between humanity and the urban environment, and how much its construction is important as a representative space for the relationship between people and the city.

The paper describes an operational working methodology to be applied for surveys with phase-shift laser scanning, which allows defining a guidelines system to optimize in-field data collection. While reducing the number of scan positions still using the same quality, it is possible to obtain smaller files, in order to limit the computational requirements during editing and post-production. Nonetheless, this methodology guarantees results that are qualitatively comparable to the standard data collection process. Consequently, the angle ranges have been analyzed to find a value that guarantees for the survey a point cloud lighter and more manageable and, at the same time, that maintains a reasonable accuracy. Subsequently, two parameters were defined, “redundancy” and “closeness”, to find an operational process that allows to schematize what is usually achieved with the help of experience in the field: to evaluate the minimum number of scan points that can ensure the necessary overlap for optimal coverage of the entire building surveyed. After defining the study of the ideal situation, the model is applied in a case study, situated in a densely built context, typical of European historical urban centers: the main façade of the G. Ciamician Institute of Chemistry of the University of Bologna (Italy).

In the last two decades, the approach to surveying, profoundly modified by massive acquisition methodologies, has strongly influenced the construction of 3D models, which come closer and closer to reality. Various operations performed on numerical models prove to be necessary for defining geometric or mathematical models, which become ever more congruent with architectonic and archaeological artifacts. Today models are the point of departure for all the activities aimed at a more profound knowledge of the object. Different fields of operations connected with Cultural Heritage - from cataloguing to preservation, from designing to restoration and valorization - begin to present the enormous potentialities inherent in models obtained through 3D surveys. In some cases to observe artifacts in various scales and from different viewpoints, it is such to explore such models than the work itself. Moreover, they make it possible to design and prepare reconstruction, reinforcement and restoration operations directly in three dimensions as well as to document different transformations the artifacts underwent in the course of centuries. Models prove to be an indispensable element not only at the stage of preparation, preservation and valorization but also at that of prevention, which at present seems to be the most efficient and far-sighted means for ensuring the stability and security of architectonic and urban heritage.

The research has started from the cataloguing of the main low cost photomodeling softwares and technologies that can be found on the Internet. After having selected some programs, the research has been held trying to ob-tain - using the same set of photos each time - the urban survey of a representa-tive architecture of the island of Procida, which is a little Mediterranean oasis. We have included in our research softwares such as Photoscan, ReMake, Re-Cap, VisualSFM, and Phyton. These programs work starting from an input, which consists in a certain number of photos, to create the output, which is the 3D model of what the photos de-scribe. Having obtained the same model from each program, we will then pro-ceed to analyse each one, in order to find the slightest differences: the main purpose is to understand which low cost programme will give out the best mod-el. The criteria will be mainly based on the colour and dimensional yield that each program will give out. In conclusion, the main aim of this research is to find the best technologies available, among low cost or licensed programs, which may allow us to get the best survey in the shortest time, in view of further applications in several fields.

The new technologies solved some of the problems of surveying, for example, accelerating data collecting, yielding graphic models less subject to interpretation and more adequately corresponding to reality, or offering the possibility to reproduce the graphic models many times with the view to sharing it with other researchers and scholars. The technology developed in the last twenty years makes it possible to obtain millions of points almost automatically in ever-shorter spans of time. The great advantage of the innovative technologies is that they make it possible to create models of objects characterized by a density of metric and geometric information that no traditional surveying method can yield. This new technologies constitute an useful and flexible tool to restitute a great part of scientific documentation on Cultural Heritage. This paper precisely presents the City of La Havana (Cuba): a series of buildings overlooking the five main squares located in its historic center have been taken into consideration. The process of surveying is conducted with a set of techniques. The acquired data are observable, empirical and measurable with the uncertainty level stated a priori and strictly controlled. Moreover, they can be archived and shared, and thus can be assessed autonomously. Also, all the procedures applied are replicable and therefore it is possible to acquire new sets of information for making comparisons. The SFM technique was applied to the Cuban case study; Structure from motion technique is a digital technology able to generate three-dimensional clouds of points departing from simple raster images. Today, digital technologies at our disposal impose the necessity to analyze in depth hardware and software that work together at all the stages of surveying (acquisition, elaboration, modelling and – obviously – CAD drawing). On the one hand, it is precisely this equipment that allows one to acquire points quickly and without difficulties relative to the volume of the object and the detail level (it is possible to survey artifacts of great dimensions and geometrically complex). On the other hand, the representation of surfaces acquired cannot be said to be so direct. The more relevant the complexity of the object, the more operations are necessary while difficulty level requisite for its representation soars. That is precisely why we are wary of the equipment which executes the whole process fully automatically in favor of semi-automatic processes which allow the operator to intervene in order to select the material, taking into account his knowledge of history and geometry, and to decide which surfaces will be the best for reconstructing the model with the greatest fidelity to reality. Each digital model has to be assigned a scale reference in close relationship with its geometric and perceptual characteristics. We consider it worthwhile to ponder the way in which the information has to be acquired in reference to the enormous possibilities opened up by digital technologies of surveying and representation.

Alberto Burri is an Italian artist who worked in the post-war period; his works belong to the current called "arte informale", that is, contrary to any form. His artistic research ranges from painting to sculpture, where he always focused on the expressiveness of materials, while making his works with common materials. His career initially developed as works in separate series, where each series used a different material. This is precisely the great strength of Burri's work, as each material becomes itself the main subject. The research presented in the paper will focus on the last period of Burri's career, when he added sculptures to his pictorial cycles. The form and meaning of the artist's sculptures will be analysed for the Grandi Ferri (i.e. the Big Irons).

This article deepens the subject of photo-modelling applied to architecture, on a medium and large scale. It in detail deepens the development of the application of a 3D dimensional rendition technology applied to buildings and historical sites that belong to the architectural and cultural heritage of Havana City (Cuba). This article describes the necessary steps to obtain a 3D dimensional textured models from reality through a photographic set. The project aims at providing some new and innovative methods for the Cuban reality. A very interesting topic for the Oficina del Historiador de Ciudad de la Habana, a Cuban public body, that oversees the architectural and cultural heritage of the city. The survey deals with the five squares of Habana Vieja (old town of Havana), through two different ways of working. The first one has a typical technical scientific nature. It elaborates a survey with the combination of various techniques. In this way there is a rendition of a 2D dimensional and 3D dimensional scale model, that includes the urban and architectural information of the squares and their buildings. The second one provides the useful material to create an application just for mobile devices (like smartphone and tablet), for popular, cultural and tourist purposes that can be used offline and online. It is also used as a database in order to create AR (Augmented Reality) applications.

The article deals with the topic of Historic Building Information Modeling (H-BIM) applied to the historical architecture of an urban park within the Itabashi district of Tokyo. The document will address a methodological discussion concerning the construction of parametric models of historic buildings in the park starting from laser scanner detection and Geographic Information System Technology . The research is prompted by the modern need to have databases full of exhaustive information, through which we can preserve the historical heritage present in the Japanese reality, monitoring the conditions and planning the future. This work is carried out in collaboration with the Nihon University of Tokyo, the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, the Itabashi municipality and the Topcon industry. This work is preparatory for the development of the redevelopment project of the park, through the reuse of its buildings, the arrangement of the green and urban furniture pursuing the objectives of maintaining the historical memory of the place and its harmonization in the urban context, creating a further pole of attraction for citizens and visitors.

Cultural heritage 3D digitalization is a matter of modernity for some Countries, especially those which don't have yet the possibility to take advantage of developed technologies for external communication of their “image”. This research studies in deep the topic of SFM applied to specific urban spaces which are characterized by naturally different features compared to the isolated building, particularly focusing on places and edifices belonging to Old Havana’s cultural and architectural heritage with the purpose to elaborate an AR spreading tool that could be installed on mobile devices.

The research treats the application of technologies related with augmented and virtual reality to architectural and historical context in the city of Havana, Cuba, on the basis of historical studies and Range-Imaging techniques on buildings bordering old city’s five main squares. The specific aim is to transfer all of the data received thanks to the most recent mobiles apps about Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual reality (VR), in order to give birth to an innovative App never seen before in Cuba. The "Oficina del Historiador de la ciudad de La Habana", institution supervising architectural and cultural asset in Cuba, is widely interested in the topic in order to develop a new educational, cultural and artistic tool to be used both online and offline.Augmented reality apps introduce themselves as a tool of intersection between history and memory. Augmented reality mixes images from the real world with other kinds of data (in this case historical pictures, 1D/2D and 3D, drawings, etc.). The main purpose is to create a tool generating an continuous experience in which digital objects seems to take on a life on its own. This illusion’s not easy to maintain especially in a context like Old Havana’s one, where GPS devices are still not that accurate and the urban texture is various and stratified, it can lead to imprecise data bouncing and so point’s choice is essential. Augmented reality can generate a combination of physical world’s vision and digital representation with a simple click. Future research are developing in this way, investigating on new functionalities to valorize such a beautiful heritage like Cuban one.

The lighthouse, an architecture landmark of the coasts around the world has been the subject of study, especially it focused on the drafting the restoration project of the Punta of Guardia lighthouse on the Ponza island, Italy. Ponza is an island which gives its name to the archipelago of the Pontine islands, located off the Lazio coast. The lighthouse in question is one of the most important signaling systems of medium-high Tyrrhenian, built on a sea stack 112 meters above sea level, at the end of 1800. As almost the totality of these structures, the lighthouse has been abandoned by the date of its automation, for about forty years. The study was accompanied by an historical research of the building, the execution metric and photographic surveys, the materials and construction techniques and as a result of analysis of the degradation and restoration work. All these operations were the prelude for the preparation of a project on the conservation of surfaces and the renovation of the structure, addressing mainly due to humidity problems in all its forms. Then, the restoration has had a conservative order and structure protection in order to strengthen its maritime signaling connotation. Everything preparatory to a reconversion of the touristic intended use, the island's main vocation and to which the building is more likely for its geographical position of extraordinary charm, in full compliance with the soul of the lighthouse, a place that offers an open and flexible tourism type, a lighthouse accommodation, the strength of European tourism of recent years. The project is based on three key point: environment, culture and sustainability.

This article deepens the subject of photo-modelling applied to architecture, on a medium and large scale and it shows all the possibilities to apply the last technologies of augmented reality and virtual reality to the historical and architectural contest of Havana City in Cuba. The context was quite unsuitable to our project because of different and complex reasons. The need to minimize the size of the tools, their weight and cost. Minimize the time of survey and photographic shot on site. To face the difficulties given by the continuing presence of a chaotic influx of people disturbing the work. Not least the difficulty of having a limited number of daily hours available to carry out photographic shots that requires special lighting conditions. This article describes the necessary steps to obtain a 3D dimensional textured model from reality through a photographic set.

There has always existed an inextricable interrelation between architecture and drawing. On the other hand it is obvious that architecture can manifest itself as an expressive literary form (studies of treatises, etc.) as a construction (i.e. as realized usable spaces, etc.) or precisely as drawing (i.e. as a thought-form expressed through signs). Starting from these points the research traces—through historical interpretation, critical analysis and the use of informatics utilizing virtualization as an element of representation—the development of the design idea and the construction of Carlo Scarpa’s Casa Ottolenghi.

Coastal lighthouses in Italy incarnate mathematical formalism. Modern mathematics, when applied to geometry, is formal, aiming at the concrete meaning of the analyzed entities: geometric shapes and surfaces. Lighthouses integrate the functional aspects of navigation, orientation and security and refer to geometric and symbolic concepts. Each lighthouse constitutes a geometric equation. The article presents the typological organization of their architecture, or rather of their helical staircases, in terms of geometry and symbolism. The form of lighthouse towers, designed according to fundamental concepts of Euclidean geometry are also analyzed. The analysis leads to the conclusion that architecture and mathematics are systems permeated with abstract symbols which linked together assume precise and concrete meanings. The study of the relationship between geometry and symbolism enables us to see and understand the synergy of the individual parts of the buildings analyzed.