Beyond Ruins: restoring the Avellino landscape

“Beyond Ruins” is the name of the Summer School of Federico II University, Naples, and it involved the architects from sa.und.sa architetti with Paolo Mestriner and thirty or so students, young professionals and graduate students from all over Italy.



Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi is a small township in the mountain community of Alta Irpinia in the province of Avellino. The devastating earthquake of 1980 left the town in ruins. 





As part of the “Beyond Ruins” Summer School, the aim of the workshop organised by the architecture faculty of the Federico II University in Naples was to recreate the spatial connections of the church complex of Santa Maria delle Grazie, now in a derelict condition. Three challenges were identified:  the scenic area near the centuries-old linden tree, the church nave and the cloister that used to be home to the garden of scents. 





In just one week, from 28 August to 6 September 2014, the team from sa.und.sa architetti with Paolo Mestriner and the students fixed up these three places, using simple, locally-sourced tools and adopting design solutions aimed at facilitating self-building.



After clearing the area, they restored the visual and pedestrian connections between the various architectural elements.



The addition of a scenic viewing platform stresses the importance of the landscape in the overall composition and returned a derelict space to the community, which has therefore retrieved an important piece of local history.

(Christiane Bürklein)

Workshop Beyond Ruins
28th August to 6th September 2014
Project: http://www.saundsa.com with ec2.it/paolomestrinerstudioazero
Video: http://vimeo.com/110161994

ORGANISERS:
DiARC - Federico II University, Naples
CLIENT:
Municipality of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi 
TEAM OF EXPERTS:
Francesco Domenico Moccia, Roberto Serino, Marichela Sepe, Salvatore Carbone 
PROMOTERS:
INU Campania Biennale dello Spazio Pubblico 2015 better public spaces for our cities
Fondazione di Comunità Officine Solidali onlus non-profit community organisation
PROJECT DESIGN, WORKSHOP ORGANISATION AND COORDINATION: 
sa.und.sa architetti + Paolo Mestriner 
WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS:
Guglielmo Avallone, Annarita Bianco, Marica Castigliano, Vanna Cestarello, Andrea Esposito, Giulio Esposito, Stefania Esposito, Maria Facciuto, Roberto Fusco, Valeria Garofalo, Elisabetta Ester Lombardi, Lea Manzi, Maria Luigia Manzi, Rossella Marena ,Fabiana Marotta, Martina Mignola, Carmela Monteverde, Stefano Paladino, Imma Palomba, Paola Pavoni, Donato Quagliata, Ilaria Raia, Damiano Rigoni, Angela Spinelli,  Francesca Tranchese,  Plinio Vanni 
VIDEOMAKING AND POST-PRODUCTION
ULP association