Architectural forms on archaeological ruins: a tectonic approach

The tectonic dimension of architecture, with its ethical approach to the urban transformations, as prefigured by many studies as well as demonstrated by reasonable design experiences during the last decades, may be a guarantee for the contemporary urban and landscape form sustainability. But what happens when it’s required to establish a direct relationship with an existing structure such as a ruin, a historical trace or an ancient wall? In which way the design process starts to be influenced by the presence of the archaeological ruins and what kind of tectonic relationship could be constructed between new architecture and old constructions? The addition of a new building in an archaeological settlement poses a problem in terms of architectural and constructive solutions and the role of tectonics, in its semiotic and epistemological dimension, becomes fundamental in order to recover an ethical approach for the architectural design able to change the current interpretation of the Vitruvian triad in which utilitas (conditioned by economic rules) totally outweighs firmitas (ensured by technical customaries) and venustas (distorted by wrong cultural references), bringing it closer to a new poetic quality for the project. The essay addresses these issues through the analysis of some architectural experiences in archaeological contexts with a view to find out new strategies and tectonic approaches more linked to the cultural identity of the places.