«Austero ma non freddo, elegante con imperfezioni»1: adaptive reuse today stands as one of the most significant practices for rethinking the relationship between heritage, community, and the city. In an era marked by profound social, environmental, and cultural transformations, the regeneration of disused structures and marginal spaces cannot be reduced to a mere functional restitution; it must instead take on the responsibility of generating belonging, recognition, and new forms of inhabitation. Central to this perspective is the possibility of transforming abandoned places into safe spaces. Originating in the social sphere, the concept of the safe space here assumes a spatial and architectural dimension: not a physical enclosure, but an environment in which different subjectivities can feel recognized, heard, and free. Architecture thus becomes a tool for shaping places where the experience of dwelling transcends functionality, acquiring emotional and symbolic depth. Within this framework, reference is made to the concept of hogar [1. Hearth; 2. Home – Garzanti Linguistica], which goes beyond the mere physical dimension of the dwelling to enter the cultural and sensorial sphere of inhabiting. Hogar represents the symbolic fire around which the deeper sense of belonging is constructed, evoking rituality, memory, and continuity. In this sense, the architecture of reuse becomes a practice of listening and mediation, capable of restoring meaning to suspended territories and connecting past and present. A crucial role is played by last-scapes: landscapes of abandonment that, rather than signifying loss, become spatial and narrative resources. The project, far from imposing forced overlays, activates new layers of meaning, turning abandonment into a generative condition. This contribution offers a theoretical and design-oriented reflection on these themes, interpreting reuse not merely as a technical strategy, but as a cultural and social paradigm: a practice of care, capable of generating spaces of trust, cohesion, and new possibilities for shared inhabitation.
Topographies of Care. Adaptive Reuse, from Last-Scape to Safe Space
TAVOLETTA Concetta
2026
Abstract
«Austero ma non freddo, elegante con imperfezioni»1: adaptive reuse today stands as one of the most significant practices for rethinking the relationship between heritage, community, and the city. In an era marked by profound social, environmental, and cultural transformations, the regeneration of disused structures and marginal spaces cannot be reduced to a mere functional restitution; it must instead take on the responsibility of generating belonging, recognition, and new forms of inhabitation. Central to this perspective is the possibility of transforming abandoned places into safe spaces. Originating in the social sphere, the concept of the safe space here assumes a spatial and architectural dimension: not a physical enclosure, but an environment in which different subjectivities can feel recognized, heard, and free. Architecture thus becomes a tool for shaping places where the experience of dwelling transcends functionality, acquiring emotional and symbolic depth. Within this framework, reference is made to the concept of hogar [1. Hearth; 2. Home – Garzanti Linguistica], which goes beyond the mere physical dimension of the dwelling to enter the cultural and sensorial sphere of inhabiting. Hogar represents the symbolic fire around which the deeper sense of belonging is constructed, evoking rituality, memory, and continuity. In this sense, the architecture of reuse becomes a practice of listening and mediation, capable of restoring meaning to suspended territories and connecting past and present. A crucial role is played by last-scapes: landscapes of abandonment that, rather than signifying loss, become spatial and narrative resources. The project, far from imposing forced overlays, activates new layers of meaning, turning abandonment into a generative condition. This contribution offers a theoretical and design-oriented reflection on these themes, interpreting reuse not merely as a technical strategy, but as a cultural and social paradigm: a practice of care, capable of generating spaces of trust, cohesion, and new possibilities for shared inhabitation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
