Date of Graduation

5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Architecture

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Architecture

Advisor/Mentor

Herman, Greg

Committee Member

Bedeschi, Francesco

Second Committee Member

Lai, Camilla

Third Committee Member

D'Alisera, Joann

Abstract

Despite its efforts in historic preservation, there is an abundance of culturally significant Italian vernacular towns dying due to dilapidation and depopulation. Simultaneously, Italy has faced an ongoing stream of immigrants and refugees seeking work, housing, and asylum within its borders—a crisis that has resulted in Italian fear and animosity aside immigrant maltreatment and hardship. My research, which is supplemented by first-hand experience in Italy, qualitative analysis, and text sources, proposes interventions into dying Italian towns to aid in the resettlement of immigrants and refugees—an effort meant to be mutually beneficial to both the town and the immigrant. In my research, I consider and work to understand the social, political, and historical issues surrounding immigration in Italy. Understanding these issues along with the concepts of placemaking build a frame through which to assess whether a town may work for resettlement and how involved intervention should be. In the end, it can be determined which typologies of towns work better for resettlement because of topography and proximities. This research also expresses the importance of individuality in placemaking, placing ‘adaptability’ as an important value when creating unique frameworks suited to a myriad of cultures. Intervention must be just as adaptable to the individual’s needs as it must be adaptable to the varying built conditions it functions within.

Keywords

Italy; Immigration; Vernacular; Resettlement; Intervention; Adaptive Reuse

Additional Files
Honors Capstone Book Format Spreads.pdf (8758 kB)
This version is laid out in book spreads, as initial submission is meant to be printed in book format.
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