From cultural to environmental heritage. Design experimentations in ancient settlement

The rising awareness of human impacts on the natural environment compels researchers to steadily review the sustainability criteria for the built environment. This evolution clearly influences the research and design experiences reported in this paper, which focus on the reclamation and reuse of the historic urban fabric. These experiments help to imagine a possible future where innovation happens into the core of the city, usually considered a place devoted to tradition, rather than in its outskirts. Unexpected environmental issues consequently come to the fore, that could help in reconsidering prevailing design and building practices as well planning policies.