Ri-abitare Spine Bianche a Matera. Azioni sostenibili per la riqualificazione edilizia e urbana/Re-inhabiting Spine Bianche in Matera. Sustainable actions for building and urban rehabilitation

The long season of social housing in Italy has produced remarkable examples thanks to several designers who have significantly contributed to its evolution. The city of Matera has passed through the construction of seven new towns and districts - including Spine Bianche, project coordinated by C. Aymonino - in order to provide housing and services for the old Sassi districts inhabitants. The actuality of housing rehabilitation and upgrading in response to the demand for a better liveableness expressed by inhabitants??? requirements is related to districts protection and architectural quality issues. The current settlement criticality can be found in the district progressive identity loss and in the non-compliance with the change of housing demand. The compatibility of rehabilitation technical solutions is related to the application of some principles: minimal impact, language cohesion and recognizability in application of innovative materials. A working group of the Faculties of Architecture of Matera and Federico II of Naples has implemented a teaching and scientific experimentation, confronting with the needs expressed by local inhabitants. The first results are encouraging in terms of methodological criteria identification, in order to define design solutions for rehabilitation. The building retrofit should preserve the architectural identity without sacrificing the introduction of technical innovations, with the aim to meet the needs unexpected or notconsidered in the original project.