Historical constructive investigations and digital modelling for knowledge and requalification of the architecture of the second half of the twentieth century. The case of the University of Calabria in Cosenza (1972 1986)

The analysis of the heritage of the second half of the twentieth century offers useful lines of study to understand the evolution of building industrialization in Italy, both in the more advanced areas of Northern Italy, and in the Central and Southern regions. This paper presents the first results of the analysis conducted on a portion of the University of Calabria campus, located in Arcavacata, near Cosenza. This study is part of the research project “Light prefabrication: knowledge, monitoring and requalification of the architectural heritage of the second half of the twentieth century in the regions of Calabria and Lazio”, funded by the European Union Next Generation EU, concerning the requalification of buildings of the second half of the twentieth century, built with prefabricated components, also in combination with structures realised on site. The ongoing research aims to associate the historical investigation with the survey of the actual building to develop a digital model of the complex in which to summarize the results of the archival analysis with the data concerning the state of conservation and any technological criticalities observed. The archival analysis carried out to date has highlighted some features of the case study useful to relate the local experience to the national Italian construction context. The transfer from the national framework to the Calabrian case of industrialization faced difficulties and delays. The presence and possible effects of these contextual inertias will be verified, in the subsequent phases of the ongoing research, through other Calabrian realizations of the period.