Pietro Lingeri on Isola Comacina, Between Modern Movement’s Lexicon, Rural Shapes and Cabinetmaking Tradition. From Design Drawing and 3D Modelling to VR

The study scrutinises the settlement for artists on Isola Comacina, conceiving it as a long-term phenomenon. The three extant small studio houses, meticulously restored between 2009 and 2010 by Andrea Canziani and Rebecca Fant, are perceived as a product of stratification. This reveals the imprint of Pietro Lingeri’s project from 1937 to 1940, as well as earlier endeavors by the same architect. Moreover, it acknowledges the sequence of events from 1919, originating with the donation of the island by the King of Belgium to Italy and the subsequent mandate to establish it as an artists’ colony. Utilising digital 3D modelling, Building Information Modelling (BIM), and Virtual Reality (VR), the research reconstructed the architectural sequence of choices, encompassing both the three constructed villas and the unbuilt one. It elucidated how Lingeri, along with Canziani and Fant, interpreted the house studio concept concerning the Larian landscape, topography, and illumination. Their interpretation encompassed the stone construction traditions of the “Maestri Comacini” and rural architectural elements, accredited by the 1936 exhibition “Architettura rurale italiana” at the VI Triennale di Milano as a source of modern forms. Ultimately, a web-XR and VR app solutions were developed to enhance the paradigms of virtual and interactive accessibility beyond static forms of digital representation, such as BIM. This initiative proposed immersive environments enriched with interactive content to augment awareness of Lingeri’s design activities