L’identité et la qualité du bâti rural contemporain dans les espaces agricoles périurbains/The identity and quality of contemporary farm buildings in the periurbain agricultural areas

The rapid evolution of techniques and the changes of agricultural productions caused the abandonment of buildings hosting agricultural workers and estimated too expensive to be adapted to new productive needs. Farmers prefer to realise new more functional constructions and with new modern materials instead of restoring the old ones. Farmers often choose to live in a new house instead of the old “manor house”. The architectural quality of contemporary structures is far from the original ensemble, forms and materials are taken from urban residences: urban forms prevail over rural ones. Strategic farm choices have changed: in the past farmers used to invest in rural buildings with a decennial perspective, nowadays they employ money only with a short term economical return. Periurban farmers closely stand urban pressure: the closer farms are to the city the shorter the lease is. This represent a constraint to the diversification of agricultural activities relying on urban people. An inquiry was carried out into the farms in the periurban area of Milan, in the South Agricultural Park, in order to evaluate the influence of the urban model on periurban farmers and on investment choices; aim of the work is to select the most significant samples of correct integration of new buildings with the traditional ones and the rural landscape, in relation with the incidence of urban model. Finally there are some suggestions to the local government on how to understand social phenomena occurring in periurban areas and propose criteria meant to respect traditional farm buildings and promote good quality contemporary agricultural buildings.