Design and strategies for rural heritage enhancement

The research identifies the enhancement of the rural landscape as integration of local identities (landscape and cultural values), quality of the environment (ecological values) and socio-economic factors. In this theoretical scenario, the Architectural Technology approach operates with multi-scalar and multidisciplinary actions looking forward to the changing needs of the future and orienting the decision process with a specific focus on accessibility, usability, feasibility and respect for local identities. The paper illustrates some experimentations in emblematic peri-urban contexts of Mantua, where it is necessary to find a balance between environmental protection and heritage enhancement. Starting from ex ante evaluations (according to the embedded case study methods - Scholz 2002) the research proposes culturally informed design solutions able to optimize the projecting act through the lens of architectural technology. The research has been developed simultaneously on experimental projects and with theoretical considerations to find the strategic axes of intervention with the aim of extrapolating a repeatable method for the environmental design of the rural heritage.