Title

Author(s)

Manuela Raitano

Affiliation

Sapienza Università di Roma

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/XANU9274

Keywords

Re-Edition, Heritage, Architect as Curator

PP

810-816

How to Cite

Raitano, Manuela. “The Aesthetic of Reuse An “Unglorious” Condition for Contemporary Architects.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 810–816. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

This paper explores the cultural, theoretical, and professional implications of architectural reuse in a context where renovation and adaptation increasingly surpass new construction, redefining the priorities of the built environment. It distinguishes between restoration and re-edition as two critical yet fundamentally different approaches to the existing, examining their respective aims, methods, and conceptual frameworks. In doing so, the paper highlights how reuse is not merely a technical or economic necessity, but also a cultural and ethical stance toward the built heritage. The study further investigates the evolving role of the architect within this shifting scenario, where opportunities for new construction are progressively reduced and intervention on pre-existing structures becomes the dominant field of action. This condition challenges traditional notions of authorship and originality, weakening the issue of the “star-architect” model and opening the way to alternative models, such as the architect as curator, or “healer” of the existing. Finally, the paper proposes the emergence of new aesthetic paradigms proper of the culture of reuse, identifying different possible approaches to the relationship between old and new, from strategies of contrast to those of continuity, up to more nuanced intermediate positions. In this sense, adaptive reuse is framed not only as a practice of transformation, but also as an opportunity for the development of new architectural languages. The paper ultimately argues that contemporary architecture is undergoing a profound shift, moving from a model of authorship centered on creativity to one focused on care, transformation and continuity, within an ongoing process of spatial and temporal reconfiguration.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.