510182 - RESTORATION

The Architectural Restoration course within the Master’s Degree Programme in Building Engineering–Architecture at the University of Pavia aims primarily to introduce students to the principles and operational methods that govern the conservation of architectural heritage, both historical and contemporary. Through theoretical lectures and laboratory activities, students will be encouraged to engage continuously with the criteria that guide the conservation, enhancement, and transmission of architectural works to future generations, while respecting their material substance, history, and cultural and social significance. Indeed, architectural restoration has an important ethical purpose in addition to its technical dimension: safeguarding historical continuity, ensuring that the work can be understood, experienced, and handed down without betraying its historical, aesthetic, and cultural essence.
All the skills acquired in previous years of study—ranging from mathematics, geometry, physics and chemistry, structural mechanics and construction science, to architectural history and survey, geotechnics, and design composition—are fundamental for implementing proactive actions of conservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage we have inherited. There is no doubt that the historical era in which we live requires particular attention to the conservation, protection, and valorization of the built legacy, in order to regenerate it appropriately for contemporary needs without diminishing the meaning and value of what has been entrusted to us.
As Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976), Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932, stated:
“[.] It is probably true, in general, that in the history of human thought the most fruitful developments often occur at the points of intersection between two different lines of thought. These lines of thought may have roots in very different domains of human culture, in different epochs, in different cultural contexts, or in different religious traditions: therefore, if they do indeed meet, or if they are at least sufficiently related to one another to allow real interaction, then one may hope that new and interesting developments may result.”
The Architectural Restoration course therefore aims to offer a transversal education capable of bringing together the various disciplines involved in a restoration project: history, design and composition, construction science and technology, materials chemistry, building technology, physics, and the humanities.

For this reason, the course strongly recommends the proper acquisition and successful completion of all technical subjects included in the study plan, with particular reference to structural science and engineering, which are essential for the correct development of a restoration project.
The course will draw upon interdisciplinary expertise and experience, including contributions from international scholars, enabling students to learn and explore fundamental topics related to the sustainability of cultural heritage.
Accordingly, the course seeks to introduce future engineers and architects to the diverse cultural and methodological paradigms that inform this discipline across different countries. Historically, a Eurocentric perspective has not allowed us to fully observe what other cultures have wisely developed and implemented for the conservation and enhancement of their own heritage. Beginning with a comparative analysis of restoration history in an international context—particularly through the presentation of operational methods and completed projects—students will be invited to actively engage with different methodological perspectives, working from the outset on a restoration project in the historic centre of Pavia.
The course will also include seminars in multiple languages—English, Italian, French, and Spanish—with the active participation of professors from foreign universities.
Keywords: Authenticity conservation; Cultural protection and enhancement; Structural safety; Material compatibility; Recognizability; Transmission of memory; Compatible reuse.
The course objectives are closely aligned with the principles of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the report “Culture in the Localization of the SDGs: An Analysis of the Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR)”.