INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE REUSE: A SYSTEMIC DESIGN PROCESS FROM KNOWLEDGE TO INTERVENTION. EXAMPLES IN TUSCANY

Abandoned and disused industrial sites across the country and locally are a long-known phenomenon; however, numerous questions remain as to understanding the causes. The definition of a systemic design process for recovery, reuse and regeneration cannot ignore the social community of reference and the verification of regulatory planning tools and real estate dynamics. It is therefore necessary to develop greater awareness of disused industrial sites or buildings within a geographical area, starting with a realistic analysis, investigating the phenomenon that led to their disuse and subsequently identifying possible contextualised strategies for their recovery and transformation. This is a selection of the results of extensive research, begun in the early 2000s, which analyses 33 case studies in Tuscany, from their transformation to the problems that, in many cases, cause permanent abandonment. The use of consolidated reading tools such as technological and functional descriptions, with the drafting of 165 analysis sheets, systematises the peculiarities and issues related to the possibility of restoring the analysed artefacts, assessing whether they have been restored and their intended use, so as to draw up design guidelines for functional recovery in a contemporary and strategic manner for the future of the building itself and for the resident community.