Itinera: A Pathway to Revitalizing Shali’s Tradition and Community Spaces

Itinera: A Pathway to Revitalizing Shali’s Tradition and Community Spaces by Silvia Giandoriggio - Vernacular Architecture Design Workshop

The way of intervention in Shali started by asking some questions about the site regarding topics connected to the context: from the natural elements of the surroundings to the local construction materiality, from the Experience connected to staying in a cultural Heritage site to how this site is activated to visitors and local people.

The question of the project is how to intervene in such a Heritage site with minimal objects that are characterized by local identity and preserve as much as possible the fragility of the site. How can it be the route of this experience? When must we stop? What do we want to connect? What are the elements that compose this experience? So, the result of this idea is Itinera, the path itself.

We are in the Shali fortress area, and the site of the proposal goes from the end of the ruins of the town to the top of the fortress. The intervention area is the entire fortress hill. The master plan of the project tries to give a common space to visitors and locals. A public space to experience this heritage site that can be used from day to night. That public system is composed of a path that goes from the starting point with the entrance of the Museum and ends on the top of the hill with a public theatre.

Everything starts from a common space and ends in a common space. The path itself has some moments for the walkers that give the possibility to have a pause during the climb. These moments are allowed by spaces with different uses, which are at the same time modular and combined for necessity. Small pieces from regular to more complex ones in order to give variety. The elements of the composition of the project go from the ways of reaching the top of the fortress to organizing the spaces of the moment.

 There are different typologies that go from a system of benches to the handrails to garden pots and water tanks. The entire path is illuminated during the night by salt lanterns that also give orientation to the visitors. The mix of these different tools creates a multitude of situations.

The starting point of the project is the Gate – Entrance to the museum, a filter space through the ruins as a filter from a public space to entering the museum. The concept of working in that space takes the Oasis system as its main reference, with places for water, garden pots and system to sit and rest. The theatre is the final space at the top of the fortress. It is a public space for everyone with the possibility to organize events during the day and the night. As the gate is a common ground, the theatre becomes the main square on the top of the fortress reactivating it.