Masseria Cuntitt

Edy Quaglia Architect – Conservative renovation project, 2018

Every architectural structure is a product of culture—culture understood as the outcome oftechnical processes, labor, construction traditions and innovations, resource utilization,knowledge and creativity, and social and individual aspirations. The object of restoration is,first and foremost, a building or structure that encapsulates and gathers linguistic remnants—a series of traces that, while belonging to the past, exist within our present. The question ofmethod is at once the most keenly felt and the most problematic. It arises from the need todetermine how to guide our actions in an endeavor that, on one hand, engages with historicalobjects while demanding the modernization of their functions and, on the other, pursuesinnovation while bearing the responsibility of preserving the past. Methodological answers torestoration exist, but they must be sought within the questions we manage to formulate andthe complex web of issues they provoke. Restoration compels us to grapple with the enigmasof the work itself and the questions it raises. Our approach to restoration rejects the conflictbetween tradition and innovation—particularly when we are faced with choosing between oldand new materials, or are torn between adhering to traditional craftsmanship and prioritizingmodern techniques.