Rehabilitation of abandoned monumental hospitals: tools for urban liveability

This proposal is intended to be a contribution toward achieving more liveable cities through the revitalization of inner areas based on the restoration and rehabilitation of historic facilities in order to meet current needs. The research starts by posing the following questions. Can we claim, in a general perspective of improvement of the quality of life in towns and cities, that the recovery of abandoned historic buildings could be a key-factor in conservation and innovation policies of the historical heart of towns? What relationship, if any, is there between the adaptive-reuse design of ancient hospitals and the effects of such action, not only in terms of heritage conservation but also in terms of economic and social regeneration of the surrounding context? The complexity of this issue is addressed by analyzing related cases, relevant for their design solutions and effects, and proposes answers to the opening questions by correlating the main characters of relevant case studies in Europe.