Conservation and reuse of ruins. Strategies and experiences in Scotland

The contribution presents the results of a wider research on ruined architectures, starting from the causes of their origins to the contemporary intervention of reuse or protection. The study, developed at the international level, has privileged the Scottish context for its strong sensibility in this topic and example of interesting design results as well as far-seeing strategies of safeguard. Indeed, this is the result of an elevated presence of ruins largely diffused into the Scottish historical landscape that, from the XX cent., has been widely enhanced through important politics of maintenance and reuse. The cases study here examined illustrate how interventions, based on the assessment of heritage values, emphasise the national and identity characters of these architectures, where the integrations are designed in a stratified historical context, respectfully for both the historical materials and the community.